Christian Dubois is ready to roll out his new business, DASH, after some stops and starts put his plan on brakes along the way. “There was roadblocks, and there was roadblocks,&” he said of the year-long attempt to get the business off the ground.
Christian Dubois is ready to roll out his new business, DASH, after some stops and starts put his plan on brakes along the way.
“There was roadblocks, and there was roadblocks,&” he said of the year-long attempt to get the business off the ground. But after Town of St. Paul council opted to scratch the old taxi bylaw off the books at the May 24 council meeting, replacing it with a new Vehicle for Hire bylaw, Christian's plan to offer a chartered driving service has now got a green light.
“I like it; I'm excited for it,&” he said.
Jeff Dubois, Christian's father, described himself as “absolutely delighted&” by the change to allow private transportation providers to operate in town, adding, “I think the bylaw will best serve everybody the way they need it to.&”
While every business owner has some challenges, Christian faced a few more than most, as he has a permanent life-long disability that makes some things difficult for him, including dealing with high pressure situations and stress, he says.
“He is part of Inclusion St. Paul and this is a big victory for them,&” said Jeff, with Christian adding he's gotten a lot of support and congratulations from the people at Inclusion.
Christian says he's had the idea to provide a driving service for a long time, as even years ago, he would give his friends rides and they used to tell him, “You're such a good driver, you should drive people.&”
In St. Paul, he saw there was a gap in providing chartered driving service for people needing transport, whether they were elderly, disabled, vacationers or otherwise unable to drive themselves, offering trips out of town at reasonable rates and accompanying and helping people with things such as unloading groceries or helping them to the door, if needed.
After taking up the idea and trying to start up a business last year, Christian got some help from Employabilities and Community Futures. However, when he approached the town to get a business license, he was given a taxi bylaw with a list of conditions to fulfill, with Jeff approaching council to explain his son's plan was different and distinct from a taxi service.
“It's like asking a kid with a lemonade stand to hire a Gold Seal chef from France,&” Jeff told council at its April 11 meeting, with council agreeing that Christian was operating more of a concierge service than a taxi service. Council asked its administration to revisit the taxi bylaw to accommodate the request.
St. Paul fire chief and secretary of the town's policy committee Trevor Kotowich brought council the new Vehicle for Hire bylaw to review at its May 24 meeting, of which he said, “I think it encompasses everything council has been dealing with for the last couple of weeks.&”
While keeping the main thrust of the former taxi bylaw, the new bylaw lays out ground rules for private transportation providers, who will have to have a license to operate, will need a minimum of $2 million in insurance coverage, and will have to supply regular mechanical fitness reports. These providers cannot operate on a fixed schedule or route, cannot cruise town roads or highways soliciting work, and can only accept pre-arranged travel, among other restrictions. Councillors expressed their approval for the new bylaw, giving it three readings at the May 24 meeting.
Jeff noted his son was prepared to accept all of the requirements and had in fact done even more than was required under the new bylaw, getting a criminal record check and first aide training as well. “He's gone above and beyond.&”
While some people originally thought starting such a business would be too hard for Christian, or that there was too much competition, Christian stuck by his vision, said Jeff.
“He persisted, and he made it,&” said Jeff, adding, “I'm very proud of my son and what he's done to get this done. It's taken a lot of hard work . . . A lot of people have encouraged Christian and allowed him to go this far.&”
While it remained to be seen how successful the chartered service could be, to Jeff, his son has already accomplished a lot.
“I think he will make it successful. His future looks bright.&”
