Icy Lawton swamps cab drivers - KSWO 7News | Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Lawton, Okla.__For those people that didn't have the choice to stay home and off the roads Monday, many are calling taxis to get them to their destination, making the wait time at AAA Cab Company as long as four hours with the normal wait time being thirty minutes.

Dispatchers at AAA Cab Company say the people who are calling for taxis, either need to get to work or go to the grocery store.

"If I wouldn't have run out of groceries, I wouldn't be out."

Dispatcher Scarlet Smith says the phones haven't stopped ringing since she got in at 6:30 this morning.

"We usually have five to six drivers, but with the road conditions, a lot of them are afraid to drive. So, we have some experienced drivers today and it's not stopping them," said Scarlet Spencer.

Fred Spencer has been driving for AAA for over five years and he says driving during and after winter weather makes his job a lot harder.

"A lot of them don't like to share a cab, but most of them, in bad weather, should be happy they're getting picked up to their destination," said Fred Spencer.

Spencer says while most cab companies close when the roads get bad, they don't. He says he hasn't got stuck yet this year, but he did last year.

"I went in Wal-Mart and bought a shovel and shoveled my own self out. Either that or sit there and wait," said Spencer.

On days like this, you'd think customers would always give a generous tip for their driver braving the roads, but Spencer says that isn't always the case.

"It kind of goes fifty-fifty. A lot of people tip more in weather like this than they normally would. A lot of people catch a cab in weather like this, instead of driving their own car," said Spencer.

One woman got very lucky that was expecting to spend her whole morning waiting.

"When we saw them coming around, and my friend said, 'Here's your cab,' and I said, 'It can't be, it's only been an hour and a half'."

Monday, AAA asked their customers to share cabs to try and decreases wait time for others.

They also aren't leaving Lawton and not going onto Fort Sill until road conditions improve.