Summer hurts Bloomington taxi business

Trying to get a taxicab during a weekend night is notoriously difficult in Bloomington.  

Waiting 30 minutes for a cab to take you home after a long night is commonplace during the school year. However, what happens when most of the 40,000 IU students leave for the summer?  

During the school year, between 15 and 20 drivers work for Yellow Cab Co., Inc., general manager Les Gyger said.

The average weekend-night driver makes about 40 runs and earns between $700 and $800. The loss of clientele during summer months leaves Bloomington with five taxi drivers each weekend averaging 30 runs each weekend night, said Bill, a Yellow Cab driver who preferred not to reveal his last name.  

“Callers get first priority because we have to serve people in the county,” said Bob Fox, another Yellow Cab driver.  

Although many customers come to headquarters at 217 W. Sixth St., they do not obtain a taxicab unless they place a call first.

“We are set up more like a car service,” Fox said. “This is not New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles. We are on a first-call, first-serve basis, and that’s how it has always been.”

Yellow Cab has 10 drivers working this summer. At least five others have left for the summer to find employment in construction and truck driving, Gyger said.

Summer hits hard for the taxi service, as business revolves mostly around IU students.

To cope with the decrease in students, drivers have increased their runs to local hospitals for medical deliveries, Fox said.  

The lack of students is not the only thing that has affected the taxi industry.  

“The recession has badly hurt business,” Gyger said. “Taxis are a luxury good — they are one of the first things to be cut during a recession.”

Bill identified one major recession habit contributing to the lag in business.

“We saw students needing taxis going to restaurants, and then out to the bars,” Bill said. “But now, they’ve cut out going out to eat.”

With an increase in prices from $6 to $7.55 per zone, many riders have become more conscious of their number of trips, Fox said.

Although the taxi company’s main clientele is IU students, it also serves the Bloomington community and does trips to the Indianapolis International Airport, Brown County, Lake Monroe and DePauw University.

Other companies have come and gone, but under Bloomington law, all taxi services must be open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of this restriction, few other companies have been able to be successful, Fox said.

Despite the variety of different jobs, many drivers leave each summer but return with the influx of students.  

“We lose drivers in the summer,” Bill said. “We don’t know where they go, but they find a balance and find a steady (income).”