Meters Ensure Fairer Fares

<H1>Meters Ensure Fairer Fares</H1><H3>by Barbara Cook</H3><I>Washington, D.C. </I>- The nation's capital will finally join other major business and convention cities in the United States by discontinuing its traditional zone system of taxi fares and requiring the installation of meters in all cabs by Sept. 1, 1998.

The present system, which sets flat cab fares based on geographical zones, has several built-in anomalies. One passenger might travel only a few blocks yet cross more than one zone, thereby raising the fare. Another passenger might have just the opposite experience: The zone that includes Capitol Hill, for example, is a large one and permits passengers to access most of central downtown without crossing any zone line.

The city's taxicab commission voted earlier this year to adopt the meter system to offer "clarity and consistency" to riders, according to a commission spokesperson. Washington is thought to be the last major city without taxi meters.

Travel managers and travel industry businesses greeted the decision with enthusiasm, saying it now allows Washington to be more competitive with other business destinations.

The taxicab commission does, however, plan to increase the fares in each zone over the next few months. The old fares have been in effect since Dec. 1, 1993, and it is expected that the just-adopted schedule of price increases will be sustained until the changeover to meters is completed.