best used car for taxi service in rural AK?

[earlyre]

so my buddies mom is in the middle of a multi year contract "Doctoring" in a small rural community in SW Alaska. the only way in is by air, or water, no roads lead there.(St.Mary's AK, Confluence of the Yukon and Andreafsky rivers)

a while back, she got the brilliant idea to start a taxi company up there, and bought a vehicle locally(not sure what it was)

now let's say all goes well, and she decides to buy another vehicle. what vehicle from the lower 48 would be the best choice, given the remote nature of the place?
I would assume (never having been up there) that Diesel and 4wd would be major pluses, but i could be absolutely wrong...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s,_Alaska

 

[supton]

500 people in the town?

Modern diesels start way better than ever before, but I wonder if gas would still have the edge for start/stop. Unless if she just leaves it idling all the time.

I have a tough time believing 500 people would keep a taxi service alive. I'd go with a Suburban, something rugged with 4WD. Not sure what rear egress is, but I'm not sure if the roads are all that great when the going gets tough. Depending upon usage, gas burn won't be an issue.

if the roads are decent, perhaps a Subaru, just for the AWD.

 

[JeepWJ19]

If I were to start a taxi service in that location my picks would be 4Runner or a Jeep, whether XJ, ZJ, WJ, WK, WK2. They tend to be pretty reliable and parts are easy to find.

Gas mileage is going to be a stinker but that is the nature of the beast with 4wd.

 

[Ramblejam]

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/bethel-alaska-taxis-no-cars/403765/

 

[SwampSurvivor]

A crown victoria, one of these in the rear differential, and some General Grabbers tudded or not and you have your taxi!

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
so my buddies mom is in the middle of a multi year contract "Doctoring" in a small rural community in SW Alaska. the only way in is by air, or water, no roads lead there.(St.Mary's AK, Confluence of the Yukon and Andreafsky rivers)

a while back, she got the brilliant idea to start a taxi company up there, and bought a vehicle locally(not sure what it was)

now let's say all goes well, and she decides to buy another vehicle. what vehicle from the lower 48 would be the best choice, given the remote nature of the place?
I would assume (never having been up there) that Diesel and 4wd would be major pluses, but i could be absolutely wrong...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s,_Alaska


sometimes the answer is right in front of your own eyes. what do they drive up there?

 

[Bandito440]

Agreed, I'd copy what the locals drive.

Aside from that, the newest 4Runner that I could afford, with Grabber AT2 tires.

 

[Nick1994]

If there's no roads that lead there, how is a car going to get in? By ship?

I agree with the above. 4Runner.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
A crown victoria, one of these in the rear differential, and some General Grabbers tudded or not and you have your taxi!


Agreed, just like taxis everywhere in most of North America.
These cars are very durable, very reliable, have roomy interiors and plenty of trunk capacity and are cheap to maintain.
What more could you want in a cab?

 

[harbor]

Subaru

 

[SatinSilver]

The Taxi company here that used to buy old crown vics retired from police service has now started transitioning over to Subuaru Foresters.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: Miller88
A crown victoria, one of these in the rear differential, and some General Grabbers tudded or not and you have your taxi!


Agreed, just like taxis everywhere in most of North America.
These cars are very durable, very reliable, have roomy interiors and plenty of trunk capacity and are cheap to maintain.
What more could you want in a cab?


The auto locker would help a bit on the not so good roads, but even in the snow, the police had no problem navigating the streets of Syracuse with snow tires on the back of the Crown Victorias

 

[UG_Passat]

a used Subaru, preferable one that has a rear viscous slip differential.

a diesel? Then need something with a coolant heater like a Zerostart (plug-in) or a Webasto Blueheat (remote)

 

[IndyIan]

Seems like there is 30-40 miles of road up there, total.
Probably the most common vehicle is a GM pickup, so the 2 spare alternators in town are probably for them, which makes a Tahoe or Suburban probably the easiest to keep in service. Or just a GM crew cab pick up, with a cap on it and some seats bolted in the back if you need to haul 7 or 8 people.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/bethel-alaska-taxis-no-cars/403765/



That place sounds absolutely awful.