Catching a ride

WASILLA — If your car breaks down, you’ve had a touch too much to drink or you need a lift to the airport, a ride from a taxi is just a phone call away.

If you call a local taxi, chances are you’re in good hands. Before being hired, taxi drivers have to have a spotless driving record and pass a criminal background check. And if your driver is Jon Tilton from Mat-Su Independent Taxi, you’ll have a friendly conversation to pass the time.

Tilton has been driving in the Mat-Su since 2003 and talked about being a taxi driver during a recent ride from Wasilla to Palmer.

Frontiersman: How long have you been driving a taxi?

Tilton: Let’s see, what time did I get up? Oh, six or seven years, off and on. I’m filling in right now. The regular day driver got backed up. See, my wife owns the company and makes me work for her.

F: Have you watched that cable television series “Taxi Cab Confessions,” where the antics of riders are caught on tape? Have you had any memorable fares?

T: I’ve had some pretty wild stuff, oh yeah. Chicks making out really doesn’t bother me. I had that once. It’s not every day (you have wild behavior).

F: Pretty wild stuff, huh? What’s the wildest thing you ever had in your taxi?

T: I picked up some kids from the Dead Dog and I took them to Fish Heads, when it was still open. The two dudes and a woman were getting in a fight in the parking lot, so I told the bouncer I’d just pick them up and take them out of here before something happens. We get in the car, they’re all three in the back, and the bouncer goes, “By the way, this knife belongs to one of them.” It was a huge knife, too. So, I put it in the door pocket. So, it’s snowing like crazy, about a foot of snow, and the two dudes get in a fight in the back seat. I stopped the car in the middle of the road, opened the door and said, “Hey, you, get in the front.” So he did. Then I get them out there (to their destination) and they go for the house and I say to one of the dudes, “You know what? It’s pretty stupid taking a big knife to the bar like that. Somebody’s liable to use it on you.” So I pull out the knife to give to him and he goes, “Oh, that’s not my knife.” Then he pulls one out of his belt that’s even bigger.

F: What do you like most about driving a cab?

T: It’s like therapy, because you’re away from the house and you meet people. You be nice to them and sometimes you make friendships even. We have people we don’t see for a year, but they come back. They’re airport customers, like for New Year’s Eve.

F: How do taxi drivers make their money?

T: Cross your fingers and toes that you’re not going to get (taken advantage of). Yeah, it’s a (volume) business. In our cab company, we work on a sliding scale so if the drivers aren’t making any money, we don’t make any money. … It’s a numbers game. If people need a ride, there’s business. If people’s cars are running, it’s slow.

F: How is a fare calculated?

T: I have a meter here. You can go by the mile or time or both. I usually don’t have the time on. If you have to make a quick stop at the store, I don’t have the time running on that. A lot of people run time and the miles, but I don’t.

F: The taxi business has a reputation for being competitive in larger cities. Is it competitive in the Valley as well?

T: Yeah, it is. For the longest time one cab company had a deal with MASCOT and finally we had to go to MASCOT and threaten to sue them to get some of that business.

F: How many cabs and drivers does your company have?

T: We’ve got three cabs. There are two nighttime guys who split the nights and a daytime guy. They work 12-hour shifts. We had one driver who tried to work seven days a week. We told him he couldn’t. You work that many hours seven days a week you’ll get burnt out.

F: Is driving a taxi a dangerous business?

T: I guess it could be, but not really. When the economy gets worse, sure, we could have (more) problems.

F: What should someone tip his or her taxi driver?

T: Oh, I don’t know. If it’s a long run, like to the airport, maybe $10. The driver’s not making a lot of money, especially with gas. When we started, gas was $1.20 a gallon. … I brought this one woman in from the airport the other day and she gave me a $25 tip. That was sweet.

F: What should people expect from their taxi driver?

T: Friendly, courteous service. They should get out and help them put their groceries in at the store, offer to help them up to their door.

F: What’s the etiquette for smoking in a taxi?

T: Well, I don’t smoke and wish people wouldn’t. But, if they’ve been drinking especially, sometimes the customers want to. I had a customer one time who told me if he couldn’t smoke in the car, he wouldn’t ride with me. But, those cigarettes, they burn holes in your seats and everything. If you want to smoke, go ahead, but roll the window down.

F: Have you ever had to deal with a medical emergency in your taxi?

T: So far, not really. I did have this one bar call me up because they thought this woman was overdosing on drugs, so we hauled her on down to the hospital. But if people are being stupid like that, they need to call an ambulance, not me.

F: So, you haven’t had to deal with the stereotypical cab driver delivering a baby and the way to the hospital?

T: No, nothing like that. I bet I could, but I wouldn’t want to.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.