Taxi Fares

I’m going to put on my grumpy think-like-an-economist cap and say that while Adrian Fenty’s decision to move DC toward a meter system is excellent, his move to lower fares may not be. Lower fares means, after all, less supply — it’s not as if Fenty’s going to acquire a vast army of slave cabdrivers to shuttle us around the city at low, low rates. Difficulty finding a free cab when you want one is a cost, too, so I’d want to see some kind of estimate of the impact before I immediately laud the move.