News
City to introduce bar-time stand
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Also by Cara Harshman:
Sharing tools:
E-mail this article:
As of bar time early Friday morning, a bus stop in a dense bar area will operate as a taxi stand, city officials said Tuesday.
Between 12 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday through Saturday, the Metro Transit stop on the 600 block of University Avenue, near Wando’s and Ian’s Pizza, will turn into a taxi stand.
Taxis from Badger Cab, Madison Taxi and Union Cab will serve the stand where people wait in a line for the next available cab, similar to cab stands at airports.
Madison’s Alcohol Policy coordinator, Katherine Plominski said she worked with traffic engineering, the Madison Police Department and the three taxi companies serving the stand to come up with a feasible and effective plan to increase downtown safety and convenience for people trying to hail cabs late at night.
Plominski said students are always looking for ways to get home between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m., and the stand will provide safe and efficient transportation. Cabs will serve the stand on a need basis.
“We are not out there to make life more difficult for students, or to increase regulation necessarily — it’s really about keeping you safe,” she said, “We don’t want [people] walking home alone.”
Plominski quoted from a 2003 Australian National Drug Law Enforcement study, which found “well-placed and frequently serviced taxi stands have been shown to reduce concentrations of intoxicated patrons and improve patron safety by reducing the opportunity for crime.”
This weekend is a trial run for the cab stand, Plominski said, adding the city modeled the late night stands after Seattle’s taxi stand system, which “has been a huge success.”
Jennifer Bacon, Metro Transit marketing specialist, said Metro agreed to let the city use the bus stop as long as it is after bus traffic stops.
Most buses stop running in Madison around midnight, Bacon said, but the SAFEride buses on the UW campus run until 3 a.m.
The ideal location for the taxi stand was State Street, Plominski said. But the recently started construction blocks key entrance points to the street.
“People were naturally trying to flag cabs in that area anyway,” Plominski said about University Avenue location. “Ian’s (Pizza) is just across the street, and a lot of people go to Ian’s at bar time.”
To ensure the stand’s first three days of operation run smoothly, taxi company employees and volunteers from the city will be stationed at the stand.
“We just want someone there that’s sober to keep people organized so people aren’t fighting over a taxi,” Plominski said.
Cabs serving the stand are not affiliated with SAFEride’s taxi service. Regular cab fares apply.
Plominski said the city hopes to add more late night cab stands to the downtown area in the future.
“Once we get this stand under our belt and hopefully add more stands in the future, it should really help us increase late night transportation options,” she said.
2 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Herald Blogs
The Beat Goes On
Muckrakers
President’s Visit Marked a Speech to One of the Last Groups Not Critical of Him
Extra Points
Top Classified Ads (view all)
HOUSES FOR Fall 2010. All houses are on W Dayton or N Bassett. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 bedrooms. All have parking. madisoncampusrentals.com
good idea
about time. cab rules in this town are just assinine.