The Teamsters union is suing the D.C. Taxicab Commission claiming the credit card readers force drivers to lose out on fares because the machines don’t work properly, the Washingtonian reported Tuesday. The union is seeking
an end to enforcement of the regulations, subsidies for the installation of card readers and dome lights and the addition of another taxi driver to the nine-member DCTC.

The push to modernize taxi cabs began in May, following cites such as New York, which has long required cabs to accept credit cards.

But the union claims that many cab drivers were slapped with fees and possible suspensions because they could not meet the Sept. 1 deadline to install the readers.

The lawsuit also cited a shortage of workers to install rooftop “dome” lights for the cabs, which the city also recently began requiring.

“Given the circumstances, full compliance with the regulations is impossible within the arbitrary deadline set by the Commission,” the lawsuit says.

Taxi drivers aren’t the only ones affected by the stricter regulations – the lawsuit warns that the public could suffer “irreparable harm” because of a taxi shortage created by the regulations.

The group wrote a letter to Mayor Gray on Monday, protesting the decision to impound cabs that did not meet the Nov. 1 deadline for dome light installation.