There’s no need to find a ride or drive yourself after a night of drinking – Cruisers Taxi is there to help.

Now that the taxi service has a reserved parking space in the downtown business district, it will be easier to get home more safely.

The city council-approved parking spot is located on South Second Street near Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant, Lord Stanley’s Annex and Otto’s Niteclub.

“We do park out at Molly’s too,” company co-owner Ted Brown said. “Downtown, there is no off-street parking.”

Because there’s no place for taxis to park, “not even for a few minutes,” the request was approved.

“We need a safe place to load and unload the passengers,” Brown said.

Brown owns the company with his wife, Jackie, and is concerned about student safety when leaving the bars.

“Nobody wants people driving if they’ve had too many drinks,” Brown said.

City clerk Donna Johnson believes that having a reserved parking space is a great idea.

“We got them a good spot,” she said.

The sign for the space will be up soon. The ordinance also is a parking regulation, and will take about 10 days to go into effect. The hours are from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. There also is no parking from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m downtown because of street cleaning.

Johnson said DeKalb had been without a taxi service for quite a while.

Cruisers Taxi company, which started in Rochelle, moved to DeKalb last October.

Since the company opened, it has been busy with plenty of customers.

“Our business is growing daily,” Brown said.

Taxi business has increased by 7 percent since July, and by 6 percent since June.

“The students are taking advantage of our services,” he added.

The company owns two taxis and a limousine. Taxis are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“People can get a hold of us whenever they need us,” Brown said.

Although a lot of students take advantage of the service, Brown said that during the day at least a half-dozen people ride to work, go shopping or attend doctors’ appointments.

“Being able to serve students in a college town makes my job interesting while meeting all kinds of people,” he said.

Senior journalism major Rachel Townsend takes advantage of the service.

“I feel more comfortable riding in a cab,” she said. “It’s better than walking late at night to and from the library.”

Townsend also thinks the cab service is necessary for students leaving the bars.

“It’s convenient for students who are in no condition to drive,” she said.

Brown added that it’s nice to be able to help people when they need it.

“It feels good when people say ‘thank you for being there.’ “