Ozaukee shared ride taxi shifts into high gear

Ridership on Ozaukee County’s shared ride taxi service continues to increase, nearing levels not seen since before the pandemic, figures show.

In September, ridership was 7,982, up 18.9% from September 2023 and just 7.3% lower than September 2019.

For the year through September, the taxi service has served 69,257 riders, for a monthly average of 7,695, well above 2023’s monthly average of 6,993, county Transit Supt. Kara Ottum told members of the county Public Works Committee on Oct. 17.

In 2019, the monthly average was 8,976. It then cratered due to the pandemic in 2020 when monthly ridership averaged just 5,539.

The rising numbers have occurred in the wake of several changes to the service, including new software that has streamlined the reservation system, an electronic swipe card instead of a punch card, and an effort to reduce the number of so-called “no-shows,” riders who don’t show up when they say they will.

Those changes have allowed officials to track ridership more accurately, Ottum said.

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

About 80% of Shared Ride Taxi users are people with disabilities or the elderly who need transportation to go shopping or for medical appointments.

The service also can transport riders to Washington County. In September, the number of riders taking advantage of that service was 133.

The taxi service currently has a fleet of 27 vehicles, with as many as 19 on the road at any one time.

But thanks to a surfeit of federal funds that must be spent by next July, officials plan to go on a buying spree, purchasing 12 more vehicles for $1.2 million.

To buy the vans, $968,566, or 80% of the purchase price, will come from federal grants and the remaining $242,142 in local match funds will come from the department’s financial reserves, which currently total $2 million, thanks to other federal grants.

Vehicles to be purchased include four Ford Transit vans outfitted to be used for bariatric use, four Chrysler Voyagers or Pacificas that are compliant with the American With Disabilities Act and four Ford VIP 2500 buses.

Three of the new vehicles will temporarily expand the service’s fleet of 27 to 30.

Each of the new vehicles will be ADA compliant, which some of the vehicles being replaced are not, she added.

The transit reserve fund, a kind of savings account, has grown to nearly $3.02 million thanks to a flood of federal money awarded to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act and other grants.

That money was used to help fund operations of the Ozaukee Express commuter bus until it was shut down earlier this year due to low ridership.

County officials also are spending close to another million dollars to purchase a tow truck for about $180,000 for the taxi service, to remodel parts of the Transit Center and other facilities it shares with the county Highway Department and to purchase equipment, such as lawnmowers and laptops.

If the federal dollars aren’t spent by July 2025, the money will be taken and distributed to other regional transit programs, Ottum said.