Todd Hubler
Madison and other Wisconsin cities have already lost their ability to regulate Uber and Lyft. Soon, they might not be able to regulate cabs, either.
A bill working its way through the state Legislature would overhaul the regulatory system for taxicabs, eliminating the authority of local governments to license taxicab operators and taxicab businesses. The bill would move all oversight to the state Department of Safety and Professional Services and bar municipalities from creating their own rules.
It mirrors a 2015 law outlawing municipal legislation for “transportation network companies” — or TNCs — like Uber and Lyft.
“The goal of this legislation is to decrease government regulation and increase competition by allowing taxi companies to compete on a level playing field statewide,” bill sponsor Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) said in prepared testimony on Feb. 8.
But critics say it’s a misguided effort. “I think a one-size-fits-all approach is incredibly difficult if not impossible,” says Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison). “The new proposal on taxicabs looks very similar to how we’re regulating TNCs, which is woefully inadequate. We should level the playing field, but we should do it in a way that keeps people safe and ensures there are basic consumer protections in place.”
Subeck points to a rash of crimes involving TNC drivers, including a sexual assault in Madison, as evidence that the company-provided background checks required under state law are not as rigorous as the police-administered background checks required for Madison cab licensees. Some municipalities also require taxi companies to provide 24-hour service, anywhere within its limits — a requirement that TNCs do not have to meet.
“We should be setting a minimum standard, but we should be enabling our local communities to go above and beyond those standards as appropriate,” Subeck says.
Even cab companies are split on the legislation. Several oppose the Department of Safety and Professional Services as the regulatory body for taxicabs, which have traditionally been governed by the Department of Transportation. Being new to this type of regulation, DSPS reports that it would need to make investments to reprogram computer systems and write administrative rules at a cost of almost $27,000.
Cab associations worry about how the legislation could affect rural taxi companies. The Wisconsin Coordinated Transportation Cooperative, a group that includes cab companies, limo services, medical transportation and others, fears rural cab operators could lose state and federal grants for providing city mass transit services, since a condition of the grants is that the operators be licensed by the municipality in which they work.
The Cooperative was among the taxicab groups that initially declined to either support or oppose the bill. Since the bill passed the Assembly with an amendment exempting some rural shared-ride taxicab operators, they’ve registered tepid support for the bill.
Madison and Milwaukee have registered strong opposition to the bill, as has the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.
There are two general schools of thought on leveling competition between TNCs and cab companies. Some states, such as Michigan and Missouri, have increased regulations on TNCs — requiring registration or background checks for ridesharing drivers just like the ones for taxi drivers. Other states have gone the opposite direction, reducing fare specifications and licensing costs for cabs so they can compete more freely with largely unregulated companies like Uber and Lyft.
Initially, the city of Madison went with the latter approach, passing a bill that required TNC drivers to be licensed, carry the same insurance as taxicabs, and have vehicles inspected at regular intervals. The Legislature’s bill negated that shortly thereafter.
Gary Goyke, a former Democratic state legislator and lobbyist for the Wisconsin Coordinated Transportation Cooperative and other taxicab groups, is hoping for a middle ground. He wants this issue to go to a legislative council study, a panel composed of legislators and citizens to hash out common-sense regulation. Goyke and the taxicab groups he represents haven’t given up on regulating TNCs and reinstating local control — something a legislative council study could achieve.
“Maybe [TNCs] have to guarantee rides in certain areas, maybe they have to be ADA accessible, maybe there’s issues that can be dealt with in this regard,” Goyke says.
“I think there are a lot of legislators who agree that regulations can change, but that a local unit of government should not be prohibited from saying what is best for its community,” Goyke says.
As the bill proceeds through the Legislature, the chance of a council study is decreasing. But Goyke hasn’t given up hope. “It tends to be an issue where the middle road is rather elusive,” he says. “But I am hopeful Wisconsin can lead the way on this.”
Right now, the bill is in limbo. It passed the Assembly on its last day in special session. Ordinarily, the state Senate, which is expected to return to session March 20, would pass its own version of the bill and then the two versions would be reconciled. But with the Assembly out of session, any amendment to the bill added in the Senate would effectively kill it.
