Student leaders are encouraging University of Wisconsin-Madison students to attend Tuesday’s Madison city Council meeting to support legislation allowing late night taxicab use on State Street, which they say would increase campus safety.
The city’s Transit and Parking Commission drafted new legislation in a meeting last Thursday that would allow cabs to drive the city's most energetic street between the hours of 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. looking for hailing patrons.
City ordinance currently allows taxicabs to pick up and drop off riders on State Street who called for their service, but restricts them from intentionally driving on the street looking for individuals flagging down cabs.
Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Chair Dan Statter asked students in a meeting Monday to show campus support for the legislation at the city Council meeting Tuesday when the city will vote on the legislation.
Statter said allowing taxicabs to service State Street will increase students’ safety, which is an important issue for his committee.
“It comes down to campus safety,” Statter said. “We want to ensure students that if they’re out having fun, whether it involves alcohol or not, they are able to choose safe options to get home.”
However, Mayor Paul Soglin said he opposed the proposal because taxis would create danger by increasing State Street traffic during peak hours of alcohol consumption in the street’s bars and restaurants.
Soglin, who has already threatened to veto the plan under certain circumstances, will be the main target of the student outreach at the meeting, according to Statter.
“I think it’s going to be a way for the mayor, chiefly, to see that this is an important issue for students,” Statter said. “We’re knowledgeable, we care about it and we’re willing to speak in front of him and the body about it.”
Following this year’s controversial discontinuation of UW-Madison Transportation Services SAFEcab program, ASM has made campus safety a primary concern in the organization’s campaigns.
Statter said while he believes advocating for student rights on all city issues is important, the end of the SAFEcab program is one reason he brought this particular city issue to students’ attention.
