I wrote about the new tax back in January as it was just going into effect.

Now that it’s been a few months, is it working?

In its first assessment of how the new law is working, the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue estimates that city food and grocery establishments issued about 3.3 million bags in January, which suggests a remarkable decrease. Prior to the bag tax taking effect Jan 1, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer had estimated that about 22.5 million bags were being issued per month in 2009.

That’s an 85% decrease in the number of plastic bags being used!

While one month isn’t a statistically significant data point, it does lend some good credibility to the new tax. Let’s hope that this trend continues and we have some full-year data to celebrate!

The teabag rally was much more tame than I expected. There were about 200 people standing in front of the Capitol with signs, flags, and the like. There was a speaker with a bullhorn, but no stage so I couldn’t see who it was. The crowd was 99.9% white and mostly middle aged or older.

The message was what you’d expect : “kill the bill”, “this is socialism”, “no more taxes”, etc.

Here are a few of my personal favorites:

I felt pretty uncomfortable so I didn’t stay long. Now we wait and see if the House can whip up these deadbeat freshmen Democrats to vote for the bill they were elected to vote for. Ugh.

I’ve been trying hard for the past few years to minimize the number of plastic bags I use. I have cloth bags for groceries and will decline a bag entirely if I’m buying only a few items. (Side note : why does every Walgreens employee think I need a bag to hold one tube of toothpaste and one stick of deodorant?!)

I’m sure there will be haters of this new policy who can’t be bothered by the perceived inconvenience of supplying your own bags, but I suspect in a few months we’ll all adapt and be better off for it.

I guess this is one of those perks in living in a very small independent city-state hybrid like the District of Colombia. We get to pass laws that would likely not pass a larger state legislature. Go local government!

(Then again, the District doesn’t get any representation in the U.S. Senate. So that’s a bummer.)

Update!
I just went to the local grocery store and discovered they’re giving away reusable bags for free this week to help their customers adopt. Three cheers to Giant for doing the right thing!

I tried a similar car-share program when I lived in Madison, WI but found that it couldn’t meet my needs. There were too few cars spaced too far apart to be convenient.

The Zipcar scene in Washington is much, much better. With hundreds of cars to choose from, many in close proximity to a Metro station, getting to and from a car is a breeze. Reservations have been plentiful as well, with multiple cars available at any given time when I want one.

The Zipcar process is pretty slick: you pay a one-time fee to join the service (for me, $25) then rent cars by the hour. The price depends on the model you want (they have everything from a Smart Car or Prius to pickup trucks and BMWs) in the range of $6.50 – $13. The casual Zipcar user also pays an annual fee (currently $50) that is waived for more frequent users who commit to a minimum monthly spend. I know I will be using Zipcar for work travel at least a few times a month so I signed up for the $75/month plan.

Reservations are done online or using a very slick iPhone app when you’re on the go. Once you arrive at the car during your reservation time, your Zipcar card unlocks the vehicle and away you go. I’ve rented a car for three trips so far and each time it’s worked perfectly.

Most of us aren’t used to paying for a car by the hour so that fee may seem high. When you factor in all that you’re getting, however, it starts to look like a real bargain. There’s the obvious stuff like the capital cost of the car itself and all maintenance/repairs. You’re covered for insurance (with a $500 deductible if you’re at fault) and the cost of parking the Zipcar. Add in the fuel costs (each car comes with a fuel card if you need to refill) and it starts too look like a real bargain.

The secret behind Zipcar is raising the capital utilization rate for their fleet of cars. Most car owners use their car for maybe 10% of the day, while it sits idle for the other 90%. The typical car ownership costs in the U.S. are $400-600 per month. You’d have to use that car for 12 hours a day to come close to the hourly rate Zipcar charges.

Of course, the Zipcar scheme won’t work for every city or every driver. It relies on a critical mass of users and is buoyed by an available mass transit system. But for urban dwellers with infrequent car needs, it can’t be beat. I’m thrilled to be giving up car ownership and relying on the Metro, Zipcar, and my feet for my transportation needs.

And finally, the sales pitch : if you are interested in trying Zipcar, use the link below. You’ll get $25 in free driving credits and I’ll get $25 for the referral.
Join Zipcar and get $25 in free driving!