Jayhawk Taxi

Actual cities charge you for the distance you go in a cab. Jayhawk Taxi charges you a flat rate no matter where you go and tacks on additional charges for additional people which is cunningly different than how normal cab companies charge. They don’t tell you on the phone or show that on their site or in the cab itself. We paid $ 11 to go five blocks. Crappy weather or not we would have walked it if we’d have been told the charge. Buyer beware.

I was a little drunk (more of my reviews should probably begin with this confession), and as a result, very stranded in East Lawrence. Jayhawk Taxi showed up about 30 minutes after I called, which was within the time-​frame they quoted.
The operator didn’t mention that Jayhawk charges a flat $ 10 rate anywhere within city limits, which would have been nice to know ahead of time. I had assumed it would be slightly cheaper as I was going less than 2 miles.

Prompt service followed by lots of ahh, well, I’ll have to call and ask my dispatch. Guy picks up and takes us to the Jayhawks game. We tip well and tell him we’ll call after. We wanna drop a bag on the way to the restaurant but he ‘can’t do it’. Five minutes on the other side of our hotel. Wow!!! You suck!!!

Thanks to some unexpected car trouble, I was in need of can service. The driver was nice but the car smelled like a chimney and I spent the rest of the evening smelling like smoke. It took about 20 minutes to pick me up and the rates were in line with what I thought they’d be.

Two experiences, both perfect. Timely, professional and reasonably priced. Highly recommended. Whatever you do, don’t use Ground Transportation Services (GTS).

My car broke down, and as we had just moved here, I didn’t know anyone well enough to ask someone to pick up my daughter who was stranded after school. I looked through all the reviews on local taxis, and was feeling apprehensive, because they were so negative. I called a few places, and felt worse, because some taxis didn’t start operating until 5pm, others just didn’t answer their phones. There was about three feet of snow out, it was bitter cold, getting dark soon, and I’m not sure my daughter even knew how to walk home because she was so new (and the school was really far from the house). I called everyone EXCEPT Jayhawk Taxi, because the reviews were so bad. I even called the local bus (to find out, wtf, the bus only comes where I need it to every fourth hour of every tenth day as long as the planet zork is in alignment? Local transportation here is terrible!)…So I call Jayhawk, expecting less than nothing, at this point. A man answered the phone within three rings. He took my information, and said a car would be at my daughters school within 15 minutes. He was efficient, and helpful (he wasn’t chatty or overly friendly, but I didn’t want or need that, esp. not at that moment). Fifteen minutes later, a taxi with my daughter pulls up in the drive. Her driver was an older gentleman named John. He had my daughter wearing her seat belt. He was appropriate and polite with her. He was absolutely professional, and I was so relieved I almost cried. I can’t remember how much they charged, but I do remember thinking how wonderfully affordable Kansas is, even the taxis.
It sounds as if the older, negative reviews absolutely have things to complain about. If a company opens a professional service, they are obligated to act professionally, or go bankrupt quickly, so better companies can take over. Judging from my experience, and the reviews, there isn’t a hugely competitive market for taxis in Lawrence. I hope Jayhawk continues to offer the kind of service that my family experienced. If it had been me needing the taxi, I would have let all kinds of nonsense slide, because anyone can have a less than professional day. But this was my very young daughter, who didn’t know the town well enough to walk, or anyone well enough to take an offered ride. If she had had to wait too long, if John hadn’t been polite, or unprofessional, or worse, inappropriate, or if the scheduler had given me attitude, etc, I would have gone ballistic in my review, because this is my baby. So, in spite of the previous reviews, and the fact that JT was the dead last place I turned to, I can’t say enough good things about my experience with them, in large part due to the driver, John.