DUI Arrests Down as More Cabs Enter Lincoln

By: Kristin Bauer - Email

Updated: Thu 4:18 AM, Jan 03, 2013

Brandon Austin is a taxi driver for Happy Cab. He usually works day shifts, but not on New Year's Eve.

"It was pretty crazy," said Austin. "I didn't get out until about 9:00 p.m. because I had dinner with family, but when I got there the dispatch board was just blowing up with customers."

The company took more than 1,200 calls between New Year's Eve and 4:00 a.m. on New Year's Day.

That's one-third of the calls the company gets in an average week.

"We have Lincoln zoned off into different zones. One of our smallest zones had 14 people waiting for a cab ride."

Happy Cab and Servant Cab are the only two taxi companies operating in Lincoln.

Happy Cab just moved their business to Lincoln in June. They now operate in both Omaha and Lincoln.

"Our late night traffic is pretty steady since the start of the college school year," said John Davis, Director of Operations at Happy Cab. "It really kind of took off at that point."

Their numbers are continuously rising.

When they started, they gave an average of 1,000 rides a night. Now, they are up to an average of 4,000.

With the two businesses operating in Lincoln, the number of cabs is increasing. At the same time, the number of drunk driving arrests is going down.

The Lincoln Police Department announced Wednesday that there was a 14 percent drop in DUI arrests from last year.

Davis says, it's probably more than a coincidence.

"We're not trying to grab the glory or say that we're solely responsible, but I don't think it can be argued that we are certainly part of that equation," he said.

The increase of cabs in the city could be a factor, but the LPD is constantly pushing against drunk driving.

They just ended their “You Drink & Drive. You Lose” enforcement campaign, which ran from December 14, 2012, through January 1, 2013.