Shared-ride county taxi getting back up to speed

Ridership on the Ozaukee County Shared Ride Taxi service increased by more than 9,000 rides in 2024, helping the service reach the highest levels since before the pandemic.

In 2024, ridership on the service totaled  93,404, an increase from 83,919 in 2023, averaging 7,784 rides per month, up from 6,993 the year before.

Those were the highest ridership numbers since 2019, before Covid struck.

That year, ridership totaled 107,706, averaging 8,976 riders per month.

County Transit Supt. Kara Ottum said the rise shows residents are becoming reacquainted with the service following the pandemic and that a new software program has helped.

“Ridership continues to rebound following the pandemic, and the Ecolane software investment has allowed OCTS to increase efficiencies without increasing costs,” she added.

“The software gives real-time visibility of fleet utilization and how to shift resources to the needs of the service,” she said.

“The on-time performance is always near 100%, unless there is weather that impacts everyone on the road. All of these areas of improvement create greater trust with those that are served by the shared-ride taxi.”

The rising numbers have occurred in the wake of several changes to the service, in addition to the software. Riders now use an electronic swipe card instead of a punch card, which also has helped reduce the number of so-called “no-shows,” riders who don’t show up when they say they will, since their accounts can be charged electronically.

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 2024, the number of riders taking advantage of that service was 1,678, down significantly from 2,348 in 2023.

Ottum attributed that drop to increased  fares in Washington County, where fares range from $10 to $30, while Ozaukee County’s fares range from $3.50 to $8.00.

The taxi service currently has a fleet of 27 vehicles, with plans to replace almost half of them and expand the fleet to 30 vehicles this year.