This article on Adrian Fenty's decision to switch all DC cabs from the maddeningly absurd "zone" system to civilizing meters is totally fascinating. As the piece goes on, just watch the array of interest group,s powerful politicians, preferences, and arguments on both sides. Fenty's decision is forced by legislation championed by Senator Carl Levin, who hates the zone system and has been fighting it for 20 years. The taxi drivers, for their part, love the zones, for the stated reason that it helps them stay independent of large cab companies (90 percent of cabs in DC are independently run). District residents hate them, because they make no sense and leave them open to manipulation by drivers. The hospitality industry wants to move to meters, because out-of-towners find the zones confusing and hard to navigate. And those are only the forces and interest groups mentioned in the article. It's hard out there for a mayor. Meanwhile, Fenty's decision echoes a similar decision in 1996 to input meters -- one that was never implemented. So we'll see what happens. --Ezra Klein
