There are a number of safe ways to get home following a night of drinks at the bar but one of them needs a tune-up.Since 2012, Tracks Pub has shuttled revelers to and from the pub with “Traxi,” a 1971 Volkswagen transporter van.However, the vehicle currently needs servicing in the form of a new engine."When you're out at three in the morning, it needs to be reliable, right,” said pub co-owner Scott Van De Pypekamp. "The plan is to eventually get a new engine in it and give it a new life."Traxi started the winter of 2012 as an initiative to prevent drinking and driving following a night at the pub. That year, Alberta stiffened penalties for drivers caught with a blood alcohol concentration between .05 and .08.Van De Pypekamp said he started Traxi after seeing people wait for long periods of time for cabs in Olds when leaving the bar.He said the pub doesn't need a special licence to operate Traxi because rides are free. But if they started chauffeuring people for a fee, the service would count as a taxi and regulations would need to be followed.Usually, Van De Pypekamp or Curtis Heistad, co-owner of Tracks, drives the van.Traxi hasn't been used as often as Van De Pypekamp would have hoped because the pub can't afford to pay a driver each night.Instead, the van has either been used for birthday parties or as a mobile billboard, he said.“We don't use it all the time. If there's a special event going on, we'll help people get home. Otherwise, most of the time, we use our own personal vehicles if people need a ride just because of the age and we don't like revving it in the winter,” he said.Van De Pypekamp said he hasn't received any feedback or resistance from the local cab company for providing the service.While the Traxi might have been used sparingly, there have still been fond memories for its users.Van De Pypekamp said Traxi's most fun journey was to a Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse game. Carrying a full load, the van broke down in the city.“We had to have eight people push start it right in the middle of Calgary, where the Stampede grounds (were) and it started up and took us home no problem,” he said.“It wouldn't start after the Roughnecks but then when you have eight guys, you can push it real easy and it jumpstarted and away we all went. Pretty fun.”[email protected]
