Dawn Smith is originally
from Las Vegas. That's where she met her husband, Winslow "Smitty"
Smith, and later the two ran a floor service company based out
of Myrtle Creek, Oregon. They happened to come up to Seaside on
business over three years ago. "We liked it so much we stayed,"
said Dawn. After relocation to the coast, Dawn managed the Edgewater
Inn while Smitty started driving a cab. "I was surprised
when he told me that was what he wanted to do," she said,
"It's such a little, itty-bitty town... but the cabs always
stay pretty busy. It's a good business and I'm happy with it."
Dawn and Smitty took over operation of Arrow Cab company from
former owner Charlie Chapin on January 1, 2000. Since then a number of changes have occurred. The first was to change the name of the company from Arrow, to Aarow. "It will come up first in the phone book," said Dawn. In addition, they have hired some new drivers/retired others, added three new cabs /retired two and signed on to participate in the regional dispatch program that is discussed in the article beginning on page 4. Part of the affiliation with that effort will be the acquisition of a wheelchair accessible van to complement their fleet of four door and station wagon taxicabs. "We had talked about the accessibility issue with Charlie even before we bought the company," continued Dawn. "We already bought the wheelchair lift and are looking for the van. It was all just perfect timing and everything has fallen into place." The van and central dispatch participation should be ready for implementation by January, 2001, she said. There are five drivers, including Smitty, and Charlie Chapin still fills in when needed. Three of the drivers are female, and two of those mostly take the day shifts. Dawn stresses both safety concerns for her drivers and the fact that the female drivers only work a couple of days a week to spend more time with their families.
Prior to summer season, most business has been local users, with a roster of senior citizens that use the service regularly to go to the grocery or medical appointments. They don't pick up passengers in Portland but will take fares to the airport for a $125.00 charge. Generally tourists using the service are those wanting to venture a little further from Seaside, with a trip to Fred Meyer or to Cannon Beach, "...since parking is so difficult there." In addition, they get calls from police departments to pick up drivers that may have had too much to drink, though no rowdy passengers have been encountered yet, luckily.
They do not have a central dispatch location, but all cars are radio equipped and calls are routed directly to the car radios. That means all calls are monitored by each of the two to three cabs on the shift at one time and therefore...no cursing, no personal conversations. "One driver's husband called in once to tell his wife he loved her, but that was a bit embarrassing for her," said Dawn. LCB
