The Battle of Nathan Price and the Time-Distance Meter
By Ariel Kitch
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Nathan Price is leading a motorcade of cabs down 16th Street in Washington D.C., ignoring the hands that try to wave him down for a fare.
Nathan is the chairman of the D.C. Coalition of Taxicab Drivers. He leans into the seat of his orange and black cab, his graying hair combed back over his head and his large hands on the steering wheel. Today he’s leading a line of taxis to Freedom Plaza as part of a 24-hour strike.
His cell phone rings. “I’m letting this thing drive me crazy,” he grumbles as he reaches to answer it, and it’s unclear if he means the phone or the strike itself. His cab has become his office.
The D.C. cab drivers were shocked this fall when they learned that Mayor Adrian Fenty was passing an executive order that required all cabs to install time-distance meters — a change that D.C. cabs have long fought against. Time is running out. By April 6, meters must be until installed in all 6,500 D.C. cabs.
A Group with Internal Frictions
But keeping the cabdrivers in line and avoiding traffic violations are the least of Nathan’s problems. The D.C. cabdrivers are a group with deep divisions, which makes organizing a campaign against the city’s policies an ongoing struggle.
“It’s been a monumental task just getting them all down to the same table,” Nathan says. “There’s so many ethnic frictions, you know, tribal frictions.”
Nathan is convinced that if the D.C. cab drivers don’t organize soon, the changes proposed by the city will deprive them of their most distinct advantage: the ability to own their own cabs, turning them into small-time entrepreneurs. Meters, it’s rumored, could lead to medallions, the notorious New York City cab system that keeps control in the hands of company owners and dramatically cuts down on the number of cabs allowed on the streets.
“What happens is that we lose our jobs, because you can’t put 6,500 time-distance meter cabs into a small enclave as downtown D.C.,” Nathan explains. “We have to preserve that. If we lose that then they starve us to death.”
When Nathan makes it to Freedom Plaza, he stands at the center of the square and watches the cabs roll in from the Capitol building, clogging the streets and honking their horns.
“Nothing but cabs!” he shouts over the chorus of honking. “Two lanes, nothing but cabs.”
Even though he’s been able to get everyone to the same plaza, Nathan still has no means to direct the drivers, who continue to honk while he waves his arms in the air to make them stop.
Preparing for a Long Fight
But while the honking cabdrivers at Freedom Plaza clearly communicated their frustration, the strike had no effect on city policy.
Several weeks later, Nathan has changed tactics — he’s begun to organize meetings with the heads of the ethnic groups that control the cab industry. This morning, he’s meeting with the Indian cabdrivers’ association.
The Indian cabdrivers gather on the sides of the room as Nathan begins to speak. The room is quiet as they wait to see what he’ll say.
“I had been… removed from all the different ethnic groups, you know, ’cause they don’t come to me. But now I’m glad that we’re starting to come together, because our blood is that we all drive taxicabs, that’s our commonality,” he tells them. “And that’s the thing we have to fight for.”
Nathan needs their help to file suit against the city. But what can they do about it, one of the Indian cabdrivers asks.
“What we gonna do about it? Oh man, all we can do is constantly sue them,” Nathan replies.
“Sue them!” another driver responds, like a battle cry.
By the end of the meeting the cabdrivers have pulled out their wallets and are counting out contributions to the campaign.
Cabdrivers remain divided by ethnicity, class or company, and most D.C. citizens still support the change to meters. Realistically, Nathan and the cabdrivers are up against a long fight, even if the lawsuit they filed last month keeps the city from moving forward with changes.
But Nathan is already imagining the next strike. He’s hoping that this time, he’ll be able to unite the D.C. taxi drivers in one wave, ignoring the divisions that have held them apart in the past.
Tags: all things considered, ariel kitch, DC, transportation
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