Council nixes new taxi cab rules in La Crosse

One member said taxis appearances have caused people to refuse to ride in them.

Nothing doing for now on a proposed crackdown on taxi appearance in La Crosse.

Tuesday night, a city council committee put the brakes on a proposal that would have, among other things, prohibited dents and rust on taxi bodies. 

The idea was brought up originally by council member Audrey Kader.

“The reason I brought this legislation forward was because of the fact that so many people have complained about the condition,” Kader told the committee. “And, there is one company in particular, they should be off the road in my opinion.”

Kader’s proposal wasn’t for everyone.

“We’re just being way too nitpicky,” council member Gary Padesky said. 

Other members agreed. Jai Johnson told the committee she’s somehow managed to find her way into only bad cabs.

“When I have had a reason to call a company, I usually wish I would have brought a change of clothing or at least some hand sanitizer because I have had some grim experiences,” Johnson said.

Despite that, Johnson was among the council members hesitant to enact new taxi rules. 

Cab operators, on the heels of losing riders because the app ride share company Lyft recently starting up in La Crosse, argued that the requirements for clean, non-rusty, dent-free cabs would be a prohibitive cost burden. 

“Their vehicles, people have told me they refuse to ride in them,” Kader said. “That’s what I want to see addressed.”

The city council committee used a procedural move to essentially stop Kader’s proposal.