After Journalists’ Arrests At Taxicab Commission, Council Eyes Overhaul

D.C.'s attorney general is investigating why two reporters were arrested at a Taxicab Commission hearing last week, and now one D.C. Council member wants to think about change.

The charges against the journalists were later dropped, but Council member Tommy Wells said the incident may still prompt some major shifts.

Wells, who chairs the council's Public Works and Transportation Committee, said the latest incident has convinced him it may be time to scrap the Taxicab Commission and start over.

"The Taxicab Commission has not seemed to be able to do its job for quite awhile," Wells said.

Wells said the commission has not held meetings or been responsive to drivers. The agency has also endured a few controversies, such as a bribery scandal that led to the arrests of dozens of cab drivers and a council staffer.

"I'm going to look at other states to see how they set rates and hear complaints, and also how they plan for the number of taxi cabs," Wells said.

A spokesman for a group representing District cab drivers, however, said while the industry needs reform, the group doesn't want the commission to be abolished. It just wants more drivers appointed to it.