County sets rules for children riding in taxis

A child must be at least 12 years old to ride alone on the Ozaukee County Shared Ride Taxi.

Supervisors on the county Public Works Committee voted in September to make the change effective Nov. 1.

The county had no minimum age rule in place and voted to create one to align with Washington County’s policy since riders can transfer from one county taxi to the other.

Transit Supervisor Kerise Zutz said there are 10 or fewer unaccompanied children currently using the taxi service.

Along with setting the minimum age, the committee also instituted a policy that requires riders accompanied by small children to provide, install and secure a booster seat or child safety seat for the child.

That includes:

n Children 1-year-old or younger and weighing less than 20 pounds must use a rear-facing child safety seat. 

n A child who is 1 to 4 years old and weighs at least 20 to 40 pounds must use an appropriate forward-facing or rear-facing child safety seat. 

n A child who is 4 to 8 years old and weighs 40 to 80 pounds and is no taller than 4 feet, 9 inches must use a child safety seat or booster seat.

Fares for unaccompanied children, known as the student rate, range from $4 to $8, depending on the distance traveled.

Adults pay $5 to $10 and seniors or disabled persons pay $3 to $7.

One child age 5 and under rides free when accompanied by an adult. Any additional children ride at the student rate.

Taxi ridership continues to climb since the pandemic, with 8,425 rides this past August, the highest in August since 2019, and up 2.2% over August last year.

The service does not operate on fixed routes. Passengers must call and make an appointment to be picked up and taken to their destination.

Almost half the riders use the taxi to get to and from work, the other half being elderly, have a disability, or are students, a recent survey showed.

The committee last month also updated its policy regarding no-shows or failures to cancel.

After three “no-shows” within a 60-day period, the rider’s future scheduled rides will be canceled and the rider will be required to reschedule each ride individually. Further violations would result in the rider being ineligible to use the taxi.

A trip is considered a no-show when the vehicle arrives within the scheduled 30-minute pickup window, the driver waits five minutes, and the rider does not board.

A cancellation made less than one hour before the scheduled pickup window is considered a late cancellation.

Suspensions are progressive: seven days for the first violation, 14 days for the second and 30 days for each subsequent violation.

The policy also includes a voluntary payment option instead of suspension. This option may be used once within a rolling six-month period. The amounts correspond with the suspension levels: $7 for the first, $14 for the second or $30 for each subsequent suspension.