Holiday and March Madness benefits local businesses

St Patrick’s Day wasn’t the only reason to celebrate on Thursday night.

It was also the start of the NCAA tournament, and cabs all across South Bend were ready.

On a typical weekday night, the Checker Cab service says they get an average of 20 calls an hour.

But last night, was far from ordinary as the combination of St. Patrick’s Day and the NCAA tournament doubled that number to nearly 40 calls an hour.

Darla Harrell has been driving taxis for nearly 14 years and says these are the kind of nights that are good for business but can be dangerous for everyone else.

 “Since I drive a taxi I see people driving not very well, would be better if people could keep in mind taking us, only cost 10 dollars to get home instead of getting a DUI and paying tens of thousands and maybe hurting somebody and that’s the bad point,” said Harrell.

There will be sobriety checkpoints all weekend long across St. Joseph County.

Operation Pull Over ends March 27th and is a partnership between Indiana State Police and approximately 250 law enforcement agencies state-wide.