Press Release

March 29, 2000

Airports Authority Committee Selects Taxicab Service Provider For Dulles

On Wednesday, March 29, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Business Administration Committee selected the contractor to provide taxicab service at Washington Dulles International Airport. Dulles Taxi Systems, Inc. of Arlington, VA was selected. The company will begin operating taxi service this Spring.

The three-year contract has a single two-year renewal option. Approximately one out of five passengers at Washington Dulles International Airport uses a taxicab. This represents nearly 1.5 million passengers every year.

Said James A. Wilding, President/CEO of the Airports Authority, "Not surprisingly, ground transportation is one of the most important issues airport operators around the country face. Only part of the trip is made in the aircraft, and it’s our goal to ensure that our customers have good ground transportation alternatives including reliable, safe and high quality taxicab service. The company we have selected is quite capable of providing this level of service."

The selected contractor is required to:

• Provide a core fleet of cabs under the brand of "Washington Flyer", and a fleet of non-Flyer taxicabs that together will ensure that on-demand service will be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at the airport to provide timely service to the public.
  
• Provide a non- Flyer taxicab fleet that meets the same standards as the Washington Flyer cabs. This new aspect of the contract is designed to enhance participation by other taxicab companies in the Airport Authority’s taxicab concession opportunities.
  
• Accept credit cards from passengers and provide a clean and safe fleet of taxicabs that are no more than four years old plus the model year.
  
• Respond to the changing patterns of travel caused by weather impacts or new air service to ensure that the appropriate number of cabs are available to meet passenger needs by meeting the on-demand service standard for both short and long-haul taxicab trips.

• Provide a drivers lounge and dispatch building to accommodate drivers between trips and ensure adequate breaks for drivers.

The contract was awarded based on the following criteria: operating plan; management plan; non-Washington Flyer fleet plan; industry experience and qualifications; disadvantaged business involvement; the financial offer, and capital improvements in the taxicab facilities.

This new contract will result in increased cab service at Dulles Airport which has seen unprecedented growth during the last year when nearly 20 million travelers used the airport.

In a related matter, the Airports Authority also announced its plan to create an Advisory Taxicab Panel which will review the handling of customer and taxicab driver complaints about the Dulles Airport taxicab system. The panel will have members representing the Airports Authority, the traveling public, taxicab drivers at Dulles, and the taxicab concession contractor.

####