Comments on: How the city of Fort Myers makes drunk driving an easier decision. Please comment on this and maybe something can be done! Cheaper Taxis! By: The Students Voice

By: W33573

W33573 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:16:42 +0000

I would like to play ‘devils advocate’ with a few comments that I have on your blog. First off great job on the blog, in my opinion. You seem passionate about your topic. I would like to correct you though on the ‘City of Fort Myers’ part. The City of Fort Myers actually does not encompass all of Lee County, in fact the City’s jurisdiction ends near Page Field with some entities near Six Mile Cypress. Your gripe would have to be taken up with the respective counties (Lee or Collier). Also, the funds that are used (at least recently) for DUI checkpoints are provided by the state. Local authorities like to soak up those funds to increase department incomes. Unfortunately, our area is a victim of urban sprawl and public transportation still has not hit the big time. Typically, demand has to precede supply in the business world. So, until cabs are used on a more frequent and regular basis, cab companies probably wont increase services or decrease fares. Also, college student or not, DUIs are much more expensive both in the financial and reputation sectors than a cab fare. Split the costs among friends! Cheers and drink responsibly!

By: Kristen Schwartz (FGCU)

Kristen Schwartz (FGCU) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:41:24 +0000

I don’t know how it would work at FGCU, but other colleges and universities have school or student run/sponsored taxi services which shuttle students from bars and other places back to dorms and nearby neighborhoods. Student programs may be run by volunteer “designated drivers” who can be called upon to pick up intoxicated students and take them home. I think it might be a good idea to propose a program like this rather than trying to lower taxi fares. Taxi companies have many costs like another commenter mentioned which need to be covered by fares; they are unlikely to lower their costs enough to suit college students.

By: Dara Kobrin

Dara Kobrin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:17:28 +0000

When looking through the blogs, this blog especially caught my attention. I work at Ultra in Naples and I see hundreds of people leaving the club all the time, and half of the crowd have been drinking all night long. I watch as all those people get into their cars and drive away. There are taxi cabs that do park right at the front of the club, but I never really witness any costumers going in them. I feel that it would be a great and safe idea for the City of Fort Myers to donate money so that cab fair could be cheaper for college students. If it was, I think less people would drive home, and more would ride in a taxi. I also feel that even though the price of the taxi may be cheaper, the taxi business would sky rocket.

By: Dawn Maurer

Dawn Maurer — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:16:42 +0000

I completely agree with this. My friends and I would certainly go out more if we did not have to worry about who was going to drive.
However, it is hard for the cab companies to lower their prices due to the price of gas, a driver’s wages, and the cost of maintenance on the cars.
Maybe instead of spending all this money on DUI checkpoints, the city could work out some kind of system with local cab companies.