Lawrence’s newest taxi service is looking to carry more than people for fares.

Zippy Taxi & Delivery, which opened earlier this month, is counting on hauling racks of ribs, piles of brisket and dozens of wings all over town for the company’s first major customer: Bigg’s BBQ, 2429 Iowa.

Bigg’s launched its delivery service Monday by hiring Zippy’s owner Terrell Session to handle all the driving. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, customers can have food taken to their home – or workplace or hotel room – by paying a $1 delivery charge on orders of at least $10.

And Bigg’s co-owner Doug Holiday doesn’t need to place ads for hiring delivery drivers, a prospect he’d been considering but now no longer needs to worry about.

“I would have never dreamt of this, but it’s great,” Holiday said. “It’s like outsourcing. I won’t have to hire staff immediately. Their people are in place. It helps their business. It will help my business.

“It’s two businesses, working together.”

Session didn’t exactly dream up the concept, but he concedes that the idea came to him while watching one of the “Back to the Future” movies a few years back.

After driving a cab in St. Louis and following in the footsteps of his father – a longtime cabbie in Chicago – Session got behind the wheel of a Lawrence cab late last year. He says he worked for about a month for Ground Transportation Inc., which had been run by a Kansas City-area operator until November, when the company’s founder, Russ Wheeler, bought it back.

Session figured he could make a run of it, too.

“Bottom line: I was working part time, and I’ve got a family to support,” he said. “I like doing this, so I can do it on my own.”

With Affordable Limousine Inc. owner Larry Ojeleye having started his own taxi service Dec. 31, Lawrence now finds itself served by three companies offering around-the-clock service.

By teaming with businesses for making deliveries, Session figures, Zippy’s will stand out.

“It’s where the delivery business is going,” Session said. “It’s the next step.”

For now, Session is running his three cabs – a Ford Windstar minivan, a Mitsubishi Galant sedan and a Chevy Lumina sedan – out of his home on Summertree Lane. He’s looking for an office and is working to line up more delivery business. Session says he charges businesses $3 per delivery; drivers get $2 per delivery and get to keep tips.

For regular cab riders, Session is charging $7 for one-way trips in Lawrence, or $13 for a round trip – which is two trips for the same person in the same day.