Eugene (KMTR) – Taxi drivers in Eugene and Springfield were hoping to catch a break when visitors from out of town looked to catch a ride to the Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2008—but that didn't happen. Local taxi companies are not expecting to turn a profit during this year’s Track and Field Trials, either.David Bowden of Eugene Hybrid Taxi Cabs says back in 2008, cars, including taxis, were kept back from the TrackTown village, while free shuttle buses helped get people to and from the Hayward Field area. Cab companies added extra shifts and cars, thinking they would tap into some extra business. But they say they couldn't even get close enough for people to hail a cab. Bowden says it's a missed opportunity for Eugene, since cabbies offer more than just a lift.
“We're able to show them things and tell them things that they wouldn't normally find any other way,” Bowden says. “What bars are hot, what bars to go to, what the best restaurants are, what kinds of things they can do in their time off, what to look for, where the good parks are; pretty much everything about Eugene and its history. A lot of the drivers in all of the taxi companies around town know that stuff.”
Taxi companies were hoping to have a taxi stand closer to the action this year. Without one, they don’t expect their business to pick up. They think it'll be “status quo and slow.”
