Race and the Zone System Controversy :: Free Essays Online

Race and the Zone System Controersy You get in the cab you are white and well dressed showing your tender status. The cab driver is friendly and takes you directly to your destination. The little map in the backseat of the cab tells you the cost of your trip however since you, like most people, neer take down read it, the cabbie tells you the price, and you go ahead and stipend without question. You are a resident of the District and have gone the same route many a(prenominal) times and for some reason the price varies occasionally. You only traveled by dint of one zone from your upper-middle class neighborhood of Foggy Bottom to expectant Hill where you go about your busy life. For you the zone placement of political hack fares is no big deal. You have the money to pay for each wax and a cab driver will always pick you up. A change to the metered system would only be a slight adaption to your daily routine. However, other residents of the District would be greatl y affected by a change to the metered system. Would a change in the zone system benefit the upper class, the tourists, the drivers or the lower income residents of DC? Is the urban center ceremony out for its lower income black residents? Will changing from a zone system to a metered payment system segregate Washington, DC even more than it is today?The zone system that is used today has been in effect since the Great Depression and has changed very little since then. With the zone system, passengers pay according to the number of zones they pass though with all of Downtown, the Mall and swell Hill encompassing one zone. DC is the only major city that still utilizes this zone system there are only a handful of areas that continue to use the system and all are little towns without the tourism that DC has. Hanbury president and CEO of the Washington Convention and touristry Corporation stated that the, hospitality intentness, which employs more than 260,000 individuals i n the Washington area pumps fourteen billion annually into our economy (Hanbury). Having the second largest travel industry in the country supports the substantial tourism in DC the taxi fleet is second only to New York City, with a fleet of over 6000 cabs and 8000 drivers.