In D.C., the annoyances that come with stringent taxi cab meters will soon be over. The D.C. Department of For-Hire Vehicles announced today that by August all D.C. taxi cabs will have to rip out their taxi cab meters and replace them with a soon-to-be-created custom digital meter from mobile payments company Square.
The new partnership comes as the District works to blur the lines between taxi cabs and Uber and Lyft drivers. No money was exchanged between the department and Square for the partnership, as Bloomberg first reported, and Bloomberg also notes that Square will only charge a 2.65 percent transaction fee, compared to the taxi meter's current 3.5 percent to 5 percent commission fee or Square's standard 2.75 percent fee.
Taxi cab drivers will have to replace the systems by the end of August. In turn, Square has agreed to pool a group of developers to create a custom array of apps specifically for the District's cab drivers. It's not clear exactly what the app will look like, but ideas such as allowing cab drivers to lower (but not increase) fares during slow periods, providing fare estimates and electronic receipts with the customer's route information on them have been tossed around. The Department of For-Hire Vehicles did note that the digital meters will allow for dynamic pricing for passengers hailing taxis from the street.
The program makes Washington, D.C. the first major U.S. city to transition fully to a digital platform, according to the department. Square ran a pilot program for such a service in New York City a few years ago, but the planned program for D.C. will be a much further integration into the taxi space.
“With the move to an all-digital platform from the legacy taximeter and Square’s payment technology, we’ll be able to provide better service for both our customers and drivers who deserve fair rates and the advanced features they have come to expect in our new digital environment,” said Ernest Chrappah, director of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles in a statement.
Image used via CC BY-SA 2.5 — credit SchuminWeb
