Marinette council decreases Shared Taxi Ride rates

MARINETTE — It soon will be a little bit cheaper for adults, seniors and disabled people to take part in the Marinette Shared Taxi Ride Program.

The Marinette Common Council voted unanimously last Tuesday to decrease the adult fare from $6 to $5 and to decrease the senior or disabled fare from $5 to $4. The new fares will likely go into effect July 1.

Mayor Steve Genisot said the resolution is sent to the state, which must give its approval.

Pam Goes, a former Marinette alderperson, was critical when the city raised the fares last year.

“While it has been frustrating that it has taken nearly one year to get some resolution to this problem, it is my hope that the Transportation Committee continues to look at this issue as they had discussed in their meeting in March and bring the fare back to what it was,” she said in a text message to the EagleHerald. “From a professional standpoint, I have seen first hand the negative impact this rate increase has had on the consumers. The increase was never warranted to begin with.”

In 2023, the council voted to increase fares for the elderly/disabled population from $3 to $5 one way, and $4 to $6 one way for the other population groups.

Goes, a social worker for more than 40 years, has expressed her displeasure with the rate hike. She has spoken at council meetings and has written letters to the EagleHerald.

Alderman Doug Oitzinger, at the council meeting, said he would like to see further decreases in the fares.

“I’m glad to support this, but the council should know, this wasn’t all that was supposed to be done,” he said. “We still have to investigate whether we can add something called an agency fee, which will help lower the subsidy the city puts into it. The ultimate goal is can we get back to the numbers we had before? I want to emphasize, the work isn’t done.”

Alderman Mike Wolfe said the council has a responsibility to seniors in the community who must have transportation to get to medical centers and shopping areas.

“We have a responsibility to make it easier to get around,” he said. “To no fault of anyone in this room, most of this stuff was designed before any of us were around.”

Marinette has had the Shared Taxi Ride Program for more than 20 years, Genisot estimated.

“As far as the city’s perspective, we’ll continue to look at some managed care participation and we will do a rate review again at the end of the year at budget time,” he said.