President and CEO of the successful Web design and Web hosting company Znetwork, Greg Paquette is driving forward with his entrepreneurial ideas as CEO of Mini Cab Co., a business that promotes economical transportation between Downtown neighborhoods with the use of small, low-speed, electric vehicles. Paquette, with partner Paul Basile, are touting their mini cabs as safe, professional and chic alternatives to the taxi or pedicab. Downtown parking is at a minimum. Taxi cabs can be “unpleasant, smelly and inhospitable,” Paquette says. Pedicabs are “unconventional and can be unsafe.”

The mini cab, equipped with dashboard DVD, storage space and accessories, is designed for passengers who are traveling uncomfortable walking distances. “We are a micro-limousine service,” says Paquette.

Hitting a top speed of 35 mph, the mini cabs serve Downtown, Hillcrest and Balboa Park. In seven minutes, passengers can get from Little Italy or Balboa Park to the Convention Center, from Cortez Hill to the Embarcadero, or from a law office on Banker’s Hill to the Superior Court.

“Our goal is getting the passenger to the destination as quick as possible,” says Paquette. The staff of 10 drivers are equipped with radio headsets and able to contact headquarters for directions and navigation through traffic congestion.

The vehicle, seating three passengers and the driver, also is targeted to serve Downtown events such as wine and food tastings, theater events and Street Scene.

The Chrysler and Ford vehicles each cost between $6,000 and $11,000. They can travel up to 30 miles before needing to be recharged, which takes between six and eight hours, and have zero emissions.

Flat rate fees range from $3 for one to four blocks to $10 for 20 to 30 blocks. Travel is made by reservation only, and scheduling can be done by phone or online. Corporate accounts, billed monthly, are offered.

Travel hours are 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, noon to 2 a.m. Saturday and noon to midnight Sunday.

The company now has 15 vehicles, but plans to acquire between 30 and 40 more as it looks to expand into San Francisco, Long Beach, and Texas, Florida and Colorado. Paquette wants to eventually equip the vehicles with roof-top solar panels to be completely self-sufficient.

To contact Mini Cab Co., click on www.minicabco.com or call (619) 234-1818.

— Katherine Lyon