The four members of the Shawano Common Council present July 10 voted to increase the ride fares for City Cab by 50 cents following a public hearing that drew no interest.
This is the first time in more than 10 years that the city has upped its fares for in-city service. Regular fares will increase from $4 to $4.50, while senior citizens and disabled residents will pay $3.50 instead of $3. The new rates take effect Aug. 1.
“The way this functions is we’re reimbursed for the majority of the service that we provide,” City Administrator Eddie Sheppard said. “However, due to increasing costs and things of that nature, in order for the city to maintain this service without it impacting our bottom line and potential levy, we did want to take a review of the rates to see if it wasn’t prudent to move them up.”
Sheppard noted that Shawano County provides a service to the elderly that compensates half of their fares.
“It is a strong point for the city to want to provide this service to our community,” Sheppard said.
Alderman Jim Hauer questioned if the city shouldn’t be looking at ride fares more often to ensure the tax levy is not impacted by the taxi service.
“Is there a way we could look at the rates every year to make sure we don’t get to the point where it’s 10, 15 years before there’s any rate adjustment?” Hauer said.
Sheppard noted that city officials do review rates annually, even though the council is not usually involved in the review.
“That’s why we’re bringing it to you now,” Sheppard said. “We’ve done some calculations, and we’re realizing that we’re getting really close to the money we’re being provided won’t cover the cost unless we do an incremental increase. I would expect we’d be looking at this annually to make sure that we’re staying in line.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
