Abraxi Taxi: A Safe Harbor in St. Augustine

Back in 2014, this was how we described Abraxi Taxi:

• Registered with the State of Florida

• Compliant with applicable St. Augustine regulations

• City medallions displayed on the proper vehicles

• Proper commercial insurance and current licensing

• Drug- and alcohol-free workplace

• Timely service

• Knowledgeable—and mostly friendly—drivers

• Clean cars and cold air

• No strangers riding shotgun

• Comfortable taxi vans

• A longtime independent St. Augustine taxi company

• Local business licensing

• Corporate taxes filed

• Money spent right here in St. Augustine

Operating a legitimate taxi company wasn't cheap.

Commercial insurance, vehicle maintenance, licensing and other requirements were part of the cost of doing business. Abraxi Taxi believed those expenses were part of providing professional transportation.

Competition is the American way. It can be healthy for businesses and good for consumers.

My argument back then was simply that competition works best when businesses providing similar services operate under clear and consistently applied rules.

Admittedly, I didn't always express that opinion quite so calmly.

This was St. Augustine, after all, so the old blog occasionally suggested hanging transportation pirates from the gallows and making others walk the plank.

No pirates were actually harmed in the operation of Abraxi Taxi.

The transportation industry has changed enormously since this was first written. Technology changed. Rideshare companies arrived. Regulations evolved. Some taxi companies disappeared.

Abraxi Taxi kept driving.

The old post ended with a line I still rather like:

A storm may be brewing, but Abraxi Taxi is a safe harbor to moor your ship to.

After all these years, I'll let that one stand.

Abraxi Taxiom: A storm may be brewing, but Abraxi Taxi is a safe harbor to moor your ship to.