For over one half century, there have been two types of taxi cab companies serving the city of Madison - metered cabs & zone cabs. Metered cabs, under normal circumstances, are legally required to provide individual, direct to destination service. The rates for metered cabs include an initial pickup charge plus additional charges for distance traveled and for time not in motion, as determined by the taxi meter.

Zone cabs may legally transport separate passengers at the same time, if they share a common route. The rates for Badger Cab, Madison's only zone cab company, are predetermined between any two points, regardless of the route taken. There is also a nominal charge for each additional passenger in a party. Fares are often as little as 2/3 that of metered cab rates, while involving only minimal delays.

Badger Cab was established in the summer of 1946. Upon their return from World War II, six veterans with taxi backgrounds pooled their resources and established Badger Cab Company. Each one owned at least one vehicle and as independent "owner-operators" shared the expenses of a dispatch service and a business office. Badger Cab was Madison's original taxi cooperative. As business increased and the size of the company grew, drivers added vehicles to their holdings and leased them to other drivers. Eventually the company incorporated with the original "owner-operators" becoming shareholders. In 1980 Badger Cab converted it's fleet to cleaning burning propane fuel.