Abolish taxi cab cap in Milwaukee? Two aldermen say "yes"

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman and Common Council President Michael Murphy plan to introduce legislation on Friday, May 9th that would remove the existing limit on the number of taxi cab permits issued by the city. It would also allow mobile "rideshare" taxi services like Uber and Lyft to operate in the city as long as drivers possess a valid permit.

"If the public is demanding more cabs, and if the public is demanding new types of service, we should try to accommodate that as best we can," Bauman said.

The legislation will be introduced at the meeting of the Public Transportation Review Board that is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Friday May 9, in room 301-B of City Hall.

Public comment will be taken at the meeting.

Right now, the city caps the number of taxi cab permits at 420 and requires all cab drivers to belong to an affiliation that handles dispatch and training duties.

Under the new legislation, the cap and affiliation requirements would be eliminated, allowing “rideshare” taxi drivers to apply for and receive public passenger vehicle permits, as well as greater numbers of “traditional” taxi drivers.

There seems to be interest in eliminating the taxi cap. Recently, when the city raised the cap on the number of permits by 100 -- to 420 -- they saw an overwhelming amount of people apply for taxi licenses.

"We have 1,700 people apply for a lottery to get 100 licenses," Bauman said.

After the cap was raised by 100, Uber and Lyft moved into town. Uber and Lyft operate via mobile apps that connect riders with drivers.

Uber and Lyft drivers do not have permits, and some in Milwaukee's City Hall call their services illegal.

"They're going to conduct business whether we like it or not, so we might as well adjust our protocols and systems to accommodate them. Beyond that, let the marketplace determine how many cabs, what kind of cabs, what kinds of service -- and we go from there," Bauman said.

The measure would also increase the penalties for operating a public passenger vehicle without a permit.

To get a permit, a driver must be licensed, must pass a background check, must have insurance, and must drive vehicles that pass safety requirements.

Drivers who don't have a permit would be subjected to fines.

For a first offense, the penalty would rise from a minimum of $250 and maximum of $500 to a minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $ 2,500. The penalties for a second offense within 24 months would be increased from a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $750 to a minimum of $2,500 and a maximum of $4,000, and for a third offense within 24 months, the penalties would be increased from a minimum of $750 and a maximum of $1,000 to a minimum of $3,000 and a maximum of $5,000.

Bauman said that with the taxi cap eliminated, there would no longer be any need to maintain the affiliation requirement currently in effect.

That has at least one Milwaukee cab driver happy. Taxi drivers say right now, they pay high rent and fees on credit card transactions.

"There's going to be competition I'm sure, but it's going to take us from working for these big companies -- to be really independent. Doing this business as independents -- we're going to be making more money, you know, than what we're doing now," taxi driver Ali Sharif said.

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