Island Taxi — getting people where they need to go

Published 1:30 am Monday, June 1, 2026

The Chamber of Commerce welcomed new taxi service member, Island Taxi and Tours owner Hobbes Buchanan, with a ribbon-cutting near his office on May 20.

“On behalf of the Town, we are delighted to see [you] up and running, delighted to have you here, and will support you in any way we can,” Mayor Evan Perrollaz told Buchanan after the official cutting of the ribbon.

Buchanan previously ran a whale-watching company, so naturally, land-based whale-watching tours are part of his taxi services. One tour begins at Cape San Juan, showing passengers Whale Rocks, a frequent seal and sea lion hangout. Buchanan will have binoculars on hand for good viewing. From there, he takes customers up the West Side to Lime Kiln State Park, prime whale-watching territory.

Buchanan also has a Roche Harbor tour. Customers are dropped off to explore the area before Buchanan returns a couple of hours later. He is applying for a limousine license, which will allow him to provide champagne to guests who are 21 and over for his honeymoon tour.

Buchanan prides himself on getting people where they want and need to go. The morning of the ribbon cutting, he told the crowd, he was up at 4:30 a.m. to get customers on the red-eye ferry.

He has been taking cancer patients to and from Peace Health Peace Island Hospital for free. “Because I had cancer twice, taking people to and from the hospital is a no-brainer for me. It’s a no-brainer to take someone to Peace Health because they need the help,” Buchanan said. Providing he has a heads-up, Buchanan will meet any patient, not just cancer patients, at the ferry terminal when the 8:30 a.m interisland arrives, and bring them to Peace Health for free. He will pick them up at Peace Health to return them to the ferry as well, as long as he is given some advanced notice.

To learn more, visit www.Island-Cab.com.