GRAND FORKS — Folks who wish services like Uber and Lyft could take them all the way from Grand Forks to the Twin Cities could see their desire become a reality, depending on the financial viability of a developing idea.
Dave Brown, owner of a transportation business, said there is a lot of interest, but he’s seen that another service that once provided the journey no longer provides it.
“We’re crunching the numbers and we’re trying to figure it out,” he said. “You can’t be too expensive for college students, but you have to make money.”
Brown is the owner of Transportation Service Plus, a company in the Twin Cities. The company’s services include driving people to and from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, as well as driving them to events like concerts, games and general nights out on the town. It’s similar to services like Uber and Lyft, Brown said, but is a small, hands-on business where customers get to know the people that drive them instead of different faces for every drive. Transportation Service Plus’ customer base is mostly the underserved, living outside the metro area, as Uber and Lyft don’t go out that far, Brown said.
Now, Brown is aiming at a possible weekend shuttle service between Grand Forks and the Twin Cities.
He posted about the idea to the UND Parents and Families group on Facebook to gather feedback. A parent of a UND student himself, Brown has heard stories about people trying to get to and from the Twin Cities.
“It’s just a struggle sometimes for folks to make that happen,” he said.
Replies to Brown’s post were positive, some mentioning a possible stop in Fargo or a service between Fargo and Grand Forks. Brown said he has advertised on Facebook for drivers for a possible service between Grand Forks and Fargo, but he hasn’t received any responses.
Though the Grand Forks and Twin Cities idea has support, Brown said he’s not sure what people are expecting to pay. There will be employees to pay and upkeep of the vehicles used for the service.
For now, it’s “still in the research phase,” Brown said.
His next post to the Facebook group will most likely be asking members what they would pay for a weekend shuttle service, he said.
Otto is the University of North Dakota reporter for the Grand Forks Herald.
