1999 AGM

For the first time in the history of ODRTS, our Annual General Meeting was conducted with the aid of postal voting. The result was that the vast majority of members decided to use the facility of the postal vote rather than have to attend the Metropole Hotel in person. 
   The voting on any of the Rule changes or Propositions was approximately two and a half times greater than normal, thereby encompassing a far greater proportion of the membership. I found it interesting that most of the members who attended the AGM felt that they preferred the old system whereby you had to attend the AGM or be fined £50. But of course you would expect them to adopt that stance because they felt that they had taken the trouble to attend the meeting and that everyone else should do the same.
   I can understand that point of view, however most members seem to be quite content to have their say by voting, but without having to sit through several hours of debate. That, of course, is their choice.
   It was also interesting to note that of the two hundred and forty that attended the meeting, half of them had already decided to vote by post but came along to the meeting to hear the debate anyway. The options to come along and change your vote or to just come along to take part, are both there.
   I felt that the meeting went quite well considering that it was the first time it had been conducted in this manner and I was very pleased at the way in which the ERBS handled the affair.
   On a personal note, I was delighted with the outcome of the Rule changes and Propositions and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members for their support.

New Terminals

Those of you that attended the

AGM would have seen the new terminal being demonstrated. The initial feedback that I received from members has been very encouraging and indeed there was a constant crowd of subscribers gathered around the terminal watching Tom Whitbread demonstrate it and then operating it themselves.
   We anticipate receiving our first delivery within the next couple of weeks and our fitting programme will then commence. I am very hopeful that the teething problems anyone in our position would anticipate will be minimal, but as with any new equipment or appliance, there will always be some problems. 
   I think you will agree that our new terminal is unlike any other on the market today and our software application is unique and will make an excellent terminal.  With the printer incorporated, there will no longer be any need for written receipts to be issued in the future for either cash or credit card trips.

Delgro Take-over

I was very interested to read recently that once again the Delgro Corporation of Singapore has made a further acquisition within the London transport industry. This time they have purchased the Metroline Bus company, which is based in

Harrow, for £73.4m.
   Delgro already control well over 80% of the Singapore public bus service and have now moved to take over one of London’s top five bus companies which, in theory at least, gives them an approximate 20% stake in the London bus system. You may recall that I mentioned this possibility some two years ago and again in our Annual Report for 1999.
   There is no doubt that Delgro are now one of the world’s transport leaders and will look for – and no doubt find - further future businesses in the transport industry that will interest them both in Europe and North America.
   If I am to believe press reports, the Delgro deal will make millionaires of the four Metroline managers who originally invested £100,000 to buy the company when London Transport was split up in 1994. Eight hundred Metroline employee shareholders will share in another £6 million between them.
   I have always said that so long as I am Chairman of Dial-a-Cab, I would never personally resurrect the PLC issue and that is still the case - as I once again reiterated at this year’s AGM. However, it is interesting to note how much the Metroline shareholders got from Delgro and human nature can’t help but make me wonder how much Delgro might have offered for Dial-a-Cab were it available. No one can really know the answer to that question because generally speaking there is little rhyme or reason to some of the amounts currently being spent on take-overs. However, as a guess and bearing in mind that many drivers would have been given shares valued at about £5000, I would be amazed if any buyout did not at least double that amount to each driver/shareholder - in contrast to what a competitors driver received when they were taken over.
   Totally irrelevant, but nice to wonder about...

Brian Rice