Battle Creek Transit Trying to Help With City Cab Closing

The City of Battle Creek’s Transit department is scrambling to fill a gap that is about to be left in the transportation needs of the city.

WWMT says that City Cab announced that they were closing down at midnight Saturday, citing the skyrocketing costs of insuring their vehicles; management of the company, which has existed for around 70 years, says that over the past four years their costs of insurance have tripled per vehicle, making continued operation impossible.

With the closure, that leaves Battle Creek without a taxi service. The ride hailing app Lyft does offer service in Battle Creek, but their service area covers all of Southwest Michigan and it's not known how many drivers they have in the city.

Battle Creek Transit quickly announced a weekend service to help those in need of a ride; BCGo will start offering service Sunday, and is a cash-only, one way ride on a city bus. The $15 ride will get customers anywhere in BC Transit’s normal service area, in Battle Creek and surrounding townships.

It will operate from 6pm to midnight Saturdays and 9am to 6pm Sundays. You can request a ride by calling 269-966-3474. BCGo is a shared-ride service, meaning that the vehicle may stop and pick up and drop off other customers on the way to your destination.

Depending on how popular this service turns out to be, BCGo could become a permanent option.