County shared-ride taxi running full speed ahead

The Ozaukee County Shared Ride Taxi service started out 2026 the same way it ended 2025, with one of the best months it has ever had.

January taxi ridership totaled 9,064, the best January since 2018 when 10,143 used the service, Ozaukee County supervisors were told last week.

That comes on the heels of 2025, which had the highest annual ridership since before the pandemic.

Ridership for all of 2025 totaled 99,689, the best showing since 107,706 in 2019, and up from 93,404 in 2024.

Monthly ridership in 2025 averaged 8,307, the best mark since 2019’s average of 8,976.

Taxi ridership bottomed out with 66,467 riders in 2020, the first year of the pandemic for a monthly average of 5,539, the lowest on record.

But with things back to normal following the pandemic, the closure of the Ozaukee Express commuter bus and improvements in the taxi’s reservation system, demand has steadily increased.

All told, that’s enough to make the Ozaukee County Shared-Ride Taxi the busiest countywide service in the state, officials say.

One reason for that is there are no municipal taxi services in Ozaukee County, as there is in Washington County with municipal services in Hartford and West Bend, they point out.

Revenue from fares totaled $29,060 in December.

For 2025, fare revenue totaled $296,183, accounting for about 14% of the $2.06 million it cost to operate the service that year, with federal and state grants making up the difference.

Fares to ride the Ozaukee County Shared Ride Taxi are going up this year under a two-step plan approved by county supervisors in November,.

Under the two-step plan, that would increase the amount users pay to cover more than 21% of the cost of providing the service by 2028.

Fares would go up $1.50 to $5 per ride for adults this year and $2 in 2028.