Alastair Hill arrived at DaC in 1996 and has played a part in the most successful and profitable period that this Society has ever known. Now he has decided to move on to new pastures and has written a final Call Sign article on his views of our progress...

A report on my time at Dial-a-Cab, thoughts on its future, frank but fair and anything negative balanced with positives; this was the request from the Editor. In responding, I shall be unable to avoid getting innocently entangled in the numerous, but generally trivial wrangles and feuds which have beset and handicapped sections of the taxi trade for years. This will undoubtedly inflame some, but I hope others will view my comments as personal and constructive and nothing more sinister.
   The first comment must be to commend the quality and professionalism of 'Call Sign'. Without its existence, it would be impossible even to communicate in this manner at all. Despite what some critics might say, it is not the mouthpiece of the management and in contrast to some other trade publications, is not dedicated to boosting already inflated egos. As long as public decency is not offended, a full range of opinions and comments is allowed and whilst some make poor reading, most are constructive and relevant and have allowed many excellent ideas to be discussed. Well done to all those who over the years have contributed to building this magazine.

During My Time at Dial-a-Cab
My time at DaC has been eventful, much of it good and some not so good but the latter generally quickly forgotten. Since many of the events have involved me, I hope I have contributed in some small way to DaC's present high standing in the trade and to its financial strength. Friendly Societies need financial security just as much as most other organisations and here DaC's record is unparalleled: 
In the last 4 years Computer Cab lost a net £1.08m, RTL made £769k and DaC made £4.2m.* 
We must therefore have been doing a lot more things right than the others. This has benefited members, most tangibly through the static or falling subscriptions of the last 5 years and credit for this is due to businesslike

management. This major success story has not gone unnoticed by the world at large.
   I foresee the Society's value continuing to increase more slowly in the future. The major MDC renewal programme will reduce surpluses over the next 2-4 years but disasters apart, there should be no risk to the Society's independence or viability.
   There are always discussions about where DaC should be going and my own view is quite clear; unless the members adopt different Rules and objects, then the only requirement for the Society is to devote itself to obtaining radio bookings for members. There is no authority to have commercial ambitions beyond that; whether they are to offer cars or other travel services to customers, to accumulate surpluses beyond those needed to renew assets, or to merge, float or find 'strategic partners', whatever they are and whatever their purpose is in this industry.
   I personally find this limitation on commercial objectives somewhat disappointing, since I believe the Society has the potential to achieve its existing purposes in happy combination with other commercial activities where its expertise could further increase the value to members.

The Structure of Management
However, for this to be accomplished and for members to realise the full benefits, the Society would need to take on a different management structure and to be converted to an equity-based ownership structure with a focus on profit-making and sharing. This would require the appointment of 2-3 full-time business managers to take over some of the executive duties traditionally performed by the elected Board. Recruitment for these positions and based on merit, would be either from existing resources or from outside. It would also require the Society to convert to a plc by exchanging the membership shares for equity shares, each bearing a proportionate value of the business.
   As many will remember, when 

this was proposed back in 1997 insufficient members voted for it and before scaremongers get to work, the Board have since stated they will not revive the issue unless directed to by the  members. This means that the value of the business will remain beyond the reach of those who have built it up, perhaps a missed opportunity or perhaps a decision truly reflecting the altruistic nature of the members who wish the Society to continue to reflect the non-profit-making motives of the Friendly Society movement.
For the future, therefore, I see the Society doing next year what it did last year with little change apart from using ever-improving technology.
   However, services focused on customer preferences will become of increasing importance and prosperity in the coming years may well depend on the radio taxi trade sacrificing some cherished practices in order to maintain a strong position in a changing market place where new competition and political directives could have unwanted consequences.

And Finally...
On a lighter note, memorable experiences include encountering a driver who believed passionately that the Society should have bought up all the major London hotels years ago in order to secure the airport work they generate for DaC drivers! Needless to say there was no mention of how they were to be paid for or the small problem of actually running the hotels once they had been purchased! And what is so good about the airport anyway...?
   Another driver was convinced that since we make surpluses but don't have the equivalent in the bank, that the funds are being salted away somewhere for the benefit of the Board and with the tacit approval of the auditors; what a great idea!
   To conclude, I must express my thanks to colleagues on the Board, to staff and to the drivers I have met for the interesting times I have experienced at Dial-a-Cab. It certainly is a unique organisation and gives more surprises than most. I wish the whole organisation every success for the future!

*Based on published accounts

Alastair Hill

Good luck for the future Alastair, from all at Call Sign...Ed