Tagged with Taxis …

Jan 30 2012
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By Michelle Cassidy City

City Paper Answers All of Your Questions

by Michelle Cassidy

This week, the Washington City Paper pulled a particularly ambitious stunt when they attempted to answer the “most nagging questions about life in the District.” Well color us impressed, because they’ve done a fairly thorough job that’s definitely worth checking out. In their Answers Issue, they address 32 pressing questions posed by District residents.

In October, City Paper asked its readers to submit their questions, and they’ve picked the most intriguing ones to feature in the Answers Issue. With topics ranging from the native fruits and vegetables of the D.C. area to the lack of J, X and Y streets in the city, this article answers questions that we wouldn’t have even thought to ask. It’s an informative and helpful read that 4E wholeheartedly recommends taking a look at.

Though it functions partially as a magic eight ball (“Will Mayor Vince Gray get re-elected?”), the City Paper does showcase some interesting bits of D.C. history and culture. It’s a veritable encyclopedia of modern D.C. life. I mean, where else could you learn about the political power of local taxi drivers?

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Jan 28 2012
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By Martin Hussey City

All Yellow Taxis in D.C.?

by Martin Hussey

Caitlin McGrath/The Hoya

D.C. may be on the verge of major changes to its taxi infrastructure. The city will soon increase fares, as The Hoya reported last month, and new regulations may force taxi drivers to improve service to less-traveled areas of the District. But a more noticeable plan may force standardization of D.C.’s taxicab livery.

Councilmember Mary Cheh, the same D.C. councilor responsible for taxi reform and for purportedly exporting the District’s rats to Maryland and Virginia, set up an online survey to test public sentiment on what the city’s taxi colors should be. Among the more than 4,000 respondents, 38 percent favored standardized yellow cabs. The city, for its part, seems to support the idea of making all taxis the same color. Cheh’s survey simply asks people to vote for their favorite color.

One of the most unique things about Washington has to be the city’s colorful taxicabs. At any given moment, people hoping to catch a cab can step into any array of colorful taxis — green, silver, white, black, blue, red, and even pink. All of the hype over taxi reform, though, begs the question: Are D.C.’s different taxi liveries one of the city’s signatures? Or should the city now standardize the livery like that of New York?

My take on it — let’s keep the taxis all different colors. I love it when I flag down a purple or maroon cab. But if we want to be boring like New York and make all our cabs yellow and expensive, that is no loss to me. I take the bus anyway.

 

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