The Success of Courtesy Cut Short
Jonathan Schoenakase is doing what not many people would ever volunteer to do. After realizing that drunk driving was endangering the lives of people in his surrounding area, he decided to start a charity transportation service called Courtesy Rides.
The service allows anyone to call him for a ride home and most of the people he picks up are leaving bars after a night of drinking. Instead of going to their car and making the potentially lethal decision to make the drive home, Jonathan is picking them up and bringing them to their door, free of charge, to protect his community. While he does not charge for the ride, he does accept donations to help offset the costs of his philanthropic service.
However, Jonathan’s popularity may be his downfall. In the beginning, police and city officials didn’t care that Jonathan did not have a taxi license for his service. His operation was small, consisting of only one car, and the service he was providing was keeping drunks off the streets. However, Jonathan added multiple vehicles and now has a small fleet which he and a couple of his friends operate. One of the vehicles is a modified RV. According to the Chief of police, it seems that Jonathan’s mission has changed from one-way trips home from the bar to advertising round trip service to anywhere in the surrounding area.
City officials, with pressure from local taxi services, are now looking to amend the ordinance that governs transportation services so that Jonathan will have to obtain the proper licenses in order to run his charity service, which is now transforming into what looks like a business. While police haven’t received any complaints, they’re worried that if an accident were to occur between Jonathan and another car that the city could be held liable for allowing him to operate his transportation service without a license. Police have even gone so far as to put an undercover officer on his bus to see if Jonathan would try to convince people to leave him tips or donations, neither of which he was ever observed doing.
It seems that while Jonathan’s service is growing in popularity, his mission hasn’t actually changed. He wants people to be transported safely and is willing to put in his time and money to see that it happens. While he should obtain the appropriate licenses, as any transportation service should, the harassment he is now receiving from authorities and city officials is baffling. That they would attempt to cease his operation by amending a city law is absurd, considering that the alternative would most likely be an increase of drunk drivers on the road who would rather drive than pay for a cab.
What Jonathan is doing is important and shows a level of public responsibility that may not be understood because it simply isn’t seen anymore. I know many towns and cities that would benefit from this type of service and if legal matters are put in place to block it, then others who may have considered emulating this may be discouraged. That would be a shame. I truly hope that the city does not erect ridiculous legal barriers that will force him to shut down, because I think they would seriously regret the result.
To read the original article, please go to http://www3.whig.com/whig/blogs/citybeat/2009/09/success-may-end-up-hurting-courtesy-rides