Residents might not be able to stick their thumbs out and bum a ride, but one of Athens' taxi services is up and running once again.

Tab's Taxi closed in July because of an owner's illness. Alice Kennedy has taken care of the company and renamed it Tab's Transportation.

The local company opened its car doors to the public last Thursday, Kennedy said. The service is located at 351 1/2 W. State St. and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Tab's service operates both within and outside the city limits.

"We do Columbus runs," Kennedy said. "We'll run pretty much anywhere."Those runs can be for practically anything, from going home to the doctor's office, to different sorts of trips.

"This morning we transported a lady's dog because she was in the hospital, and it needed to be in the kennel," Kennedy said.

This is one service the old company provided, so the new owners plan to stick with it.

"We'll go anywhere (customers) need to go, for whatever reason," she said.

The other services offered will remain nearly the same as in the past. Kennedy said more services might be added in the future, but plans are not yet definite. For example, she said apartment moving could be a future service.

The company currently has two cars. Kennedy said another car will be up and running Friday and a fourth will be available next week. There also will be a fifth car serving as a backup.

Of course, there is no such thing as a free ride, and Tab's Transportation is no exception. Kennedy said the city sets the rates for rides within the city limits.

Athens Mayor Ric Abel said the rates have been set at $3 for the first three miles and $4 for up to 5.5 miles. The rates were increased in July after a survey of Marietta, Belpre, Chillicothe, Ironton and various other cities in Southern Ohio with regulated taxi services revealed Athens was among the lowest. The rate increase was the first in nine years.

A ride to the airport in Columbus will cost around $95. To go to Ohio State University, it will be a little bit more, Kennedy said. Farther than that, the customer is charged by the mile.

Ohio University sophomore Beth Stanek said she has called for a taxi in the past and would do so again in the future. She said the taxi service is a good idea for cases where people are far away and getting home by taxi is safer than walking.