Last year there were over 200 deaths related to drinking while driving in Wisconsin, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles website. An upstart new company is seeking to reverse this trend. ScooterCabs LLC is a new service for those that find themselves inebriated, away from home, and in no condition to drive.
Potential clients who find themselves in that particular dilemma can now simply call up ScooterCabs, and within an hour an experienced driver will arrive on a foldable scooter; the driver then folds up his scooter, puts it into the trunk of the client’s car, and drives the client home in their own car.
ScooterCabs was founded in 2011 by Justin Sisley and Paul Gilbertson, two UW graduates with a dream. The pair got the idea a few years ago while watching a foreign TV station. After seeing an ad for a more conventional designated driver company, it occurred to them that Madison could use such a service.
“It’s not an original idea, but we’ve given it a unique twist,” said Justin Sisley, the official ScooterCabs CEO. “We’re the first to incorporate scooters into the mix.”
Sisley has a regular 9-5 job during the week, but on the weekends he fulfills duties as CEO.
“That’s what I’m really passionate about. I have a job, but ScooterCabs is what I really care about,” he said.
He manages the promotion and marketing elements while his partner Paul Gilbertson is more hands-on with the technical aspects of the operation.
In the winter, ScooterCabs uses more traditional designated driving methods. One driver picks up the client with his partner following in a different car. ScooterCabs uses this method only in the harshest weather of the year, when it becomes too dangerous to ride a scooter. However, most of year the drivers will arrive at the client’s location on one of the eponymous scooters.
According to Sisley, the service runs until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. most days of the week, and costs less than a taxi. There’s a $10 pick up fee, and then every subsequent mile costs between three to four dollars. Ten miles costs approximately $27.50, whereas a taxi can cost more than thirty for that same distance.
Sisley added that the service is not only less expensive and more convenient than a traditional cab company, but also better for the environment. Between the 125-mpg scooters and carpooling with a professional driver, an immense amount of gas is saved.
Scooter Cabs has only been around for a year but has already achieved some success. Channel 3000 will be hosting the upcoming Top Shelf Tasting Tour, and Scooter Cabs is the official transportation sponsor. As the company’s stock goes up, hopefully DUI statistics in Madison will go down.
Last year there were over 200 deaths related to drinking while driving in Wisconsin, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles website. The MADD website states that alcohol-related crashes killed 238 people in Wisconsin and injured nearly 4,000 in 2009. It also says that for the past three years, Madison has consistently had a high DUI offense ranking.