Port Washington Drops City Taxi Service in Favor of County Program

The Port Washington Common Council voted Tuesday to end the city’s TransPORT Taxi Service on Jan. 1. Residents will then be able to use Ozaukee County’s Shared-Ride Taxi Service instead.

The TransPORT Taxi Service, subsidized by the city, can be used by any Port Washington resident, but is primarily used by seniors and people with disabilities.

City Administrator Mark Grams that the city's taxi service costs $40,000 annually.

The county's service will be cheaper for residents who use it, and offers more hours of operation per week.

"For a lot of seniors, this is how they get around. It's how they get their groceries, everything," Alderman Burt Babcock said. "The county does a good job."

Babcock said the only drawback of the county's hours is that they end at noon on Sundays, two hours earlier than the city service. Babcock said he would contact the county to see if the Sunday hours could be extended.

Alderman David Larson said some rider were worried the county service wouldn't cover as much territory, but he said that's not the case.

One snag in the transition plan is a taxi van the city ordered last year for $41,000. Because state funds covered $33,700 of the cost, officials were were worried the restrictions would disallow the county from using the van. However, Grams said Tuesday that with the proper paperwork, the van would soon belong to the county's program.

Larson said another concern was that there would be a longer wait time for county vehicles, but that in fact both services have about 30-minute wait time. However, the county does prefer 24-hour notice on taxi rides.

TransPORT Taxi Service Manager Joyce Buchholz said it could be hard for people to make the transition to the new service.

"We've spent years getting to know these people, we know what they're needs are," she said. "It could be a big change for them, having to get to know new rules."

Buccholz said city service does all its scheduling by hand, which makes it easy to adapt taxi plans on the fly.

"People will call, and we'll say, 'When would you like to go?' And they'll say, 'Now.'" Buchholz said. "And I'm like, 'OK, get your jacket on, we're coming.' With the county, they want you to call more ahead of time."

TransPORT has seven drivers who will be out a job after the change.

Here’s a breakdown of the difference between the services, with information provided by Babcock and the program websites.

Ozaukee County Shared-Ride Tai Service 

• Cost:
  • Adult: $3
  • Student: $2.75
  • Senior: $2.50
• Hours of operation: 88.5 hours per week
  
  • Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Sunday 8 a.m. to noon
• Number of vehicles: 22 (13 equipped for disabilities)
• Rides given per year: 75,000
• Cars have GPS

City of Port Washington TransPORT Taxi Service:

• Cost:
  • Adult: $3.75
  • Student, senior, or disabled: $3.00
• Hours of operation: 71.5 hours per week
  • Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Friday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Number of vehicles: 2 (both equipped for disabilities)
• Rides given per year: 18,000
• Cars don't have GPS