As development in The Woodlands area continues to expand, a growing number of taxi and ride-sharing services have become available to local residents and visitors.

John Boyea said he opened his company, 12 to 12 Taxi Cab, in The Woodlands about two years ago because he saw a need for services.

"I felt there was a need for taxi service in The Woodlands because there is a lot of entertainment and nighttime accidents and people being arrested for DUIs and so forth," Boyea said. "I also felt because The Woodlands is rather upscale, it would be logical to have a nice car for people to ride in and be comfortable."

Go Green Eco Taxi owner Sara Bissig said the development of the Town Center area led her to start her business five years ago. Go Green eventually expanded to reach all of The Woodlands villages.

"There was an expansion of Town Center and there was more area than you could comfortably walk, so I started this company to run those open electric cars in the Town Center area to make it easy for people to get around [The Woodlands Mall], the Waterway and Market Street," Bissig said. "We expanded after that to go to all the villages."

Ride-sharing services in The Woodlands have seen further expansion with Lyft and Uber—which use smartphone apps to connect residents in need of transportation with drivers—opening operations in the area in February and spring of this year, respectively.

Taxi services in The Woodlands, though, go largely unregulated because the township is not a municipality —thus lacking the ability to regulate ride-for-hire services, township spokesman Nick Wolda said.

Town Center business owners have seen a positive effect from taxi services, said Brandi Watkins, general manager at The Goose's Acre Bistro and Irish Pub.

"They definitely have a good presence here in the Waterway and having as many bars and restaurants as we have, it has definitely helped out," Watkins said.