St. Petersburg Times:
Zingo has a simple plan: turn a profit by keeping people from getting arrested for drunken driving.
So far it’s working, despite the trying economy.
The Atlanta company is a designated-driver business chain that gives tipsy customers a drive home in their own cars. It has grown from six franchises a year ago to 20, including ones in HillsÂborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.
Zingo employees use foldup scooters to get to clients who have called a central dispatcher. The employee then drives the client’s car home with the scooter in the trunk. He then hops on a scooter for the next assignment.
“The cost of DUIs just got to be $10,000, and cab rides are getting more expensive, too, 35 to 40 bucks,” Price said. “Why not go home in your own car?”
Photo by Zingo Transportation.