STURGIS, S.D. – Sturgis is considering a more graduated fee schedule when it comes to licensing ride sharing companies within the city.
Currently, the city ordinance mainly deals with taxi services – and only two rates are charged. They are $800 for 1 to 3 vehicles and $1,000 for companies with four or more vehicles.
City Manager Daniel Ainslie says since the adoption of the two rate payment schedule, ride sharing companies have seen tremendous growth. He says as of now, Lyft and Uber have not been willing to pay the license fee, and individual operators are also unwilling due to the price.
He says in order to allow more individual operators to provide service year-round, the city is recommending adopting a graduated fee schedule.
He says the council can decide what fee to charge per vehicle. At Monday night’s meeting, fees of $200 or less were proposed.
The council is expected to take up the issue again at its first meeting in January.
