Show Driver hustles to t make cab service profitable Ted Martinez likes to mix business with good will and dedication to public service That makes good business in inthe Inthe the development of a taxicab service Martinez plans to buyout buy out from his uncle Bill Cook who started the business last fall with another local resident Randy Its a small town Im I'm trying to build buildup buildup up clientele said Martinez He has operated the service less than a month But he hopes to start making a profit by January He believes Vernal's growth will pro pro- provide vide enough business He also likes the idea of owning his business lilts Its going to help out Vernal and Vernal is go- go going goIng ing tu to help me out Martinez doesn't mind struggling even though he could be making much more money doing something else Layoffs haven't changed his ideas about the local economy either I see people all the time moving in I in has the only license granted by the Utah Public Service Commission for the Uintah Basin lie He can go to as far faras faras as Roosevelt and Jensen though he doesn't get those hose fares often When he does docs riders get a discount Martinez estimates that local residents needing a ride make up about 90 percent of his business Travelers needing rides to and from Vernal Municipal Airport or around town make makeup makeup up the other 10 percent A lot of people I pick up say they didn't know there was a cab service here I 1 dont don't think a lot of people know were we're running it it Another thing that worries people is that every place they go is far A lot never rode the cab to find out how much it is I is Martinez said He said his rates are a lot lower than those usually found in cities A native of Los Angeles Martinez lived in Denver and Salt Lake City before moving to Vernal about a year ago lie He drove a truck before becoming a victim of layoffs himself Martinez said his fares pay for maintenance of the cab as well as his answering service fee However he also performs in a band to help support himself and his wife Angela lie He said business has picked up as the weather gets colder something his un- un uncle uncle cle noticed last winter He wants to in- in invest invest vest profit in a second car You need another car but not all the time Sometimes I 1 get four or five calls at once Sometimes I IosA a t because of it he said At times he has to deal with the in- in inherent inherent herent cabby's problem of not finding a fare not because he doesn't know his way around but because the person needing a ride doesn't know where he or she is As a result Martinez has a poor set of directions to work with It becomes a management problem of wasted time and money Martinez said his local busineSs falls mainly into two groups o 0 housewives reeding rides during tI day or bar patrons needing rides IMP bun at night lie has a number of lIf customers whom he offers di discounts til t Some are spending 10 a week the could buy a car for that much lie He remembered picking up a and five very young kids for fl to 10 movie theatre lie 11 gave he her it a df II because he knew she I I 11 J the movie Martinez wants to eventually operate 21 hours a day perhaps after getting a second car lie Ile stops working at mid midnight midnight night though h he will pick up a fare if the person needs help He sa said id he picked up an older woman in Jensen early one morning An n earlier stroke prevented her from talking so he helped her register in a 11 motel I do what I can for everybody because I 1 want them to ride the cab hE sa icI Sonic Sume of these 1111 11 tar I even walk I 1 take them three blocks It isn't even worth it but Im I'm their only transportation Martinez said problems occur at times like the bar patron who wants to In have one more beer In the meantime another call comes in You have to US use instinct to know which on ones to get It II he said |