Not only are cabs regulated, but there's an online site where you can put in start and end points and get your exact fare. OK, so you don't have a computer with you -- there are maps in every cab showing the zones. And when I'm visiting somewhere and don't know the fare structure, from my fodorite training, I know to ask a ton of questions about the rates, and never just take sombody's word for it. Got ripped off a couple of times? How could that be, when other tourists report the exact opposite and it's not my experience either, having ridden in cabs all over the city for years.

Dirty? Heck, no! This is the shining city on the hill that serves as the capital of the world's greatest country! This is YOUR National City! Those of us who live and work here are pretty proud of it, despite the raw deal we get from Congress over our taxes -- did you know that D.C. paid many millions for the last inauguration and didn;t get reimbursed? That comes out of our tax money -- doesn't come out of YOURS. And that's another reason why we here in D.C. are proud -- it is us, the residents, who are keeping this city up, not the feds and not the citizenry around the country, who (some of them) come here and then blast us -- sheesh. Stay home.

DC cabs with the zone system are generally a bargain unless you just slip over a zone line unknowingly. You can pay a bundle for wait time on a meter in other cities. There is a map in the backseat or you can ask the fare before you get in. An $18- $25 fare to an airport in any major city isn't prohibitive. I just paid $45 to JFK from NYC last week. I agree that the fare may have varied because of the point of departure and zone vs. meter cost.

There is a homeless shelter in DC very close to the Capitol Building. The homeless are encouraged to go there. Tourists might notice the homeless who sleep wrapped in blankets on the steam grates which pump warm moist air to the sidewalks alongside the Federal buildings. There is a steam plant that services that loop of buildings. The poor take advantage of that. Sorry it offends you visually.

There are also several regular pan-handlers who politely ask for money on M Street in Georgetown. They know where tourists hang out and follow them. There are also a few homeless panhandlers in the Dupont Circle area. They are also harmless.

I can't go along with the dirtiest city I've ever seen at all. I don't know where you were staying but DC is much cleaner than most large cities of the world.

If you stayed in the NW quadrant of the city Beth, you haven't seen anything if poverty upsets you.

DC has come a long way since Mayor Williams has taken over. Hopefully his successor will continue in that vein.