Roy Spooner and the DC Yellow Cabs

THE name DC Yellow Cabs is perhaps a household name for the average resident in the tri-State area of Washington, D.C., and with a fleet of 550 cars and its state-of-the-art digital dispatching service, the company has over the past 75 years grown from being a traditional taxi service, to an all-inclusive, modern transportation company.

The success of DC Yellow cabs is so significant, in fact, that it has managed to survive and still rivals transportation giant Uber, despite the latter’s surge in popularity and the strain placed on traditional taxi services by Ubers “ridesharing” and other services. But the modern day growth and success of DC Yellow Cabs is due to the hard work and dedication of Guyanese born Roy Spooner and his brother, Vaughn Williams, who are both proud of how far they have brought the business in the past decade alone.

Just 13 years ago, Roy was a senior level career banker, but later partnered with his brother as part-owner of the company- which was established since 1931. “DC Yellow Cabs had already been around for close to 75 years. My brother had been working there for years and he worked his way up until he was able to own the company, then I partnered with him later on,” Roy Spooner told the Pepperpot Magazine.

“We were one of the first companies doing dispatch services. We wanted to go to a computerised level and became one of the first companies in the US doing digital dispatching, using GPS. We were the first company to offer credit cards in cabs; we revolutionised taxi companies in the area.”

Over the years, the company’s success led to its expansion, as well as the establishment of Yellow Transportation, for which DC Yellow Cabs is the flagship. “We have evolved over these years into taking this technology and installing it into our fleet of 550 cars. And that is how we have grown,” Roy said. He added, however, that the company’s success has not come without its struggles, having to operate in an industry where he believes that “the powers that be favour your competition and burden you with regulations”. In fact, Roy attests that DC Yellow Cabs had utilised the same technology that their competition does, even before they started business. “I fight them every day, they are stealing our business but we are keeping strong because we have built a brand,” he said.

The beginnings of a businessman
Like many success stories, Roy stems from humble beginnings, growing up in a ‘tenement yard’ in Carmichael Street, Georgetown. After leaving primary school, he was given a place at Queen’s College, and, according to him, was the only child in the neighbourhood to boast that accolade. In his spare time, Roy worked at a nearby baker shop and would be seen delivering bread in his QC uniform to customers in the area. Just after high school, Roy then went on to become the second, youngest, prison officer Guyana had seen. He left Guyana at 18, got married and returned with his wife- who was also Guyanese- to have their first child in their home country. But in 1974, Roy returned to the United States and eventually made it his home.

“I started in a mailroom and I kept on doing classes, keeping myself educated and then I started working at the bank,” he said. Banking- with specialty in Information Technology- remained his profession of choice up until he ventured into the taxi cab industry.

Roy and his love for Guyana
While he was building his career, and even after his success came with the business, Guyana, of course, remained a significant part of his life, and he ensured that he returned frequently. “I can go any place in this world but when I come home, that is my moment of where I can be… I don’t need to do anything, I can just go there for one week, eat my food smell my air, and I come back refreshed,” Roy said.

He recalled however, about three years ago, being alarmed by what he felt was a level of toxicity induced by violence and fear that he had witnessed occurring in the country. During his last visit, though, which was made in honour of Guyana’s Independence celebrations this year, Roy admitted that he noticed a striking difference. “I remember I was listening to the live band at Pegasus, they started playing ‘Not a blade of grass’ and the entire place started singing and to me it was an extremely touching moment to have heard and seen this thing happening. It seems that Guyanese of all race, colour and creed recognised this song and were proud to say we aren’t giving up a blade of grass. At that moment it was very touching to be home,” he said.

But even while he is in the US, Roy maintains that he is connected to Guyana 365 days a year, 24 days a week, adding that he has always wanted to move back to Guyana and start a business and that he still thinks of the possibility of doing so some time in the future.
Roy is a member of the Queens College Alumni Association and helps to give back to his country through initiatives hosted by that group. “We strongly support what is happening in the country now…it seems that there is an awakening in Guyana of their awareness of who we are, and where we should be, and that is the Guyana that I recognise and that I know,” he said.

Now, this Guyanese father of four has vowed to raise his children with an ‘old school style’ in this new school world. But most of all, he is proud to represent Guyana through the success of his business and intends to continue to promote his country wherever his success takes him.