By JOHN BARTIMOLE Special to Olean Times Herald
Oct 26, 2024
(Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles on the members of the 2024 Laine Business Accelerator cohort.)
OLEAN — What started out as a side hustle for Arnim Alexander has turned into a burgeoning medical transportation business that addresses a glaring need in the greater Olean area and throughout Cattaraugus County.
“It all started innocently enough,” Alexander said. “A friend of mine was using a medical transportation service from many miles outside of the area, and he often had to bring his daughter with him. He was concerned about some of the reckless driving he experienced with that company, such as speeding.
“And he said to me, ‘I wish I had another driver. Maybe you can drive for them.’”
And that’s when the proverbial lightbulb went off.
Alexander began driving for a Buffalo firm, but soon came to the realization that there was a need for more local transportation services for routine medical needs, such as appointments and tests.
“And I concluded we needed something local to help the people of our area to get to those appointments,” he continued. “Our local public transportation doesn’t always coincide with the times of medical appointments or procedures. We have an aging population and often senior citizens may have stopped driving or don’t have family or friends available to transport them.”
And so, Alexander’s Quality Transport was born. Its mission statement — “dedicated to bringing quality transportation to the medical patients of the Greater Olean area” — succinctly summarizes the business’ philosophy of how it comports itself and how it treats its passengers. The non-emergency transport service is Medicaid-approved.
Currently, Alexander has five drivers serving the area, and he hopes to grow to 10 or 15 and expand to Allegany County. To be sure his customers are getting the right treatment — and to get to know them better — Alexander himself sometimes handles driving, making room for that in a schedule packed with family obligations and operating three other businesses.
“I drive to see how we’re doing,” he said. “I talk with our riders about their lives. I recognize that I — or our drivers — might be the only person that individual has talked with so far that day.
“It’s a great feeling when people are excited to see us,” Alexander added. “And I always ask them, ‘What can we do to make our service better?’ I love talking with older individuals and hearing their stories and their insights.”
Currently, Alexander’s has contracts with a number of local health care and social agencies, including Total Senior Care, the Cattaraugus Department of Aging, Interfaith Caregivers and others.
Making the service better is one of the main reasons Alexander applied for inclusion in the Laine Business Accelerator.
“I’ve been in this business for 2½ years, and people have been encouraging me to apply for the LBA, and I finally did,” he said. “I want to learn from people smarter than I am. I want my business to grow so I can help more people.
Additionally, he wants to help the local economy, not only by hiring drivers, but by keeping local money local.
“When a company from Buffalo or Erie sends drivers down here, they go home and spend our money in their own communities,” he said. “I want to keep that money in our community.”
Alexander describes the Olean area as “dynamic,” but “too many people my age think they need to go to the big city to make something of themselves. That’s not true … there are businesses that are needed in this area, and ours is an example of that.”
And an example of how an off-hand comment and a side hustle can lead to yet another new business that enriches the community.
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