ROYAL SEDAN AND TAXI SERVICE (aka:"ROYAL CAB")

On the island of Mau'i, the company I drive for is about average size. 12 cabs. On a global scheme, we are small.

We are based out of one of the major resort/spa/hotels in Wailea (why-lay-ah) and provide primary service to south Mau'i from Maalaea (mah-ah-lie-ah) on the north to La Peruse Bay on the south. We are the only cab company that operates 24/7 on the south side of the island. Most of the other cab companies down here stop operations at sunset. There is one that continues on until 11:00pm.

We do things a bit differently here. We have driving dispatchers. All requests for a cab come in via a cell phone and then are dispatched. I handle the dispatch duties on Friday and Saturday nights. On those nights I usually start the shift with 8 or 9 cabs on duty. By 10:00pm I am down to just 4 or 5. After 2:00am, it is just me until the first dayshift cab at 5:00am.

I never realized how unique this was until I took a Fortune 500 CEO and his wife to the airport one evening. It was a busy Friday evening and the phone wouldn't stop ringing. On our arrival at the airport, the man said, "Wil. I thought that I knew what 'multi-tasking' was until I met you. You're driving the cab, answering the phone, dispatching your other cabs, taking reservations for the next day and having a conversation with us. You never wrote anything down. You knew exactly where each of your cabs were and when they would clear their current assignment. I am impressed. Do you want to work for me?"

"Do I have to move to New York?"

"Yes."

"Thanks, but no. After spending 20+ years as a cop in hell I plan to spend the rest of my life in paradise."

At that time the fare to the airport was $36. He gave me $100 and "keep the change."

I guess all those years on patrol with multiple radios in the car was good training. :)

I work Tuesday through Saturday from 6:00pm to 6:00am (or 8:00am if we are busy in the early morning hours). My favorite "off-duty" activity is SLEEP.


This is Art Pidot (pie-dot), the owner. He has been in the taxi business in Hawai'i for nearly 35 years. Most of that on Mau'i. He can be a real pain at times but I like the guy.

If you ever come to Mau'i, call us ahead of time and we will pick you up at the airport. 808-874-6900.