Fair / 54° F
Cabs making New Years safe
Published 12:00pm Tuesday, December 30, 2008Local taxi services are stepping up service this New Years Eve to make sure the holiday goes off without a hitch.
City Cab has paired with local bars and car dealerships to offer free rides for those choosing to spend the night at area establishments.
“We give, I would say, ten times the amount of rides that we normally do,” said city Cab owner Monte Nelson.
In order to accommodate the large crowd, City Cab is manning five cabs, compared to the two normally in service on weekends. Minnesota Motor and Nelson Ford Dodge are providing courtesy vans for the night to help ease the burden on the cab company.
“Without their help, we wouldn’t be able to do it,” Nelson said. “It’s way too busy.”
For Nelson, and those helping out City Cab, safety is the name of the game.
“It’s safe and it’s sober,” he said.
City Cab will also provide rides to non-bar locations within the immediate area for $5. And while Nelson says they’ll make the trip to Elizabeth for $10, the company’s priority for the night will be to help out those requesting rides from participating bars, which include: The Eagles, The Legion, Mabel Murphy’s, Z103 and the VFW.
Drivers on Call taxi service will also have additional cabs on duty, and will run under regular fares for those requesting service within the area.
While police on duty will continue to monitor for impaired drivers, Fergus Falls Chief of Public Safety Tim Brennen said there’s generally not a reason to increase patrol for New Years Eve, as the amount of activity associated with the holiday season has dwindled in recent years.
“Generally speaking, it’s been a relatively quiet night for the most part,” Brennen said.
Brennen associates that to an increase in awareness and a growing amount of people becoming more responsible on a whole.
“There are free rides to help alleviate some of the drunk driving and the accidents,” he said. “With that and the designated drivers and various things, people are just a little more cognizant of what is available out there so they don’t have to drive,” he said.
