About Us
About Flash Cab and Our History
In the fall of 1945, VETERANS FLASH CAB began its operation. After receiving an honorable discharge from service to his country, returning soldier Arthur Dickholtz used his wartime experience and leadership to begin, what is now known as, FLASH CAB CO.
With the city of Chicago only issuing new taxicab medallions to returning veterans, the company was able to grow. Hands on management and an entrepreneurial spirit helped the company progress to what it is today. Starting from their first days of service, FLASH was a pioneer. FLASH was the first taxi dispatch company in the United States to offer two-way radio service, enabling drivers to finally communicate with their dispatchers. In fact, the first radios used in FLASH cabs were sold to the company by a Mr. Paul Galvin. He worked for a growing Chicago business, Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago (which changed its name a few years later to become known as MOTOROLA).
The History That Makes Us Proud
From the 11th floor of the Sheraton Plaza Hotel, at Sheridan and Wilson, FLASH CAB operated a dispatch facility. The fleet affiliated with FLASH grew to several hundred cars, by the mid fifties. FLASH expanded the fleet by both attracting drivers and acquiring smaller cab companies, such as PUBLIC TAXI SERVICE. The name was modified as time went on, first as VETERANS FLASH CAB, then RADIO FLASH CORP., and finally to today’s moniker, FLASH CAB CO.
FLASH, as it continues today, was always eager to integrate new, top of the line technology, consistently offering Chicago a better taxi dispatch service.
Cab drivers wanted to be affiliated with a taxi service owned and led by one of their own. The respectable ‘old cab driver’, as Mr. Dickholtz was fondly referred to, knew how the cab business operated and how to serve both the passenger and the driver. As the old saying goes, know thy business and you will succeed. Arthur Dickholtz passed away in May of 1988, but his dreams for FLASH and its affiliates have lived on. As the FLASH torch was passed on to its current owners, FLASH CAB CO. continued to incorporate cutting edge technology, maintain driver support systems, and add management services for today’s business world. The old cab driver would have been proud to see that the company he started has matured to what it is today, dispatching taxis to thousands of people all over Chicago, (in a flash!).
Thank you for choosing FLASH CAB CO.
