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.