O' Bryan's Taxi (Boonville)

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Anonymous on 5/19/2009 9:58:30 AM:

I spoke with Eddie a week prior to our bike trip from Rocheport to arrange a shuttle. We were biking east and wanted to be transported back to Rocheport at the end of the day. He quoted us a price of $1 a mile with a maximum of $35. I told him we would have 4 bikes and 4 people and he said the price would oover everyone and just to call on a cell when we needed to be picked up. When we called from the trail he wanted to know how many bikes we had and when I told him we had 4 bikes, 2 recumbents and 2 regular bikes, he said he had no way to haul recumbents. He said he would see "what he could find" and would call us back. He located a truck and a van and called us back and said that he would be there in 45 minutes. It took him an hour and a half and he piled our bikes into the back of a truck (no racks) and we rode in his van (very dirty, old and no seat belts). When we all got back to Rocheport he told us it would be $48 and I told him about the maximum $35 he had quoted. He argued with me and finally just accepted the $35. I felt this service was very unprofessional and was definitley the "low point" of our otherwise wonderful weekend.

Trek on 5/19/2009 10:23:41 AM:

That sure doesn't sound like a highlight....but just reading your post, you pulled a change-up on the guy telling him after the fact that you had special or differing circumstances.

It seems that to the layman a bike is a two wheeler, upright, conventional system. Amtrak seems to have the same idea. You can haul a "bike" on the train, but not a tandem or a recumbent. When you ride a tandem or recumbent, I think the burden is on us to explain how it differs from a regular bike when we wish to transport, ship, etc. as they do have different requirements. Or at least let the carrier know ahead of time what you want hauled. I sure can't haul our tandem the same way as the half bikes.

Gary near Tebbetts from Tebbetts on 5/19/2009 7:48:04 PM:

Sounds like you owe O'Bryans the $13 to me. Not fully disclosing the special requirements of you transportation needs was not proper Katy Trail etiquette.

robert from columbia on 5/20/2009 12:31:26 AM:

FWIW - I agree with the other posters

Doug from Bluffton on 5/20/2009 5:31:28 AM:

Sounds like Eddie lost money on you, went out of his way to help in special circumstances, and to top it off you diss him here. Hope you didn't give him your name.

Tom on 5/20/2009 6:18:20 PM:

He took a truck AND a van to get you and the bikes to Rocheport? I think Eddie should have told you it would be $48 before you got into the vehicles, not after he dropped you off, but for $35 you got a pretty good deal.

Anonymous on 5/21/2009 12:01:24 PM:

Wow, guess I stirred up a storm. My purpose in telling my experience is so that anyone else who may be needing a shuttle will understand what they need to do perhaps and avoid possibly being stranded on the trail as I thought we were. It is difficult to explain without writing a "book" all the conversation that took place with this shuttle experience. Suffice it to say that I DID tell him or one of his employees before the trip what kind of bicycles we would be riding. After he picked us up, he said that the bikes we had would have been no problem with his regular van, he thought we had "tandems" or one of "those really long bikes" in his words. After riding 20 miles and being on the trail for 6 hours, our first conversation with him through the cell call seemed to us would result in us having to pedal all the way back to Rocheport and not get there before dark. I just think that a business that advertises a bike shuttle service would be more prepared, professional, and timely.

Trek on 5/21/2009 2:09:40 PM:

Your "purpose in telling" your "experience is so that anyone else who may be needing a shuttle will understand what they need to do perhaps and avoid possibly being stranded on the trail as I thought we were."

For real now? That was your purpose, but yet you did not provide any sage advice to help anyone understand what they needed to do. I offered advice, not you. You thought you were stranded, but you weren't? I thought I had hit a deer north of Pilot Grove a couple of years ago and visions of me all skinned up, bloody, with a bike I couldn't ride flashed through my head. But actually, I jammed on the brakes and missed hitting her hind quarter by inches. Darn...good story gone bad there.

And all in all, each person in your group paid $8.75 to be shuttled 20 miles with their bike. Maybe they could be more prepaired, more professional, or faster on the draw....but it only cost you the price of a burger and some greasy fries!

Doug from Bluffton on 5/21/2009 8:26:12 PM:

Hey Trek! Have you noticed he never has used a name or hometown? Must not be TOO proud of his "advice" of which I didn't see any, just whining. Or maybe he DID give Eddie his name and doesn't want it spread around. Or maybe he'll Man Up and call Eddie to apologize and pay his due.

Trek on 5/21/2009 10:21:40 PM:

I guess I just don't understand some people. It cost less than 9 bucks a person with their bike and there has to be something wrong?

Someone wasn't as professional, as fast, or as prepaired as they should have been for only 9 bucks?

How do folks afford to ride a bent who quibble over pocket change? What on earth do people expect for only 9 bucks?

dmxrob from Boonville, MO on 5/24/2009 8:35:19 PM:

Geez, these people jump through hoops for you and all you have to do is complain and stiff them? Sounds like next time they just need to leave you on the trail and tell you to find your own transport.

You don't ride the trail and expect a butler and chauffer waiting for you at every waypoint.

Richard from Weston on 5/26/2009 7:33:32 PM:

I stranded myself on the trail last year- exhausted. I called the guy out of Rocheport (I don't think he is still there). He came and got me took me back to Rocheport, helped me find a room, and checked on me later to see if I was okay. He couldn't have been nicer but his service was expensive. But, he was well worth every dollar. He went thru a lot of difficulty getting me back to safty. I think you owe more than $13. Next time make sure your daddy knows where you are.

Bill from Jefferson City on 10/13/2009 10:22:02 AM:

Being in the transportation business myself, i realized all to well how hard it is to be equipped for every situation. I rely on my customers to fully apprise me of their transportation needs. I also will say that 1 dollar per mile is cheap as most companies who carry bikes charge 1.50 to 2.00 plus hauling fees for bicycles. Any taxicab may be found dirty at given points in time (they are public transportation), however state inspections dictate that the seat belts are installed in these vehicles. I have used O'Bryan's Taxi service on several occasions when visiting Boonville and have always found them to be courteous and helpful.

Charla Pickerel from St. Joseph Missouri on 10/14/2009 8:15:41 AM:

I am very grateful to the transportation offered me and my four freinds and our bikes (regular) from Rocheport to Boonville. It wasn't O'Bryans, but Brett from Mighty Mo Canoe Rental picked us up at the General Store and packed our bikes for us and was very nice and accomadating. I don't think shuttling is his business necessarily. But we were very glad he was willing to help. My friend had hurt her knee and couldn't ride back the 13 miles to Boonville, beside the fact it had gotten quite cool by 4:30. I think the lesson here is make sure you tell the service what you have before you ask for a price. And as far as the dirty van...if it was late in the day at all....dirty bikes and bikers can do that.Kudos to the owner of the General Store and Brett at Mighty MO for all their help!!! Four Stranded Cyclists

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