Frequently Asked Questions

How many cars and employees do you have?

• One. Me. My car and a back up for emergencies.

How long have you been in the shuttle business? (Visit my webpage too.)

1. I started at the end of 2023.  It occurred to me there might be a need so I floated the idea on Facebook to friends and they said go for it.  I created a simple web page, ordered business cards, and posted on Facebook that my services were available.  

How do you market your business? 

1. Initially, Facebook, a web page and distribution of business cards to hotels.  Word of mouth in this town helps a lot.

How do you determine your fees for rides?

1. An approximation of time and expenses: gas, car maintenance, insurance, and office admin.  

2. I also look at what similar shuttle services are charging.  I try to keep it below everyone else for those that are price shopping.  

3. I compare prices offered by Uber even though it is unlikely anyone can get a long distance ride from them originating in Boone. 

What expenses are there to running this business?

1. Obviously the car, car maintenance, car cleaning, and commercial insurance (about 3x regular insurance)

2. Marketing materials: roof top signage, magnetic signs, business cards, web page fees.

3. Office administration: this is time devoted to keeping things organized, email and text communication, spreadsheets, invoices, receipts, calendar updates, etc.  There’s more behind the scenes you don’t see.

What type of rides do you usually offer?

1. Mostly down the mountain, and then back up.  Primarily, this is to airports, but on occasion, I will also run a client to a medical appointment, wait for them to get done, and then bring them back. Once in a great while, I run a client to a second home for a holiday visit, and then pick them up a few days later. 

2. Occasionally, I will be the “designated driver” for up to four passengers for a night out on the town, a long dinner, or a party, such as a wedding reception.  

3. I will on occasion take a request for an intown ride but most of my business is by reservations.  I like knowing what I’m doing during the week and then having a life when I’m not driving.  Those calls for a short trip with short notice throw my day off schedule.  

Is this a “full time job?” or How many hours do you work a week?

1. In theory, I’m retired.  I rarely drive more than 4-5 hours a day, but have done dight hour days of drivng, a few hours of waiting in between making for 10-12 hour days.

2. Some weeks, I may drive every day, others, I might only have one or two rides.  .  It varies for a lot of reasons I don’t fully understand.

3. I really don’t want to work full time.  It’s not healthy sitting that much at my age.

Have you ever had a bad ride?  

1. Rarely.  The one or two that I would not want to do again was due to short notice and my ability to ascertain what I was getting myself into.  Local rides from hotels to somewhere nearby can go south pretty quick.  I’m learning to say “no” if my intuition smells trouble, drugs, or alcohol. 

What did you do before you started this business?

1. I moved to Boone to get my masters degree in teaching.  Professionally, I was a “shop” teacher, mostly in middle school, in four different counties, in 12 different schools. I spent 20 years teaching in Watauga County, in 8 out of their 9 schools.  

2. I usually taught at two or three different schools during the week.  Schools in Watauga are too small to keep some teachers full time, so we traveled.  Career and Technology teachers, art, music and a few others traveled as well. 

3. Depending on the school, I taught a variety of introduction level skills like: carpentry, small engine repair, photography, videography, character education, keyboarding (aka typing), problem solving, gardening, cooking, etiquette, drafting, desktop publishing, and even knot tying.  

4. I also acquired my bus driver’s license and drove occasionally for field trips but not a daily thing.

How do you accept payment?

1. Cash, check, Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp and credit card (on Square: swipe or manual input)

Can I get a receipt? 

1.  Yes, many clients are taking business trips, and I will email a receipt if desired. I can also do a simple handwritten one but the official one I email looks more authentic.

How do I reserve a ride?

• Call first, or text to make sure I'm available. Then go HERE

What do I do if you are not available?

• I can’t fulfill all requests, either due to schedule or fees. I try to refer people to other shuttle services that can better fulfill their need and pocketbook. There are lots of options to get where you want to go.  

What can I expect the ride to be like?

• You, the rider, set the tone. Some like chill, peace and quiet. Others are chatty. I like both and everything in between.

• I am a careful driver, and strive for the most comfortable ride as possible for the client.