Diverisified Holdings News
Checker Limousines, Cabs Take Off at Metro
Its exclusive contract obligates company to give customers hassle-free service.
Dearborn Heights, November 30, 2007
Maureen McDonald / Special to The Detroit News
Whenever Dave Richards, owner of Resort Golf and Marketing, sets out from Bloomfield Hills to Metro Airport, he books a ride with the Dearborn Heights-based Checker Sedan.
“In seven years I’ve booked Checker Sedan they have never been late, never goofed up a reservation,” Richards said. “The cars are clean. The chauffeurs provide spring water, magazines and door-to-door service. I pay $73 a ride to minimize my hassles.”
Hassle-free service is the aim of Timothy J. McCarthy, president of Checker Sedans and the Soave Transportation Group that includes Commuter Express and Checker Cab-Detroit. Soon, the firm expects to put all its names under the “Checker” umbrella.
McCarthy said Checker limousines, cars and cabs enjoy an exclusive contract with Metro Airport to have a queue of vehicles in ground transportation areas. The advantage for clients is stepping off a plane to curbside pick-up, whether they order a black sedan in advance or make the decision at the spur of the moment.
Checker sedans shuttle airport clients to major hotels in downtown Detroit and along the major commercial corridors in the suburbs. During the holiday season, customers book sedans for shopping expeditions and bar crawls. Drivers are well scrutinized. The firm’s 250 independent contract drivers go through U.S. Aviation and Transportation Security Act clearance before they are permitted to shuttle customers to and from the airport. They submit to a criminal background check and drug testing. Behavior is monitored. If a driver gets a speeding ticket, Checker Sedan is notified by the Michigan Secretary of State’s office.
“As the official company of the airport, we are required to meet a certain quality standard,” McCarthy said. Because of that thoroughness, the company does business with countless families and with female executives from many firms who say they feel safer with a chauffeur than wandering alone at night in a parking lot.
Consumer traffic skyrockets in December, around the same time business traffic slows. McCarthy’s team employs a global positioning system on its 47 Lincolns, 45 Cadillacs and 8 Chrysler 300s in the sedan fleet, plus wheelchair-accessible vans and family-sized vans. His office can identify the closest available car to a customer and navigate a path to a client's home, no matter how confused the verbal directions.
McCarthy stays close to area transportation needs by serving on the boards of the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. Additionally, he is a member of the Transportation Advisory Council for SEMCOG. The aim is to stay ahead of its closest rival, Metro Cars/Michigan, and other independent shuttle services.
“We have a track record of being where we need to be, when we need to be there,” McCarthy said. “With our network of drivers (and) our global positioning systems we can find routes most people wouldn’t know to get around harrowing experiences on an expressway.”
Checker Sedan
Specialty: Checker Sedan generates almost $10 million a year in sales as
an affiliate of the privately held Soave Transportation Group, owned by Detroit
businessman Anthony Soave. Since 2000, the company has become one of
the fastest growing licensed luxury sedan companies in Metro Detroit.
Staff: Timothy J. McCarthy is president of the Soave Transportation Group,
overseeing 100 employees, 250 independent contractor drivers and a fleet of
over 100 luxury vehicles.
Contact: www.checkersedan.com or call (313) 963-1000
