Now everyone has the opportunity to have a merry Christmas or celebratory after-work drinks.
A reliable and professional designated driving service on the Sunshine Coast is ready, willing and able to take clients and their vehicles home safely from any location, appointment or occasion.
Dezi Drivers began operating throughout the region about two months ago to help with day surgery needs, errands and bookings, as well as ensuring anyone from tradies to families arrive home in one piece after a big day or night out. And they have the added peace of mind that their car is brought home, too.
The prices are comparable to regular rideshare or taxi fares, and clients can book between 3pm and midnight, seven days a week.
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The only proviso is that the client must have comprehensive insurance to allow for another driver of their vehicle. A ‘hire a driver’ service is offered otherwise, covering chauffeur services for your party bus or van, as well as times when you simply don’t feel like driving yourself.
Co-founder Chris Denver said word of mouth was spreading the benefits of the service “like wildfire”.
Even without advertising, the fledgling business had done a variety of bookings ranging from bringing a family home from a wedding at Conondale to transporting a bucks party group.
Born and bred in Nambour and now living in Wurtulla, Mr Denver said the client-and-car driving service concept wasn’t new: similar operators started up on the Coast as far back as the 1990s.
But he, his wife Emily and business partner Tyson Charlton had decided to resurrect the idea after hearing a chorus of complaints about rideshare cancellations and costs.
“At the moment, there’s only really one team running, but we have the ability to run up to about six teams simultaneously,” Mr Denver said.
“I can call in that many people in an instant.
“Primarily at the start, it’s me, my wife and my business partner who lives just around the corner.
“We’ve got one driver who basically has a licence and a ticket to drive anything – and I mean literally anything. He can drive a jetski, a boat, motorbikes, road trains, those 600-tonne mine tip trucks.
“I’m just a disability pensioner trying to make a go on this Coast
“I think it was that movie Robots that said: ‘See a need, fill a need’.”
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The father of two youngsters said he was involved with a previous service in the region from 2000 to 2012. He understood the work that went on behind the scenes, as well as interactions with clients.
“I was telling the wife how good it was, how much fun we had. We got to drive all these cars, and meet people from every walk of life,” he said.
“They (Emily and Mr Charlton) have talked with me for the past 12 months, saying we should reboot it.
“Then one day, we came to the conclusion: ‘Let’s do it’. So, we did.”
Tradespeople are now expected to be the biggest market for Dezi Drivers.
“The tradies after work like to have a beer at the pub, but they can only have two and then they’ve got to go home,” Mr Denver said.
“They can’t sit there and have a punt on the pokies and half a dozen beers because they can’t get their work ute home.
“So, we’re trying to fill that need as best we can. Our goal is to try and service the Coast, do what we can, be as professional as possible.
“(Our name) is a play on Aussie slang: ‘Let us be your dezi’ – designated driver”.
The decision to add a day surgery service came as a result of Mr Denver’s own experience as a patient.
“I went into the optometrist in Caloundra Hospital and they said, ‘You’ll be right to drive’,” he recalled.
“At that stage, my wife didn’t have a licence.
“Next thing you know, they put drops in my eyes and I wasn’t allowed to drive for four hours.
“So, we ended up having lunch at the RSL, waiting around as long as we could before we could legally drive home.”
Mr Denver said he believed Dezi Drivers would make Coast roads safer by stopping people from running the gauntlet of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
“There’s not a lot of people who know we are here yet, but they will,” he said.
“(The police) used to refer us (the previous driving service) all the time back in the day.
“When they get to know us (Dezi Drivers), they will appreciate it because it means less drunks on the road, and less work for them to do when it comes to DUIs.
“At the end of the day, the need is to keep drunks off the road so they are not dangerous and killing people.
“It’s all about the safety.”
To get you and your vehicle home safely, call 0401 321 721 between the service hours of 3pm and midnight.
Prices are standard, no matter what hour of the service, and are cheaper than a two-way taxi or rideshare fare that would otherwise be necessary to get home safely and return to pick up your car the next day.
Day surgery has a $20 service fee plus $2 per kilometre of travel (must be booked in advance). The price is to pick up and drop off you and your vehicle. Any additional waiting time is $1 per minute, and extra drop-offs are $5 each.
A ‘You Drink, We Drive’ booking has a $20 service fee plus $2 per kilometre of travel. The price is to pick up and drop off you and your vehicle. Any additional waiting time is $1 per minute, and extra drop-offs are $5 each.
Hire A Driver is $35 per hour, with a minimum charge of four hours.
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