Amber Malston and Ron Sowders opened Ron’s Taxi in Anderson eight months ago and provide 24 hour service all week. Photo by Richard Sitler | The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — When a Kokomo couple was approached by the Anderson Police Department, they brought their established taxi company to Anderson.
Amber Malston and Ron Sowders opened Ron’s Taxi in Anderson eight months ago, providing 24-hour service all week.
The business started in Tipton and expanded to Kokomo, and Sowders has a future goal of expanding to Muncie and Marion. The business will transport customers anywhere in Indiana and has made trips to Detroit and New Jersey in the past.
“We’re the only licensed taxi company in Anderson and Kokomo,” Sowders said. “We’re licensed by the state and are completely insured and bonded.”
He explained each of the four taxi cabs owned by the company is equipped with cameras and GPS tracking.
“The Anderson Police Department contacted us about coming to Anderson,” Malston said. “We have contracts with both hospitals, several nursing homes and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. The community has been very welcoming.”
Sowders said both Anderson and Kokomo need to adopt local ordinances to regulate the taxi business.
Malston said half of the business comes from Ascension St. Vincent and Community hospitals.
“We were contacted by them,” she said of the two hospitals.
The business has located at the former Midnight Mine property at Fifth Street and Madison Avenue, and Sowders said they spent approximately $32,000 to upgrade the building and start business in the Anderson location.
“We’ve been shocked at how busy we are at night,” he said.
Sowders said the company has hired local Anderson residents as drivers and a manager comes over from Kokomo to run the office.
The charge is $10 in cash or $11 for a credit card payment for runs in Anderson.
The couple pays the drivers 25% of the fee plus any tips they earn.
Two drivers are on salary at $400 per week.
The business has a total of 14 cabs in Kokomo and currently operates four in Anderson.
Sowders said the plan is to eventually purchase a vehicle with a wheelchair lift.
“There is a lot of solid potential in Anderson,” he said.
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