Jackson board OKs cab license

Jackson residents who use Cape Girardeau County mass transit now have another transportation option.

On Monday, the Jackson Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a taxi license for Gold Leaf Transport Service. The move allows the company to officially operate in the city, though they have been offering transportation services since April.

Director Sherri Coomer was informed that its other licenses for such services as counseling were also valid for its taxi service.

In its eighth month of operation, Gold Leaf Transport Service offers counseling and transportation services to about 500 customers. Riders can use the service for trips to grocery stores, dental offices, rehabilitation centers, train stations, family gatherings and airports. The taxi service centers on Jackson and serves an area within a 150-mile radius.

A $4 roundtrip fare will transport individuals anywhere within Jackson. For an additional dollar, riders can travel roundtrip to Cape Girardeau.

Trips extending beyond Cape Girardeau are based on the income of each rider. Those with medical insurance can ride free of charge.

An estimated 40 percent are paying customers while the remaining 60 percent use their insurance to cover the cost.

Coomer and her husband, Harold, saw a need for the service while they were owners of the 24-bed Heritage Hills Assisted Living Facility in Patton, Mo. When they retired in late 2006, the couple began exploring the possibility of opening their current business somewhere in the state.

"We never intentionally targeted Jackson as our location for business," Harold Coomer said. "We really liked this area and decided to settle down here."

The business is operating off fares from customers and remaining funds from the sale of the couple's assisted living facility. To receive state funding, a business must have a provider number. Harold Coomer has filed all the required paperwork and expects to have a number soon.

The Coomers believe their business will provide a boost to Jackson's economy.

"By keeping our rates low and affordable, we believe this helps out the economy," Sherri Coomer said. "By not having to spend money on gas, they can now use those available funds for other purchases like groceries and clothing."

Since they began offering taxi service, the business has grown from two vans to a fleet of five vans, an ambulatory van, a Lincoln Town Car and a Cadillac. The company employs 10 drivers, including one former Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority employee, to transport riders.

Gold Leaf Transport Service currently is at 1166 Greenway Drive in Jackson, but plans to relocate to a larger building near the same location in September. The current operating hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Those hours may soon expand to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sherri Coomer said future satellite offices could open to meet an increasing demand in outlying areas the company serves.

She believes her company will not affect the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority's business, which also operates in Jackson.

"We won't affect theirs and they won't affect ours," she said.

Calls to the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority were not returned.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137

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