Taxicab Service

For areas where most students live away from campus and hangout spots are scattered throughout the community, a taxicab service is most effective. A taxi cab service provides the same basic service as a van/shuttle program but is able to "operate" up to 24 hours a day, depending on the needs of the community and the financial resources available. They can be structured to work with one company (through a bidding process) or with several companies. Rides are obtained by either calling the cab company directly (if only one company is used) or calling a program dispatcher. Fares for program use are billed monthly to the sponsoring organization and may, depending upon the arrangement, include gratuity. Other contract provisions with cab companies frequently include a fixed rate per person, limit to where transportation is provided without an additional charge to the riders and a restricted number of guests permitted to ride with students.

Advantages

• Services large communities efficiently.
  
  
• No insurance, staffing, or vehicle maintenance concerns.
  
  
• Costs relative to use, which keeps the cost to service ratio constant.

Disadvantages

• Costs difficult to forecast, since they depend upon the number of cab rides given and the number of passengers per cab.
  
  
• Drivers are not trained to handle intoxicated passengers or emergency situations.
  
  
• Vehicles are staffed by non-students, which may reduce the comfort/security level for some riders.
  
  
• Only one company employee per vehicle.
  
  
• Capacity per ride is limited to about 4.
  
  
• Tendency for some students to use the program when not needed for the intended purpose.
  
  
• Ridership and billing inaccuracies sometimes cause financial repercussions.
  
  
• Unpredictable response times to ride requests.

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