Proposal to lift cap on city taxicab permits, improve taxi service to get special committee hearing
Committee chair invites hospitality industry reps to provide input
A proposed city ordinance seeking to repeal the city’s cap on issuing new public passenger vehicle permits and to establish new requirements aimed at improving taxicab services in the city will be discussed Monday (May 6) during a special meeting of the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee.
Monday’s special committee meeting will start at 1:30 p.m. in room 301-B at City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.
Alderman Terry L. Witkowski, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said he has invited hospitality industry representatives as well as officials from VISIT Milwaukee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) to attend Monday’s meeting and offer input about the availability and overall quality of taxicab services in the city. “We’ve already heard from the taxicab industry and from drivers, and it is now imperative for the committee to hear from owners and operators of hotels, bars, restaurants, night clubs and other businesses as to what they are experiencing when it comes to taxicab services for their customers,” Alderman Witkowski said.
“The sole purpose if this special meeting is to take public testimony from those not involved with the taxicab industry,” Alderman Witkowski said.
Common Council file #111222 – introduced by Alderman Robert J. Bauman — would repeal the limitation on issuance of new public passenger vehicle permits for taxicabs and authorizes the issuance of 50 new permits prior to November 1, 2014. It establishes that 10 additional new permits may be issued each year after November 1, 2014, for a period of five years.
The ordinance also authorizes the City Clerk to establish a process for accepting and processing completed applications using a lottery or other system as necessary to ensure orderly processing of taxicab permit applications. If a lottery is established, according to the file, the City Clerk may provide for a waiting list, and a $100 lottery participation fee would be established.
File # 111222 proposes an increase in the one-year permit fee from $175 to $370, and the one-year renewal permit fee from $100 to $295. The fees for a new permit and for a renewal permit would be reduced by $20 if the permitted vehicle is registered within the city.
To view the entire file, please go to: http://milwaukee.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=1021210&GUID=886EF15C-1009-4FE4-A434-1F301F2AE456&Options=Advanced&Search.
Joint news release from Alderman Terry Witkowski and Alderman Robert Bauman
Town Hall Invitation from Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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