BANGOR, Maine — For local cab driver Rick Seger Jr., the heavy snow that fell Monday was good for business.
“On days when it’s crappy like this, people still go places,” he said from behind the wheel of his Town Taxi. “People not only have to go to work, but medical patients, like dialysis patients, have to go to the doctor, people have to go to the store. The worse the weather, the busier we are.
“The phone has not stopped ringing since five this morning,” he said later. “We have nine cars on the road and if we had 15 it wouldn’t matter. We’re that busy.”
Between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday, Seger picked up a mother and daughter who were having a “girls’ day out” because school was canceled, he drove an employee of a local hotel home from work, and he provided a ride to a local man who didn’t want to drive his vehicle to his doctor’s appointment. The cabbie made his way slowly around town picking up customers in a minivan with studded snow tires.
“Instead of driving I figured today the safest bet is to take a cab,” said Lou George, who took a taxi to and from a regular doctor’s appointment at an office off Broadway. “It’s very rare that I take a cab.”
George has a vehicle, but there is limited parking at the apartments where he lives, so taking out his car means he might lose his parking spot by the time he gets back.
“There are only so many parking spots,” he said. “If I move it and lose it, it’s gone.”
Seger estimates 50 to 60 percent of his fares are patients heading to appointments.
“I have a lot of regulars who I take to the doctor,” he said. “You have that clientele and it’s enjoyable.”
The local taxi cabs were so busy on Monday that George called another company at first and got a message that said, “We’re too busy. Call back later,” he said.
People would be amazed at how many folks just don’t like driving in the snow, said Seger, who has been driving a taxi for 13 months.
“It happens a lot,” the cabbie said.
Sarah Ashton and her daughter, Cassidee Umbro, 5, took a taxi to the Airport Mall.
“We’re going to get our hair cut,” Ashton said.
“And get our nails done,” Umbro piped in.
“She has no school today and I have to work for the rest of the week so it worked out perfectly,” Ashton said of the girls’ day out.
Ashton, who has two children, is looking for a vehicle and recently moved to an area of the city closer to her job near the airport. For now, she uses taxis to get back and forth to work.
Ramada employee Julie Morrow, who has worked in the hotel’s laundry for about 20 years, is another person who could not get to work without local taxi companies. She is enrolled with Phoenix Employment and Rehabilitation Services, which pays for her transportation to and from work.
“I take a taxi every day except for Wednesday and the weekend,” Morrow said.
“He knows where I live,” she said later as Seger approached her driveway.
“I’ve been here once or twice before,” the cabbie said. “We do a lot with Lynx [Mobility Services], Phoenix, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Acadia [Hospital], St. Joes,” Seger said after dropping off Morrow. “When it snows many of the Lynx volunteers stay home.”
The programs listed above provide rides to patients, people with disabilities and low-income residents who have no other way to get to and from appointments, he said.
Riders don’t pay, they sign a form at the end of the ride, and the cab company is reimbursed by the state or local agency, usually on a bi-monthly basis, Seger said.
Seger works five 12-hour shifts each week, starting at 4 a.m. and another cabbie drives his vehicle at night.
“Basically, we lease the cars from the company. It’s all independent,” Seger said. “We split the fare 50-50 with the company and we keep the tips but pay for the gas.”
Since gas prices have dropped by nearly $2 over the last year, Seger estimates that he’s received a “$500 a month raise.”
“At the end of my shift, the last thing I do is fill up the tank. It used to cost me $40 and now it’s $20 to $25,” he said. “That’s $125 a week savings. I’m calling it a raise.”
Seger said he’s seen some crazy stuff driving people around, especially at night, but because he usually works the day shift what he usually sees are repeat customers.
“About 80 percent of my rides are regulars,” the cabbie said.