[July 04, 2011] Yellow Cab is still rolling after 65 years in Norman Tweet NORMAN, Jun 19, 2011 (The Norman Transcript - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Yellow Cab of Norman is celebrating 65 years of business in the city, no easy task for any company. Owned and operated by Clyda Teegerstrom, Yellow Cab is the largest such company in Norman with 10 cabs and 15 or so drivers. Getting to the top of Norman's taxi racket hasn't been easy. The cab company came into Teegerstrom's family when her father, Fred Sinnett, bought the business in 1946. A former owner of a cab company in Stillwater, Sinnett "thrived" in Norman, his daughter says, because of drunken sailors and cheap gasoline. "When the Navy was here, he made a killing driving those sailors around," Teegerstrom said. "And most people only had one car, so there was a bigger demand." A trip across town in the 1950s, at least in Norman, was only 50 cents. The same amount today wouldn't even get you in the cab. According to Teegerstrom, the 1960s were a rough decade. Reliable drivers, at least those not constantly under the influenfce of drugs, were difficult to find. Another thing plauging business in the 1960s was that the decade marked an era of rising overhead costs. Both cars and insurance, which continue to haunt the taxi cab industry, rose sharply in price. But the business survived and grew along with Norman through the years. Teegerstrom took over the business in 1998 and she says the company has grown steadily ever since. In a sense, she ushered the company into the future by accepting credit cards and having employees use mobile phones to contact customers in the field. "Dad was never going to do that, bless his heart," she said. "He just counted the money up at the end of the night." Teegerstrom also has established a working relationship with the University of Oklahoma and other local businesses. "The university doesn't want the kids driving after they party, so drive them where they need to go," she said. "And I have to admit that it seems to be working. It really seems like less and less people are drinking and driving, and that's a good thing." Yellow Cab also has been in the process of upgrading its fleet, bringing it into modern times as well. "We've gone from the Crown Vic cop cars to minivans," Teegerstrom said. "You can pick up more people in them and we need the extra space because of all the students we pick up (on Fridays and Saturdays)." As for her fleet, there is only one "Crown Vic" left. The rest are full-size vans and minivans. "I'm still trying to figure out which ones are best," she said. "But with all the students we pick up, the vans make the most sense." In the future, challenges lay before Yellow Cab like a reality-show obstacle course. Cab insurance is a major expense for the company -- and all other legitimate taxi companies. In fact, Teegerstrom says insurance "eats up about 30 percent of my income ... it's horrible." So, why does she bother? "How would you like it if you had a bad accident and the cab company didn't have the right kind of insurance?" Teegerstrom said. "That could turn into a huge headache for you." Those who don't carry cab insurance are another threat to the company. By not carrying proper insurance, they can undercut Yellow Cab's price. "If you're doing this out of your house and you don't carry cab insurance, you're doing a disservice to your customers," said Teegerstrom, who's been hanging around cab garages since she was 6. "We've seen a lot those (companies) come and go over the years." Aside from insurance, gas prices are another thorn in Yellow Cab's side. "Gas prices are always a nightmare, but they tend to go up and down," Teegerstrom said, adding that her company had to add a fuel surcharge in 2008 as gas prices soared near $4 per gallon. "But there's nothing you can do about them (gas prices)." Andrew Knittle 366-3540 [email protected] To see more of The Norman Transcript or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.normantranscript.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Norman Transcript, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]