DC Council cancels passenger transit hearing

Ironically, it’s the same problem taxi companies faced when Uber and Lyft came onto the scene: new competition. Uber and Lyft made their mark by offering more reliable and cheaper rides than taxi companies. But for more than a year, another ride-hailing company, Empower, has been disrupting the local market by offering generally cheaper rides than Uber and Lyft.

Open Empower and compare Lyft and Uber driver availability, and you’ll see that the app is booming in Washington. Drivers like Empower because it lets them set their own prices and keep their own earnings after paying a monthly subscription fee that varies by ride earning range. Riders like Empower because while the vehicle interiors and driver courtesy are less reliable than Uber and Lyft’s, and Empower’s estimated pick-up times are at least 25% off, Empower generally offers much cheaper rides. Uber and Lyft aren’t happy about losing drivers and passengers to Empower, and a lot of money in the process.

Uber has hired expensive PR firms to lobby against Empower as unsafe. While they point out that Empower is not permitted to operate in Washington — although Empower drivers must pass background checks — they ignore the fact that Uber and Lyft were not permitted to operate in many locations in their early days. Put simply, Uber and Lyft want Empower’s competition gone, or at least neutered.

In turn, they are counting on formal confirmation from Jonathan Rogers, acting director of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles. Rogers’ office has advocated for more regulation and enforcement against Empower. His office did not respond to Washington Examiner requested comment. He was scheduled to face a public roundtable hearing Thursday morning on his confirmation.

Then democracy started creating problems.

When more than 1,000 Empower drivers and passengers registered to join Rogers’ confirmation hearing virtually or in person, Columbia County Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau simply canceled it, explaining that “the number of witnesses registered to testify at the roundtable exceeded the number of participants permitted for the Zoom webinar under the Council’s license. … However, written testimony is still welcome. We will include public comments received through the Hearing Management System page for this roundtable in any applicable committee reports.”

Neither the Public Works Commission, the mayor’s office nor Nadeau’s office responded Washington Examiner question why the meeting wasn’t simply limited to Zoom capacity or more Zoom capacity was purchased. But given that the public and political appeal of in-person and video testimony is obviously more persuasive than written comments uploaded to the “Hearing Management System,” it’s no wonder Nadeau and the council canceled the meeting. They feared that robust democratic control would be an obstacle to advancing their agenda.

In his favor, Rogers wants to make it easier for wheelchair users to find affordable transportation. The problem is that he doesn’t seem to want to make it easier for all residents to find affordable transportation and for all for-hire drivers to make better money. At the end of an internal hearing earlier this week, the For-Hire Vehicle Advisory Board enthusiastically announced that no public comments had been filed. That, as one council member said, “probably means things are going well!”

Or maybe no one knew you were conducting a hearing? Only in Washington could politicians congratulate themselves on the lack of public comment at one meeting, and then cancel another meeting on the same matter that same week because too many members of the public wanted to comment!

Sadly, this situation is just the latest example of the DC Council’s contempt for those who live in this district. Take, for example, the absurd dichotomy between how it treats residents looking for a cheaper ride and how it treats the legions of ATV drivers who storm the busiest streets and the National Mall every summer with no regard for life or traffic laws. ATV drivers are almost universally ignored by the police, who, thanks to the ingenious DC Council, are not authorized to prosecute criminals in most scenarios, despite their clear and proud publicity of their threat to public safety and the rule of law.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Washington, D.C., taxpayers face one of the highest tax rates in the country: $3,500, plus 8.5% of anything above $60,000 — higher for those earning more than $250,000. Hard-working businesses can struggle daily with crime — something Nadeau clearly doesn’t care about. Oh, and the 911 call center continues to be defined by no-shows, incompetence and cronyism.

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Yet, as in this case, the District of Columbia Council seems determined to remind city residents that things could always get worse.

We need some D:Ream.