For 2 Million Safe Rides Home, Dial 1-888-TAXIGUY
Justin Raymond has always been an entrepreneur at heart, and one who takes pride in his community. Even while working for a major global corporation in the US, he kept an eye out for a sound business idea which would also improve the well-being of society. One day, it came to him. In his extensive business travels, he was struck by the number of times that people end up driving after drinking, mainly due to the difficulty of finding a taxi. He thought, if only we could have an easy-to-remember, nation-wide number which would always reach a local taxi company. Clearly, there was a need – and addressing it could save lives.
Thus TAXIGUY was born. Heading back to his native Canada,Justin met with Canada’s Brewers Association for ideas on potential partnerships. Heeding their advice to approach one of the nation’s major brewers, he went to Molson. “Molson was a natural for me. The company’s support for community activities like hockey and music really resonated with my priorities,” says Justin. “Plus, Molson has always been my favorite beer.”
At that point, in the Spring of 1998, he met with Molson representatives and found the company was immediately receptive to supporting TAXIGUY as exclusive partner. “I presented my business plan, we agreed on funding, and set performance benchmarks,” Justin remembers. Next, he embarked on a three-year process of building TAXIGUY’s national infrastructure, which now includes 425 taxi companies and spans 700 Canadian cities and towns. “Molson was very emphatic about serving the smaller towns,” notes Justin, “since studies have shown that areas without large public transportation systems are more likely to experience impaired driving.”
A few years ago, TAXIGUY and Molson rolled out TAXI DOLLARS, gift certificates which serve as currency for a safe ride home. Molson and its distributors give away TAXI DOLLARS at sponsored events, and they are also available for individuals to exchange with friends. According to Ferg Devins, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for Molson, taxi dollars have been distributed from coast to coast and remain available for sales personnel to access for special events, “and that’s a lot of safe rides home.”
For further information, please visit www.TAXIGUY.com and www.TAXIDOLLARS.com.
