Are you a DC employee? goDCgo has got some good news for you!
Since June, the District of Columbia has been allowing DC employees who need rides for government business to hail cabs using the DC Taxi Driver app on their smartphones. The program is the result of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) and the Department of Public Works (DPW) collaborating to solve different problems.
DFHV wanted to encourage taxi use to help cab drivers who are struggling to compete with other ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft, while DPW sought out to reduce the size of the government’s fleet. Furthermore, DPW wanted to cut down on the time employees spent driving around looking for parking and the costs the District was reimbursing for parking fees. According to their calculations, each taxi trip costs DC significantly less money than trips using government-owned or -leased cars.
Now there are more than 700 employees at 15 DC agencies piloting the program. Both the DFHV and the DPW are hoping those numbers will continue to rise as the DC Taxi Driver program gains more traction.
If you are a DC employee whose agency is not currently part of the program, there are still a number of ways to get around town without using your personal vehicle:
- Capital Bikeshare
- Carshare
- Rideshare
- DC Circulator
- Metrorail
- Metrobus
- Walking
- Carpooling or vanpooling with others going to the same meeting
- Scooting
By leaving your car behind, you can save thousands of dollars a year and avoid hours of time sitting in traffic, while also helping to make a greener, more livable District for everyone. For more information on alternative sustainable transportation options in Washington, DC, visit goDCgo.com.
