Photo REBECCA DOSER ’16
NEWS EDITOR EMERITUS
By ANNA SODERBERG
STAFF WRITER
Upon their return from mid-semester break, St. Lawrence students were welcomed back to campus with two new non-traditional taxi services, entirely created and run by SLU students. “Ticker Taxi” was the first to pop up, and began its services right at the start of this spring semester. It is run by two SLU individuals, who can be contacted through the app Snapchat (@tickertaxi), as you may have seen advertised through flyers around campus. The rides cost five dollars each way, and can be paid for in cash or on Venmo, which is a popular payment system from PayPal in app form. The rides are available throughout the weekend and can take customers not only to the Tick Tock Inn, but also to the Hoot Owl.
“SLUber” was created shortly after Ticker Taxi’s arrival to campus by a different SLU student. When asked about their purpose for creating SLUber, they responded, “SLUber’s purpose is to provide the ultimate experience in online accessible transportation to and from the premier destinations frequented by the SLU student community.” The purposes for Ticker Taxi and SLUber are similar, however they go about communicating with customers in different ways. SLUber is present on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, which are all apps commonly used by students. Also, SLUber differs from Ticker Taxi by providing the number of the driver in order to create immediate communication between the driver and the customer. SLUber claims their success is solely based off their satisfied customers, because their service helps create a word of mouth, chain reaction of what SLUber is and how to come in contact with its services.
An interesting fact that could cause uncertainty for the new taxi services at SLU is that you cannot become an Uber or Lyft driver and/or use the companies for their services in upstate New York. State insurance law does not allow the existence of these “ride-hailing” platforms to buy group insurance to cover their drivers and riders. Syracuse.com discusses many issues with these companies, and until they resolve these specific issues, Uber and Lyft will most likely remain banned from upstate New York.
While asking Annie Sullivan ’19 about her experience using SLUber, she explained that she was pleasantly surprised by their quick response on Snapchat and how they gave a waiting time of only five short minutes before arriving at the parking lot nearest to her. Eavan O’Neill ’20 described her experience with Ticker Taxi as “extremely helpful as a freshman in order to experience nightlife life off-campus without having access to my own car.” These two new campus car services have drawn attention from students in need of a quick lift from Canton destination to destination. The intent for both services seems to be off to a successful start. Look out for these two services, SLUber and Ticker Taxi, when you’re in a pinch and need a ride.