AZCentral.com Article

Jane Larson
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 17, 2008 12:00 AM

On one hand, Aaron Kern's new taxi company fits well with Scottsdale's high-end image. Nothing but sleek, black Mercedes-Benz sedans with leather interiors and unobtrusively positioned taximeters for his clients.

On the other hand, Kern is spurning the obvious market of tourists and big spenders headed for Scottsdale's famed resorts.

Instead, he's focusing on the less sexy but also less seasonal market of the city's regular residents and its nightlife crowd, people who may be leery of traditional taxis. advertisement

"When people think of taxis, they think it's dirty, it's smelly, and sometimes there's a language barrier," Kern said. "The only thing keeping us from growing is we can't be three places at once."

Kern, 28, started Euro Way Transportation LLC five months ago, after being laid off from his job as a real-estate development manager at Countrywide Financial Corp. He says the business model for taxis is similar to that of the shopping centers he worked on, because both involve upfront capital investments followed by short-term leases of the property.

Inspired by grandmother

Kern also thought of his ill grandmother and how dissatisfied he had been with her transportation options.

And he didn't particularly want the travel involved with his previous career as a pilot for a package-delivery company.

He picked the Euro Way name because it hints at the company's use of European cars, and it sounds like the customer-oriented phrase "your way."

Rates are $2.95 for the "flag drop" plus $2.25 a mile.

Even with limited advertising of the new service at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and by word-of-mouth, Euro Way has already broken the 400-client mark, Kern said.

Clients break down into three groups, each with its own time of day, he said:

• In the morning, Euro Way serves business people going to the airport.
• In the afternoon, it takes senior citizens to doctor appointments or grocery stores, often through Scottsdale's Cab Connection program.
• In the evening, it takes home bar patrons who shouldn't drive.

Pilots become drivers

Euro Way has grown from one taxi to four, with two more ready to go once paperwork is complete. Some of Kern's pilot buddies have become part-time drivers, leasing the cars for $450 a week and working the weekend bar business.

Two Euro Way cars are registered with the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, which regulates the industry.

The department estimates that about 2,400 taxis are registered, and that the same number operate in the state but have not registered, spokesman Steve Meissner said.

The department requires cabdrivers to have Arizona driver's licenses and for the vehicles to have Arizona registrations, commercial license plates and at least $300,000 in insurance.

Kern says that all four of his cars are registered, and that he and his drivers report up to 15 cabs a week that are operating without commercial plates.

Northeast Valley focus

For now, the company concentrates on Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and the Cave Creek/Carefree area so drivers can respond quickly to calls.

That's one of the things that appealed to Scottsdale resident Rosemarie Bremann.

She gave up her car four years ago because of macular degeneration, and now at 81 relies on taxis to get to friends' homes, to hair and doctor appointments, and to stores.

"He and his guys have been reliable, punctual and courteous," she said. "In comparison to what I was used to, he is tops."

Bremann uses Euro Way two to four times a week to get around town. And though it's not important to her, being driven in a Mercedes is a nice little extra, she said.

"It just brings it up one notch. It's not the typical taxi thing," she said. "It's nice to know when you get out of a Mercedes, it makes a little bit of an impression."

Kern says his favorite clients are locals like Bremann.

"This hasn't been like starting a company," Kern said. "It's like making 400 new friends."

A version of this story may have appeared in you community Republic.

Reach the reporter at jane.larson@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-6868.