Washington, D.C
‘I call it the Yeti': The hunt for wheelchair accessible taxis in DC
On the afternoon we caught up with Kelly Mack, she just needed a ride to the grocery store.
“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.
She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”
D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.
Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.
The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.
When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.
That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.
“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.
The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.
The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”
Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.
“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess. The city even set up a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.
“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.
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WRC
The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.
Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”
He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.
The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.
“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team.
Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.
“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”
Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.
Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.
While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”
As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.
That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”
Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.
“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”
Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her.
“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.
But that taxi never came.
Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.
Washington, D.C
AAPI Data Releases 2026 AAPI State Fact Sheets, Highlighting the Growing Influence of AAPI Communities Across All 50 States and Washington, D.C. – AAPI Data
MEDIA CONTACT:
Amanda Ong
press@aapidata.com
AAPI Data Releases 2026 AAPI State Fact Sheets, Highlighting the Growing Influence of AAPI Communities Across All 50 States and Washington, D.C.
Washington, DC – Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) and AAPI Data today released the 2026 AAPI State Fact Sheets, a comprehensive set of demographic and voter data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Updated every two years, the fact sheets provide policymakers, advocates, researchers, journalists, campaigns, and community organizations with essential data on the nation’s fastest-growing racial demographic and voter bloc.
“AAPI voters are shaping elections nationwide, yet our communities are still too often overlooked or misunderstood,” said Christine Chen, Executive Director of APIAVote. “These fact sheets give organizers, policymakers, media, and advocates the context they need to build more informed, effective, and inclusive engagement strategies and to better understand AAPI communities’ growing impact on American democracy.”
“Our communities are growing rapidly in places well beyond the Northeast and the Pacific West,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, Founder and Executive Director of AAPI Data. “It is critical for news media, funders, and civic engagement organizations to use these updated findings to ensure accuracy and efficacy in their work.”
The 2026 State Fact Sheets include state-specific information on:
- AAPI population and eligible voters
- Population growth trends
- Citizenship and immigration data
- Language access and English proficiency
- Economic indicators, including poverty and health insurance coverage
- Geographic concentrations by county
- Voter demographics and civic engagement
The fact sheets are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and include both monoracial and multiracial AAPI populations. Together, these data provide a more complete picture of AAPI communities and equip decision-makers with the information needed to better serve and engage one of the country’s fastest-growing populations.
The 2026 AAPI State Fact Sheets are available for free and may be downloaded individually by state or as a combined report at: https://apiavote.org/policy-and-research/aapi-demographics-by-state/. The factsheets can also be found on the AAPI Data website: https://aapidata.com/demographics/2026-aapi-voter-state-fact-sheets
About AAPI Data
AAPI Data is a national research and policy organization producing accurate data to support community narratives that drive action toward enduring solutions for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. Learn more at aapidata.com.
About APIAVote
Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is the nation’s leading nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to engaging, educating, and empowering Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to strengthen and sustain a culture of civic engagement. See our website for more information at https://www.apiavote.org/
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAW) – It’s a day for gathering and remembering victims of internet crimes.
The parents of Bradyn Bohn, the D.C. Everest teen who was a victim of sextortion, are in Washington, D.C. for the event.
A sign with Bradyn’s picture, his name, ‘forever 15′– along with too many more– sit outside the capitol.
It’s the inaugural ‘Social Media Victims Remembrance Day.’ A number of lawmakers were on hand. Bradyn’s mom, Brittney Bird, says Congress needs to choose families over big tech.
“My first thought is it’s absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. ”None of us should be here. These groups have been doing this for coming up on four years now. And there hasn’t been a change. If four years ago there would have been a change, my son would be here. Countless children would still be here. It’s heartbreaking, but at the same time there’s strength in numbers. So there’s that strength. And it gives us hope, you know, that things will change and that we’ve got each other.”
Bradyn died by suicide in March 2025 after a sextortion scheme. The efforts of his parents helped lead to the creation of Bradyn’s Law, signed into law last December. It established sextortion as a new crime, and imposes severe penalties on perpetrators.
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Copyright 2026 WSAW. All rights reserved.
Washington, D.C
First Nebraska civics bee champion crowned, will head to Washington, D.C. for national competition
The state competition, which was put on by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, had three rounds. The first two rounds included 20 multiple choice questions about various historical documents, court cases and civics concepts.
In the final round, the top five students gave short pitches about the essays they submitted on improving a problem in their community. Bernal wrote about the Tyson Plant closure after she visited Lexington in December.
“Things were really starting to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, the Tyson plant is actually closing,’” Bernal said. “Around two weeks later, during the first day back from winter break, my social studies teacher said we’re going to be writing an essay about a problem we see in our community. I thought, ‘Wow, this is something really positive I could use my voice for.’”
In her essay, Bernal said she wanted to bring awareness to the closure and host job fairs for those impacted. Other topics included student mental health, impacts of flooding and the childcare crisis.
Tara Lea, executive vice president of partnerships and programs for the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said more than 500 students submitted essays across Nebraska, making the state fifth in the nation for participation and first per capita.
“We had no idea what to expect when we signed up to do this,” Lea said. “We were just excited all 50 states were doing it. We were proud to be one of them, but Nebraska showed up.”
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