As Centennial Committee members planned Powell's New Year's Eve bash, they worried about transportation for tipsy partygoers. After a night of drinking —and in temperatures too frigid to walk —how will people get home safely?“We were saying, ‘It's too bad we don't have a cab service,'” said Mayor Scott Mangold. “We crossed our fingers and hoped something would come up —and it did.”

This week, a new taxi service is debuting in Powell just in time for the holidays, which tend to see an increase in drunk drivers.

On Monday, the Powell City Council unanimously approved a license for Park County Cab Co. to begin operating locally.

The company, run by Robert Exley and Maria Moss, will provide rides 24 hours per day, seven days a week at a flat rate of $10 within town.

Mangold said he doesn't know of any taxi business in Powell's history. Exley said he heard a taxi service operated in Powell during the 1940s.

Exley and Moss began planning the taxi business in September and said they see a need for public transportation in Powell.

Powell's only other public transportation service for in-town travel is operated by the Powell Senior Center and caters to residents over 60. The center has a bus and van that take local seniors wherever they need to go during weekdays, said Senior Center Director Julie Havig. Seniors are encouraged to pay a $1 donation for each ride, Havig said.

Moss and Exley said they hope a 24-hour service helps combat drunk driving rates. Moss, a former bartender, and Exley said an intoxicated individual lacking a designated driver has few options and likely will end up driving home drunk.

“What's the alternative here?” Exley said. “How many people are going to walk home in minus-15-degree weather?”

During a Monday public hearing, Moss and Exley presented the council with statistics on Park County's alcohol-related crashes.

In 2007, Park County had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related fatal crashes in the state, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Fremont County had the highest with seven fatal wrecks, followed by Park, Sweetwater and Campbell counties, which each had five.

The majority of the state's alcohol-related crashes —67 percent —occurred on Fridays and Saturdays.

Moss said she reads about alcohol-related wrecks and driving under the influence sentencings in the newspaper and believes that they could be avoided.

“Every time we see (a DUI), it's a DUI that could have been prevented,” she said.

Mangold said Tuesday he hopes the taxi service will cut down on drunk-driver cases, especially during the holidays.

Moss said she also wants to provide transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to drive. Moss' mother is legally blind, so Moss knows firsthand the struggles for a person who can't drive.

“For her to get to and from places is incredibly difficult,” Moss said.

The taxi service will operate in the city limits, and Exley said they also are willing to drive to the country to pick people up or drop them off.

The Park County Cab Co. currently has one taxi, a 1995 blue Pontiac mini-van that can transport up to five passengers at a time.

“We really think it's something that's needed in the community,” Moss said. “We're doing it to benefit our community more than our pockets.”

People can get a cab ride by calling the company at 254-4767.