The Wicked Good Taxi shut down operations in November after a run of 10 months in the Damariscotta area. Owner, Jason Simonds, said that although he was told by many people over the term that the idea of Taxi in the area was “so needed”, the reality was that just not enough people need a Taxi to provide a full time income for someone.
Simonds hopes to sell the operation to someone local who can afford to operate it on a part-time/ no-time basis while it continues to grow.
“I believe the concept is valid, but my need for a full-time income required me to shut it down,” Simonds said.
During the year the Wicked Good Taxi got lots of great attention on the Internet and through local marketing. “Everyone loved the name! It was a bit of a local attraction during the summer as visitors often stopped to take pictures of the Wicked Good Taxi apparently being operated by a dog,” Simonds said.
Despite the good attention, August was the only month the operation made enough revenue. Simonds said that rural operations are often challenged to be profitable due to the extreme distances and high costs of operations, so while the Taxi could pay for itself to exist, it would need more time to build a customer base.
The closing also strands many people in the area who were depending on the Taxi to provide them mobility that just isn’t otherwise available in the area. Most of these people understood that Wicked Good Taxi was on the edge financially, and they are sad to see it go as well. Simonds says that once he finishes collections, the business will be able to pay off its bills, so he is glad he won’t have a pile of business debt to pay off.
Simonds hopes someone with less income pressure can take over the operation and is willing to sell the package at a very reasonable price. Parties interested in buying the Wicked Good Taxi can contact Jason through email at taxi@wickedgoodtaxi.com.
