A new city ordinance has helped one local business get on its wheels.

At its June 9 meeting, City Council voted to reduce the number of cars needed to start a taxi fleet from three to one. 3 Rivers Taxi, a new Fort Wayne-based company, launched its operations Tuesday.

“We wanted to serve downtown,” owner Chad Kelley said. “There's still not enough taxis in the city to get everyone home at 3 in the morning, especially for the younger crowd.”

Chad Kelley, who worked for a year-and-a-half as a taxicab driver at another local company, said the council's vote was a big boost, as his fleet is currently two cars.

His mother, Marilyn Kelley, said her son has been contemplating starting his own company for nearly eight months. Along the way, she said, he has received financial help from several family members and friends to fund the effort.

Without the change, he may have had to wait six more months to start to finance a third car.

“A lot of things fell into place with the ordinance,” she said. “The city mentioned they wanted to have more of a taxi presence downtown, and we're trying to encourage it, too.”

Chad Kelley said he hopes to add two to three more cars to the streets by year's end.

3 Rivers Taxi is attempting to stand out by offering cab service 24 hours a day seven days a week, Kelley said. Also, his service extends in the Midwest to wherever the “pocketbooks” of the customer allow — whether it be to Roanoke or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.