G&P Meals & Transportation of Ironton is expanding its operations.

While it has been providing taxi services to the western part of the county, the company recently won the contract from Lawrence County Job and Family Service to provide taxi services to the northern and southern parts of Lawrence County. The contract begins on Sunday.

“We are trying to get bigger and, of course, we are trying to accumulate people,” said Brett Guy, one of four business partners in the operation. “That’s the only way to grow.”

Guy said the business has expanded from six employees to 12.

“It’s growing for us,” he said.

It has had the contract for the western part of Lawrence County for the past year.

Angie Todd, the general manager of G&P Meals & Transportation, said the company has bought more vans and is in the process of hiring more drivers.

“We are planning on hiring between three and five to cover the other end of the county,” she said.

Todd said in the first quarter of this year, they made more than 1,400 trips taking clients to medical appointments.

“And from what the girls told me yesterday, the other end of the county had about 780 (trips),” Todd said.

The client makes the appointment with the doctor then calls Job and Family Service to arrange the transportation.

“We have one client who has dialysis at 5:30 in the morning,” Todd said. “And then we have people who have doctor’s appointments at 7:30 at night. So it makes for a really long day.”

Besides providing transportation, the business also delivers food to the elderly and disabled for the federal Meals on Wheels program.

“We do about 300 hot meals a day,” Todd said. “Our day starts at 7 a.m. and we go until the last meal is delivered.”

Besides Brett Guy, other partners in G&P Meals & Transportation include Jerry Rowe, Don Guy and Rick Pancake.