Neal Nichols at the podium after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo Contributed
Neal C. Nichols, owner of Red Top Cab of Arlington, was honored Oct 29 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) at the trade group’s 97th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas.
The nephew of a U.S. congressman from Oklahoma, Nichols’ family moved to Arlington when he was young. His father became involved in the ground transportation business at the new Washington National Airport and later became an owner of Arlington Yellow Cab, where Nichols began learning the business when he was still in high school.
In 1964, Nichols started Red Top Cab Company from scratch, which he continues to run along with Yellow Cab of Fairfax and Yellow Cab of Falls Church. After his father’s death, Yellow Cab of Arlington was taken over by his father’s former partners. Nichols said one of his greatest satisfactions in life was purchasing Yellow Cab of Arlington back from his father’s partners. Nichols still operates that company to this day.
A past president of the TLPA, Nichols was recognized in 1980 as the association’s Taxicab Operator of the Year. In 1994, he became the first and only person in TLPA history to be honored with a second Operator of the Year Award as the Premium Services Operator of the Year.
Nichols was one of the first U.S. operators to add accessible vehicles into his taxicab fleet and was also one of the first taxi company owners to build a fleet of greener, cleaner hybrid cabs. He is also a charter member of the Virginia Taxicab Association.
Nichols is a long-time supporter of SoberRide, a program that provides free, safe transportation during holidays. He was inducted into the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s “Best Business Hall of Fame” in 2011. Red Top has been recognized with an ABBIE for Arlington’s Best Business of the Year, and Washingtonian magazine readers named Red Top Cab the“Best Taxi Service” in the D.C. metro area. The company also supports a number of community initiatives, including Capital Hospice, Wounded Warriors and the Senior Olympics.