THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609080056
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 86 lines
The last straw for Barbara Taylor came when her daughter Ashley approached her two weeks before preschool ended, excited by the prospect of a long break before beginning kindergarten.
``I didn't have the heart to tell her she'll be going to day care all summer,'' Taylor recalled.
So Taylor, 38, quit her nursing job and vowed to stay home.
Since that decision, though, she's become more mobile than ever - and many parents in Pasquotank County are happy about it.
Last week Taylor became a road warrior, traveling around town in a white Dodge Caravan advertising her new business, Kid's Taxi.
While such operations apparently are commonplace in metropolitan areas, people in Elizabeth City don't know what to make of the new transportation service specifically for children.
Some laugh and nod approvingly, thinking her colorful taxi sign is a joke. The curious come up to her at fast-food drive-throughs, asking what it's all about.
Even insurance agents were baffled by the business, not sure how it should be classified.
Taylor, however, shares none of those uncertainties. She knows exactly what she's doing and where she's heading, which is probably to schools and dance lessons.
``Everybody kind of thought I was crazy,'' she said, sitting in the dining room of the red-stained, barn-like home she's shared with her husband, James, since 1979.
``They said, `I can't believe you're doing it. You're crazy.' And I said, `No, I'm not. There's a need for this.' ''
Taylor knows that firsthand.
A nurse for 18 years, the Franklin, Va., native supervised the nursing staff at an ophthamology center and assisted in surgeries.
Like many working parents, Taylor's work schedule often conflicted with other family demands, which continued to grow as 5-year-old Ashley did.
Taylor didn't have family in the area, and she didn't want to continually owe friends favors.
Her husband, vice president for Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake's Great Bridge, certainly wasn't close enough to help her out of increasingly frequent jams.
The situation was destined to grow worse when the family elected to send Ashley to the private Albemarle School, which does not provide transportation.
``I knew come September I was going to have to ask my employer to either let me leave at 3 o'clock each day or work part-time. Being in a supervisory position, that wasn't going to work,'' she said.
So she quit and spent the summer with her daughter and stepgrandson, Justin, 4. Since she had the time, she offered to take her friends' children to T-ball practice, dance lessons and Bible school.
That's when she realized she might be on to something.
First, she traded in her Jeep Cherokee for a more spacious $21,000 new Dodge van. Then she got the proper license and insurance, which costs about $200 monthly.
She had a bright sign put on the van's tinted side windows and began circulating fliers and business cards.
The results?
``It's been just unbelievable,'' she said.
In her first three days of operation, Taylor has earned more than $400 at the part-time job. She's also decided to stay active in nursing, working from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a children's clinic.
``It's surprised me that it's taking off. I figured I'd just have a few kids regularly,'' she said.
With initial demand so strong, a logical question is just how many customers and separate schedules Taylor can handle.
She's already thought of that, too. She has a stand-in driver, Brenda Plumbee, and is already considering a second van.
Fares range from $5 for daily trips within a 15-mile radius of Elizabeth City to $25 for five weekly round trips. It's $15 weekly for just one way.
A $25 registration fee is required, which includes names, telephone numbers and emergency contacts. A picture identification of each child also is needed, and car seats are available.
``It's going to be a great business, I think,'' she said with an air of conviction.
But will her nerves withstand daily drives with a carload of rambuctious children?
``Sure,'' she said, smiling. ``The pressure doesn't bother me like it would have 10 years ago. And I love kids.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by ANNE SAITA, The Virginian-Pilot
Elizabeth City mother of a 5-year-old, Barbara Taylor, 38, decided
to start Kid's Taxi after quitting her job as a nurse. She has
earned $400 working in her first three days of operation. by CNB