The Friendly Cab Company

In 1947, Ralph Collins started a cab company to help his neighbors get around under Jim Crow segregation. It was one of the longest-running businesses in Green Valley.

Ralph Collins walking with his wife, Cornelia in the 1940s.

Ralph Collins with his wife Cornelia, ca. 1940s. From WETA’s Boundary Stones.

There were plenty of ways to get around Arlington in the 1940s. By then, streetcars had given way to bus routes and taxi cabs. As automobile ownership increased, so did commuter culture and the rise of numerous highways such as Shirley Highway (I-395 today).

But it was not so easy for Black Arlingtonians to get where they needed to go. Under Jim Crow, they were discriminated against on public transit and barred from using white taxi services. Segregation ruled every aspect of public life, from restaurants to barber shops and recreation centers.

Even access to medical care was separate and unequal. Arlington Hospital (now Virginia Medical Center) had segregated wards, and services to Black patients were limited. The maternity ward would not offer care to Black mothers, who were expected to travel to hospitals in Washington, D.C., or Alexandria to give birth.

For Black Arlingtonians, traveling that far in a medical emergency was difficult, especially since many could not afford cars of their own.

In 1947, Ralph Delaware Collins (1896–1951) of Green Valley founded Friendly Cab Company to help address this urgent need. It began as a shuttle service, transporting neighbors to and from medical appointments. Over time, Friendly Cab expanded into a full-service taxicab company and a cherished community institution.

Friendly Cab driver Granderson O. Bollock. From RG 338: The Personal Papers of Birdie and Mable Alston, 1905-2019.

The company’s first taxis were Chryslers and many of the drivers were off-duty Black firemen. One early driver for Friendly Cab was Granderson O. Bullock (1910-2003). He worked as a milkman before becoming a part-time driver. He also worked for The Peyton Funeral Home and later, the U.S. postal service.

Friendly Cab gained a reputation for going above and beyond in their service to the community. In a Northern Virginia Sun article from 1965, Alice Kennard, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, praised the drivers of Friendly Cab Company for always getting her to her treatments, even if that meant "the driver picked her up and carried her to the cab.”

A newspaper clip from the Northern Virginia Sun about the Friendly Cab Company.

“Life in a Wheelchair Temporary, She Says,” by Virginia Warren. Northern Virginia Sun, vol. 28, no. 207, June 4, 1965.

After Ralph Collins' death in 1951, his brother Doug took over the company. William Collins, Sr. inherited the business and ran it until the mid-1990s, when he passed it along to William Collins, Jr., who managed it with help from Charles Collins and, later, Darryl Collins.

A newspaper clip of Ralph D. Collins' obituary in 1951.

Ralph D. Collins’ obituary, 1951. Source.

In an interview, Darryl remembered the day he decided to take over the family business. At his father’s funeral, longtime community leader Dr. Alfred Taylor stood up to speak on the man’s life and legacy. He then looked directly at Darryl and his siblings and said, “Do not let this business go away.”

Darryl knew then and there that the Friendly Cab Company was too important to let go. He continued to run the business with his sister, Vicky. Over the years, they turned down multiple offers to purchase the company, resolving instead to help Friendly Cab meet the community’s changing needs.

Facing increasing competition from rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, the Friendly Cab Company recently ceased operations. According to the Arlington County Register of Historic Places, it was one of the longest-running businesses in Nauck history.

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