Among the plethora of fee increases passed by the Milwaukee Common Council this week is a hidden one that will not effect the city coffers at all -- a substantial increase in taxi cab rates.

Milwaukee already has among the highest cab rates country -- including, for a period of time, more expensive than rates in Chicago and Toronto. The council upped the rates in several ways:

• Changed the way rates are calculated from 25 cents for one-eighth a mile to 25 cents for one-tenth of a mile after the initial $2.25 starting fee.
• Upped the fee for an extra passenger from 75 cents to $1.
• Raised the charge for waiting from 25 cents a minute to 35 cents a minute.
• Changed the minimum fee charged for getting a cab at the airport from $6 to $10.

The changes mean that a one-mile trip will go from $4 to $4.50; a two-mile trip will go from $6 to $7 and a 10-mile trip will go from $22 to $27.

Representatives from the two largest operators in the city -- Yellow Cab Co-op and American United -- sat on the Taxi Cab Review Commission, which voted on the increases.

Yellow representatives voted against the measure while the American United representative, which holds most of the cab licenses in the city and does not operate as a co-op, favored the increase. Yellow has historically opposed rate increases while American United, also known as Red, likes them.

Ald. Jim Bohl, who chaired the commission, says fares haven't gone up since 2002. But fares have been supplemented several times by $1 surcharges and other increases.

Other fees the council changed:

• Raised parking meter rates from 50 cents to $1 an hour near UW-Milwaukee and from 25 cents to 50 cents an hour in business districts other than Downtown.
• Increased the towing charge from $95 to $105.
• Upped the night parking violation fine from $17 to $20.
• Raised the snow removal fees and asked the state to allow a substantial increase in water rates.

Other fees up for consideration after the aldermen's August recess include garbage removal fees and something called a "tree trimming" fee, which will likely make people think about the value of the tree in their front median. City workers are in the process of measuring all the trees in the city.

A $150 so-called tavern inspection fee was put on hold for reconsideration.

A Six-pack of Lanes, Please: The Common Council says it wants only six lanes to be rebuilt in the Zoo Interchange rehab project and not the eight that state Department of Transportation officials favor.

An eight-lane rebuild would take out 20 homes and one business as well as a substantial portion of the State Fair Park parking lot along the south side of the freeway. Six lanes would also cost $150 million less and aldermen say that could be used for more infrastructure repairs.

The Zoo Interchange is the busiest portion of freeway in the state and rebuilding it would make it the most expensive road project in state history.

Ald. Bob Bauman, a major opponent to the eight-lane plan said, city officials should be allowed to play a more active role in the planning process. So far, state DOT officials have handled all the planning and given city officials occasional Power Point presentations along the way.

"Retaining the existing six lanes in the interchange saves 20 homes and one commercial property, and it channels the considerable savings to where it's really needed -- in fixing our crumbling local streets and bridges," Bauman said.

The resolution also urges the DOT to provide access to I-94 from Blue Mound Road, as long as further property condemning can be avoided, and to pursue a new roadway crossing US 45 between Wisconsin Avenue and Watertown Plank Road, thereby creating a more direct link between the Milwaukee County Research Park and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center and providing some traffic relief to the existing street system.

The DOT has urged a plan that includes something called a "Texas U-turn," which would widen the project in residential neighborhoods.

The state's plan for eight lanes does not even include HOV lanes for buses or other measures that would actually reduce traffic on the freeway. Aldermen say that's simply wrong.

Ald. Mike Murphy, another six-lane supporter, said the state must keep other transit options open in their plan, which it does not.

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7 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

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Posted by MilwaukeeCity on Aug. 4, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. (report)

OMC why not post a picture of a cab in MILW instead of Times Square. I know I'm being picky.

Posted by Hckyboy00 on Aug. 1, 2009 at 12:53 a.m. (report)

What a shocker, parking and tow fees go up, something that is completely abused by the city, but once again, you can't cross the tavern league, oh no no, they've had the state by the balls for years, and of course a "tavern inspection fee" is on the bubble. Parking restrictions and regulations in this city are a complete joke, the Parking and Transit, who tickets cars, have no communication with the police, who approve the towing of a vehicle, and neither has any effective communication with the City, who operates the only tow lot with 3 windows (one of which is always closed unless it's between 4 and 5, when surprise surprise, most cars get towed, hoping that you won't notice until the lot is closed and you need to pay an overnight fee) in a city of over half a million people. God forbid any of these people talk to the DMV or vice versa. It's pathetic. And if you go to the tow lot, they will lie to you outright and tell you that your challenged tickets will not have an adverse affect on your driving record, which is a fallacy, because you can't challenge tickets in court through the tow lot unless they are 30 days old. of course you can challenge them by phone within 2 or 3 hours, but for the tow lot it's 30 days. God forbid you live somewhere that doesn't have off street parking (like everywhere) in which case you are granted an entire SINGLE daytime permit for each unit on the property. That means one house, one permit, regardless of the number of bedrooms, legally licensed drivers, or cars that are registered to that address. And then, the city has a wonderful excuse of not ever posting parking regulations, which change by the week, month and day, nor are you allowed to contest a ticket under the presumption that the rules aren't posted. Just because they aren't posted of course, doesn't mean they don't exist. The city management of it's parking is atrocious. they pretend they have a car population of chicago new york or LA, while offering a terrible transit system that forces most people to take cars wherever they go. In exchange for their terrible management they constantly hike parking fees, and of course nobody bothers to defend them, because disgruntled city parkers who have been getting screwed by the city since the first parking meter jeep rolled off the assembly line don't have a multi-million lobbying organization called the restaurant and tavern association. seriously, piss off milwaukee. I've got another semester in school, and get me out of here. the corruption in local politics is embarrassing between aldermanic privilege and one of the most ineffective public school systems in the country, this poor city has fallen well off the track, and until something changes (which it never will in this continually deprogressive city) i just need to get out.

Posted by yvonne8753 on July 31, 2009 at 11:11 a.m. (report)

Also good for bringing convention business into the city.

Posted by yvonne8753 on July 31, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. (report)

Also good for bringing convention business into the city.

Posted by yvonne8753 on July 31, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. (report)

Also good for bringing convention business into the city.