Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Rotunda Online
The Rotunda
Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Local Taxi Service Screeches to a Halt

Local Taxi Service Screeches to a Halt

Former owner of Five-Star Taxi, Pee Wee Baldwin announced the closing of his taxi service earlier this year.

Five-Star Taxi, the independently owned and operated shuttle catering to students of Longwood University and members of the Farmville community, has ceased operations. Owner Pee Wee Baldwin, administrative program specialist at Longwood, announced on Jan. 22 via the organization's Facebook page that Five-Star Taxi, LLC was officially "closed and for sale."

Five-Star Taxi was known for being the only shuttle service in town that operated after 12:30 a.m., when the Farmville Area Bus (FAB) shuts down for the night. In fact, Baldwin saw this as a problem that further influenced the idea behind Five-Star Taxi. "They have a taxi service, they have the FAB," said Baldwin, "but they only run certain hours."

Baldwin's taxi extended the hours that students or community members could get around town by over an hour on some nights. He began offering rides at 5 p.m. during the week and on weekends, but continued to do so until 2 a.m. on weekends. On weeknights the taxi would stop operating at midnight.

Unfortunately, his endeavor was short-lived. Between his full-time job in the Longwood University mail room and being the sole operator of the taxi, Baldwin described the sometimes 20-hour workday as being "too much [...] to handle." However, Baldwin estimated that during Five-Star Taxi's year-and-a-half existence he transported "well over a thousand people" to wherever they needed to be within the town of Farmville.

Nick Graziano, a junior and resident of Longwood Village, was one of the many students to utilize the services of Five-Star Taxi during its brief existence, and he attributed the taxi's unique flat-rate price of five dollars per ride as one of the reasons why. "When I first heard about it only costing five dollars, I was planning on using them a lot," he said. "Five bucks is pretty cheap for a ride home when you need one."

It was the needs of students like Graziano that encouraged Baldwin to start the business back in 2009. "[It was] something I saw that Farmville needed," he said. In a 2010 article in The Rotunda, Lisa Hricko, Clerk of Council for the town of Farmville who sat on the board that initially approved his request, agreed: "[The town of Farmville] only had one, or maybe not any other taxi service [currently] operating."

"It was nice knowing that I always had a back-up plan if I couldn't get a ride home on a Friday or Saturday night," said Graziano. "Now that I don't have a definite ride back to the Village if I need one, [it] is a little concerning."

Baldwin understands the inconvenience that students may face by not having Five-Star Taxi around. "I would imagine they are probably disappointed," he said. "It's something they used a lot on the weekends when they were out, so I'm certain there are quite a few [students] that are disappointed about it."

When Baldwin began to set up shop two years ago, he was aware that it would not be an easy task. "There really is no blueprint for [starting a business]," he said. "I had to do a lot of research myself and get everything straight with the state of Virginia, with the Department of Motor Vehicles, [and] with the town of Farmville."Baldwin, who ended up hiring a lawyer to review all of the paperwork, also noted the copious rules and regulations required to go through in order to receive a taxi license. Longwood University Chief of Police Bob Beach also described the many "expensive" hoops that Baldwin had to jump through before being able to operate Five-Star Taxi, noting "recent requirements under legislation for taxi cabs to be identified certain ways" including the proper lights and meters.

Several options do exist regarding the future of Five-Star Taxi, but none of which come without a cost. Baldwin thought about hiring an additional driver to help lighten the workload, but he would have to raise the price in order to be able to afford a second employee, an option that he is not open to: "I just don't know if the students or the Farmville community would accept that or be able to afford it. [...] A group can come up with five dollars, but if I hire someone I would probably have to double the price."

The other option he has, the one that he has chosen for the time being, is to sell the business outright. He explained that several individuals have inquired about purchasing the business from him, but he has not seen anyone follow through. With the only remaining business asset being the white Chrysler Town & Country minivan that bears the company's logo, phone number and illuminating "TAXI" sign, Baldwin figures that if he cannot sell the business in its entirety, he can at least sell the van.

Former owner of Five-Star Taxi, Pee Wee Baldwin announced the closing of his taxi service earlier this year.

Trending