Geoff Patterson is the ultimate designated driver – and entrepreneur. As owner of Responsible Boy Taxi, he has built a successful business getting fellow Grand Valley State University students home safely after a night on the town.
For a few bucks, Responsible Boy will take students to any location, from Allendale to downtown Grand Rapids, and bring them back at the end of the evening. Students can call the service between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during the school year, and arrange trips to apartment complexes, homes, bars – anywhere they might drink enough to pose a threat should they get behind the wheel.
It might seem strange that a college student would spend his weekends taking peers to parties, but Patterson doesn't see it that way – and neither do the other drivers on Responsible Boy's roster. “You meet so many people on this job, it's like you're going along to the party yourself,” Patterson says. Not only that, “it feels good. It's a rewarding experience.”
Patterson started Responsible Boy in 2005, after his freshman year at Grand Valley. He'd grown up in Haslett, not far from East Lansing, and knew about taxi companies that served Michigan State University students. At Grand Valley, he noticed a lack of similar services. “I'm always looking for a new challenge,” Patterson said. A taxi service became his latest project.
His first task? Figuring out how to start a business. “I'd never done anything like this before,” Patterson said. He began by getting information from a government Web site. He then bought a van and business phone, and got a chauffeur's license, as did his business partners, Christian Goetz and Dustin Fox. Insurance was trickier; many companies wouldn't take on the liability of covering the van's passengers. However, Patterson eventually found a company that would work with him. Once he chose a name – “'Responsible Boy sounds like a superhero,” Patterson noted – he and his company were in business.
“We started out slow,” Patterson said. He rotated nights with Goetz and Fox, turning on the phone at the start of his shift and driving passengers when he got a call. Business picked up by the second month, and as word spread, the company hired additional drivers, eventually switching to a partner system in which one person drove while another person rode shotgun and took calls.
Now, Responsible Boy has two vehicles and a dispatcher. The company serves an average of 100 students each night. One-way fares range from $3 per person for the shortest trips, to $5 per person for trips to or from downtown Grand Rapids. Passengers can also call to request prices for rides beyond the downtown area.
Business is brisk now, but Patterson has had learning experiences along the way. The first year, Responsible Boy was a sole proprietorship, which meant Patterson was personally responsible for its business debts. (It is now an LLC.) The transmission on one van broke, and required $2,000 to fix. Later, the transmission broke on a different van. Patterson also spends “outrageous” amounts on gas to keep his fleet moving.
Still, Patterson said he's not in business for the money. He has even thought about making Responsible Boy a non-profit service. Instead of cash, his goal is safety. Before starting the company, Patterson ran the idea by Grand Valley's Department of Public Safety. At first, officers had questions about where and how Responsible Boy would pick up and drop off students on campus.
Today, “the company has been good about [addressing our concerns],” says Captain Brandon DeHaan. “They're conducting their service well.”
Responsible Boy has also made an impression on students. “I got an email from a girl who said her uncle had been hit by a drunk driver, and she thanked us for being around,” Patterson says.
To promote his company, Patterson uses a variety of media. The social networking Website Facebook has been helpful, and so has the company's Website. Patterson also distributes fliers. Most business comes from word of mouth, with incoming freshmen hearing about the service from upperclassmen. But Patterson still sees the need for continual outreach. “Some students use our service, but there are still others who would rather drink and drive than pay the $3.”
Patterson will graduate in April 2009, and is working with a potential buyer to take over the business when he leaves. “Hopefully that will go through, or I will find someone else willing to take it over by the end of the year,” Patterson says. “Grand Valley depends on us.”
Responsible Boy has been an asset for Patterson, too. He started school as a film major, then switched to math. He'd briefly considered becoming a business major, but decided against it. As head of a company that was pulling in thousands of dollars, “I was already getting the best teaching I could get.”
For more information, visit www.responsibleboytaxi.com or call (616)
890-4419.
Tonya Schafer is a freelance writer who lives in Grand Rapids. She also works as a technical writer for General Electric Aviation.
Photos:
Geoff Patterson on the Allendale campus of GVSU
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved