Within the past five years, the public transportation situation here in Richmond has really begun to thrive. A few nights ago, I actually saw someone hail a cab. Hail a cab? Where are we again? This luxury has not always existed to this level, and yet now I can no longer keep track of the many cab varieties occupying the streets. This is fantastic not only for the sake of convenience, but also for the safety of those who’ve had perhaps a few too many (as well as others sharing the road with them).
Among the cabs that are roaming around, one company that particularly stands out is Bio Taxi, which utilizes bio-diesel to fuel their vehicles. I was happy to take a joyride and gain the experience of what its like to ride in a “green” vehicle. I couldn’t actually tell a difference as far as the replacement of fuels. But the actual car itself was pretty classy. Bio Taxi currently has a Mercedes-Benz and a Volkswagen Jetta. Whoever is riding in the back has control of the music, as there is a Sirius Satellite radio fixed in the passenger side head rest. A sampling of water bottles conveniently placed in the back seat is a surprising touch. With a nicely clad driver in front and extremely comfortable seating in the bargain, I was quite impressed, and completely unable to tell that the vehicle runs on kitchen grease. I had the opportunity to meet with the twenty-something brothers and owners of Bio Taxi, Jeff and Joey Anderson, as well as drivers Tom and Scott Racette, to get the full story about Bio Taxi.
Within the past five years, the public transportation situation here in Richmond has really begun to thrive. A few nights ago, I actually saw someone hail a cab. Hail a cab? Where are we again? This luxury has not always existed to this level, and yet now I can no longer keep track of the many cab varieties occupying the streets. This is fantastic not only for the sake of convenience, but also for the safety of those who’ve had perhaps a few too many (as well as others sharing the road with them).
Among the cabs that are roaming around, one company that particularly stands out is Bio Taxi, which utilizes bio-diesel to fuel their vehicles. I was happy to take a joyride and gain the experience of what its like to ride in a “green” vehicle. I couldn’t actually tell a difference as far as the replacement of fuels. But the actual car itself was pretty classy. Bio Taxi currently has a Mercedes-Benz and a Volkswagen Jetta. Whoever is riding in the back has control of the music, as there is a Sirius Satellite radio fixed in the passenger side head rest. A sampling of water bottles conveniently placed in the back seat is a surprising touch. With a nicely clad driver in front and extremely comfortable seating in the bargain, I was quite impressed, and completely unable to tell that the vehicle runs on kitchen grease. I had the opportunity to meet with the twenty-something brothers and owners of Bio Taxi, Jeff and Joey Anderson, as well as drivers Tom and Scott Racette, to get the full story about Bio Taxi.
How does it feel to be a Bio Taxi driver?
Tom: These guys are really hands on as bosses. They do the dirtiest work, they handle all of the grease, but they do everything else that we do. They never ask us to do something that they wouldn’t do, and that’s leadership. We’re all very spiritual and we really believe that providence lent a hand, and brought us together. I’m the only outsider in the group, everyone else is young enough to be my kids, [but] everybody gets along real well. It’s just a great bunch to be around, and one day when we’re sitting back and making lots of money, it’ll be worth it.
So what’s your craziest Bio Taxi story?
Tom: I haven’t had any girls flash me yet, but they’ve come close. I haven’t had anyone throw up, but the other night I almost got hit by a drunk driver. There were some knuckleheads on Main St. fighting, and they were all out in the street… Speaking of providence, that reminds me of a story. [To Jeff and Joey] Have you ever when driving the VW, Have you ever had any trouble adjusting the chair front and back?
Jeff and Joey: No…
Tom: One morning I got in and the chair was not moving,. I got out opened the back door to see if something was wrong and there was a 20 dollar bill, right there behind me on the floor.
Nice! We’ll call it a tip! All right, so tell me how this all got started.
Joey: About three or four years ago, I was working at Wendy’s, and I was honestly just curious about where the grease went. So I googled it and found a bunch of different answers, like: they go to cosmetics, bio fuels, soaps, a bunch of different things. I actually started a company when I was nineteen to sell bio diesel, and after researching it a lot [I found that] selling fuel is not an easy thing to do. It shouldn’t be… but I didn’t really know that. [Jeff] was about to graduate and I was like, “Look, I know how to make biodiesel.” Jeff and I were riding around in taxis, he was on spring break from school, and we were like, “This city needs some good service transportation.” Why not use biodiesel?
Starting a business at nineteen is kind of baller.
Joey: It failed miserably.. but that’s okay. Without that, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. It all kind of happens for a reason.
Where do you get oil around here? Are you allowed to divulge?
Jeff: When we started initially, there was a lot of real positive feedback because we were using biofuel, so that in combination with being young vibrant kids [led to] a lot of positive feedback from local restaurants. Specifically F.W. Sullivan’s, ChaCha’s, a lot of other bigger places in town.
Joey: Xtra’s in Carytown, Lady N’awlins…
Jeff: All [of them] pretty much came to us. So it’s really this great working model. It’s a win-win situation for everybody here.
Joey: We help them, they help us. If someone needs a ride, they’ll call us. And they’re fueling us. And they’re all awesome restaurants. I would recommend them to anyone. Even Bellytimber, its a great little restaurant pub right on Main St. It’s funny because my brother and I were saying, we do a lot of the…
Siphoning kitchen grease?!
Jeff: Joey and I do all of the grease pumping! and we do all of the fuel processing, which we’ll get into later. So at, like, Bellytimber and a lot of these restaurants, my brother and I are pumping grease, and we’re like “This is the best grease I’ve ever seen in my life!”
Because it has to be certain grease that you can use?
Jeff: Yeah, it’s clear grease. It’s like high octane fuel, like jet fuel. It’s our rocket fuel pretty much. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But you can tell a lot about a restaurant by the quality of the grease. And because we have these quality restaurants, the quality of our grease is that much higher. It just works, and like Joey was saying, its like a perpetuating cycle. Good grease, good restaurants, good relationships. People helping people.
I love it. Okay, so you have the places you get the grease from… How do you pump the grease? How does this work? Do you have a truck?
Joey: The original was a hand pump. I remember one time I pumped 60 gallons…
Like in trash bags? [laughs] Fight Club style?
Joey and Jeff: [Laughs]
Jeff: We have used glycerine, just like in Fight Club! We’ve done it all.
Joey: Yeah, but now Jeff and I developed our own pump works. I’m just so proud of this thing. It’s just awesome. And we have our big Ford 3250 1993 Truck.
Jeff and Joey: The Grease Gitter.
Jeff: You gotta put that in there!
It’s the Grease Gitter? [Laughs] G-I?
Jeff and Joey: Gitter.
[laughs] Just making sure.
Joey: You go to the restaurant, back up the truck near the grease, and then put the pump in the middle. You have one tube going into the bin, and one tube going into the big container on the truck. and it goes [buzzing noise]
How long does this exactly take?
Joey: It depends. The temperature actually affects the flow of the grease.
Jeff: There are a lot of variables. If you have water in the actual grease, pumping the grease is a pretty disgusting process. You never know what you’re going to get. You get gloves, you get fries.
Joey: We found three frogs one time. [Laughs]
Jeff: Anyway, there are a lot of variables that affect the actual process of the grease. A lot of people think we are taking straight grease and pumping it into our cars, but we’re not. It’s a very fine process that has taken years and years of trial and error. It’s still a learning curve. So what we’ll do is take the grease from the restaurant, pump it into the back of the Grease Gitter–about 200-250 gallons worth. Then we’ll put it into our machine, add a few different chemicals to it…
Secret recipe?
Joey: I mean, yeah, pretty much. Anyone can make biodiesel–I was eighteen when I learned how to do it. If I can do it then anyone can do it. So: take the grease, pump it into our machine, add a few chemicals, hit a few buttons, test it a couple times. Because we aren’t going to put bad fuel in our car. There are a lot of different testing techniques for the whole process. [Then we] literally pump it into our vehicles. It burns cleaner than any hybrid [exhaust]. It’s fully sustainable, and it smells like french fries.
And who doesn’t like the smell of french fries.
Joey: It’s subtle. It doesn’t smell like gas or diesel.
Jeff: This is a very practical solution. We’re taking a waste and we’re making it a fuel, providing an executive service to the city of Richmond. And that brings us to Scott. Joey and I started in July. Joey’s been working with grease for years, and [when] we finally got it running, we were over capacity instantly. Joey and I were running it [by ourselves] at first. We were sleeping three hours a night.
Joey: One of us would be driving during the day, one would be picking up the grease. [Then] someone would drive at night.
Jeff: We had to create a business plan, we had to create logos, we had to do advertising… So Joey had known Scott–he’s in Advertising at VCU. He had done some of our first brochures and business cards, and it looked great. So then Scott comes to us, and is like, “Do you guys need drivers?” Well, yeah.
Scott: Killed two birds with one stone. It was definitely a graphic design relationship for the first month or two, and that was great, but I saw an opportunity. I’m college kid who needs a job.
Yeah, and one that can work around your schedule.
Scott: Well, the flexible scheduling, and the fact that I never thought in my entire life that I would be driving a taxi in a city. The job requires a lot of one on one communication, just talking to people. Being able to meet somebody and have a conversation with them in 5-10 minutes. It’s kind of like listening to NPR–it’s really cool for ten minutes, and then it probably never happens again. You take something from it.
Joey: Everyone has met the craziest, the coolest, smartest [people]. Seriously, even celebrities.
So celebrities call you up?
Jeff: We’ve had football players, basketball players… I mean, Joey knows some of the VCU Basketball players.
Joey: If you take anything from what we’re doing, it’s all based on customer service. People see us and just think we’re green–which we are.
Jeff: We love mother Earth. We want to preserve it. And we are all about customer service that extends to each customer. Having said that, it seems like a lot of people have underestimated us. We’re had people come up to us and say, “You guys, this is not going to work.”
Joey: It just goes to show that we all have that determination. We all have that passion for it that really kept us going. People have seen Scott’s advertising and said, “Who’d you pay to do this.” “Um, he’s our driver. He’s about to graduate from advertising school.” Then they’re like, “So who runs the company?” “Uh, me.” [laughs]
Scott: I think that each person, aside from being a driver, has something unique to offer. It’s a close knit group because we’re all friends. We have a good sense of humor, we all cover for each other.
Jeff: They say don’t work with friends or family.
Joey: And well, Jeff and I are brothers. But everyone has an amount of respect for everyone else, and it works very well.
How does biodiesel compare to normal gas as far as miles to the gallon?
Joey: You lose a little, maybe like three percent efficiency. But that’s okay
Jeff: Our cars are diesel so they get better gas mileage anyway.
Joey: We generally get 30% more efficiency than a standard car. So we’re getting pretty good gas mileage. I’ve talked to other cab drivers and they’re getting 15-16 on the highway. We’re getting 48 miles to the gallon. Actually, the last time I did the average for it, it was around 36-37.
So do you keep grease in your car? What if you run out? Well, you probably wouldn’t let that happen. I ride on E all the time.
Jeff: We’ll do a mobile pit stop with the Grease Gitter. Either Scott or Tom will call us and say, “I have a quarter of a tank, can you fill me up?” I’m on it. I’ll be there in five minutes.
Joey: At the same time though, with the fuel, there are so many factors that are really important. In the cold months, the fuel is so natural [that it gets] supple and congealed, so you have to offset it with a little bit of petroleum diesel. In the colder months we have to run blends, otherwise the car wouldn’t run at all.
I can imagine this thick sludge…
Jeff: Yeah dude, like bacon grease. Thats what happens when it gets about 46 degrees and below.
So in summertime you’re thriving? Prime grease time?
Jeff: Seriously.
Joey: It is.
Jeff: Prime grease pumping time.
Joey: I went to go pump grease yesterday and it was warm and the grease was hot. It was just awesome.
[laughs] You could just jump in the grease.
Joey: Well, I’ve gotten it in my mouth.
Jeff: I’ve gotten it in my ear.
Joey: Its been everywhere pretty much. My hands are black right now. My shirt…
Jeff: We go from being very professional, then take this off [and] I’ve got what I call my pumping shirt. [It’s] soaked in grease. But at first people are like, “Oh, very nice, well kept.” That’s one thing we try to work on–our appearance. Just like our drivers.
Dapper?
Jeff: Yeah, thank you.
Joey: Dapper.
Scott: You can do it a few different ways, but basically just put together.
I saw on your website that you can schedule a pickup. Do you drive long ranges often, or do out of the area driving?
Joey: Richmond’s a very business and corporate city, so when people see our nicer vehicle drive by, they’ll Google it, see our website, [which is] very clean and professional.
Jeff: We’ve gotten a lot of people going to the airport. We’re based out of Richmond [but] we’ll pretty much go anywhere.
And you can still call?
Scott: Yeah, I’d say about 90 percent [of our business] is call based. People who have Bio Taxi in mind to call us specifically, which is good.
Joey: I mean, we have regulars, but we get calls from anybody. Like I said, it’s a very diverse group of people.
Jeff: You meet everybody. There are a lot of college students, a lot of business people, a lot of day to day travelers.
While I wrap up… craziest taxi cab confessions?
Scott: It hasn’t been like, “Get me to the hospital in five minutes or else,” or, you know, “Follow that car,” Hollywood style. But there have definitely been scary, stressful, extremely enlightening situations. You never know what’s going to happen next. I hate to stereotype, but generally, drunk military guys get in a lot of trouble. I work a lot of night shifts, [and] I see a lot of them downtown.. I don’t want to get into specifics.
Jeff: Probably mine is an NFL celebrity: D’Angelo Hall. And he wasn’t huge. He plays cornerback, so he’s not a massive guy. He sits in the back and starts talking to me. Friendliest person ever, him and his wife. He was asking me, “This is a real cool taxi, did you start this up?” I’m just like, “Enough about me, what do you do?” “Oh, I play for the Redskins.” “Oh, really? So are you enjoying your off season?” He says, “Oh, I just got back from Hawaii.” “Oh, the Pro Bowl. Nice!” So I asked, “How’d you do?” “Uh.. I got the MVP” It’s like, “Wait.. what’s your name?” It was really cool.
Joey: I like the really enlightening ones, like when you’re really stressed out, driving, and you’re just talking to someone from out of town and they really push you more. They don’t even know it. Those rides are just awesome.
Scott: I feel that way all the time. You get perspectives you wouldn’t otherwise, people that fit into my life just perfectly. It’s ten minutes and then they’re gone, whether you take something from it or not.
