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Local Business News–Activities & Events February/March 2016
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In the driver’s seat at Red Car Airport Service For Venture Guelph Publications Ltd.
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While attending the University of Guelph during the late 1970s, Neil Wilson worked part-time as a driver for Red Car Airport Service. Today, as handson president and owner of the company, he continues to do so. “I still drive and I am very much in touch with everything that is going on,” he said.“I drive to fill in. A lot of times somebody has maybe called in sick or we are just extraordinarily busy. Myself and (vice-president of operations) Neil Armstrong, are ready at the drop of a hat,” said Wilson. Not only is he a people person but shuttling back and forth gives him a chance to interact with customers of the 50-year-old firm. “I enjoy talking to a lot of our customers. We have a loyal customer base. I like finding out what they like, what things they would like improve or change,” said Wilson. “It helps you make those decisions.” When he graduated from the U of G, he became a full-time employee as a dispatcher where, he said, “I learned about the back end of the operation.” Red Car Airport Service owners Bob Morris and Bob Tessier also owned Airways Transit in Kitchener-Waterloo. When they sold it Wilson’s education in the business continued there as vice-president. “The purchaser was not knowledgeable about the industry so they thought it was a good opportunity for me to go over and work for them for ten years and learn the financial end of it,” said Wilson. In 1997 Morris and Tessier decided to sell the business and they worked out a deal with Wilson. A constant in Wilson’s interview is the importance Guelph residents have had in the company’s success. “A lot of people have been Red Car customers since day one,” he said, “and a lot of those people are becoming fewer and fewer but there are a lot of people around Guelph who are still customers.” While not there when the company was first established in 1966, he knows Guelph was behind it from the start. “In the 1960s licensing was a critical part of this business A lot of people who are our customers today actually went the licence hearing to help them get their licence.” – continued on page 4
50 years for Red Car Airport Service– President Neil Wilson is pictured at Red Car’s Elizabeth Street location.
In the beginning . . . Fifty years ago Red Car Airport Service was born, but why the name Red Car? “Everybody has a yellow taxi why not a red car?” recalled Bob Morris with a chuckle. The company co-founder remembers it started with two weeks pay, and a sign in the back window of, not a red car, but a blue Ford. Morris and his friend and partner Bob Tessier shepherded the enterprise through some tough times, especially in the early going. In those days it was "all sweat equity and two guys with no knowledge," said Morris. By the end of the first year there was a small fleet of three cars, a woman working in the office and three part-drivers averaging five return trips to the airport a day. A single one-way fare was $8. Today there is a fleet of over
30 vehicles including luxury vans, mini coaches and executive sedans. The company employs 80 full- and part-time employees, including two on-site mechanics. These days there are over 35 daily trips to Pearson International Airport daily from headquarters at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and York Road. Regular treks also include Waterloo International Airport, Toronto City Centre Airport and Buffalo International Airport. In the 1960s a public vehicle licence was required to allow multiple fares in one vehicle. Armed with a lawyer and a lot of community support, their first attempt at getting a licence failed. Their second attempt shortly after, however, was successful. Said Morris, securing that licence, in a way, broke up a monopoly in the business. "In those days it was all based on the
passenger went when the bus went, not the other way around," he said. There were a lot of long days and nights. Their fledgling business was propped up by their other business Speedy Blueprint. Between the shuttle service and the printing business there were a lot of long days and nights. Local banks and related businesses were also a big help in the early going. "We didn't have much money but people stood by us because of our work ethic and we were local," said Morris. "We always paid our debts.” "Bob and Bob," as they are affectionately known, started up Red Top Taxi and also owned Airways Transit in Kitchener/Waterloo among other entrepreneurial forays. "It was a lot of fun but a lot of work," said Morris. "Looking back on it, you never plan these things, it just evolved.
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