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Dial-a-Cab have announced 2006 as their most
successful year since first trading in 1953! Call Sign,
asked Chairman Brian Rice for his thoughts on the achievement.
He said: "We are absolutely delighted with the figures. Our turnover of almost £43million was up by more than £5.5million over the previous year, representing an increase of over 15% - an achievement that everybody associated with Dial-a-Cab should be justly proud of. We returned just under £1million of surplus and depreciated just over £900,000 making our bottom line before depreciation just under £2million, which for a taxi organisation boasting the lowest subscription rates for its members by a mile, is a truly excellent achievement." Brian continued: "We are quite used to making a surplus at DaC, in fact we have made one in each of my 10 years as Chairman. But whilst I’ve watched our latest set of record figures growing throughout the year, seeing them together in our 2006 Annual Report gave me a real buzz and hopefully that buzz has also been felt by all our subscribers and staff, because it has been a real team effort! "This past year has seen the Society bring in new in-house built systems of distributing work that our competitors can only envy and attempt to play catch-up with. I have no doubt in my mind that at this moment in time, not only is DaC the number one radio taxi organisation in London, but also the whole of the UK." The Chairman was asked about DaC’s job distribution engine (Concierge). The system caused some controversy when first built and then put into service by DaC because it involved clients selecting which private hire and taxi companies they wanted to use - although naturally, Dial-a-Cab had to be one of them! Brian explained: "First of all, it’s |
ANOTHER RECORD SURPLUS FOR DIAL-A-CAB!
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important to realise that those PH companies were the ones that our account holders were already using. We didn’t select them and in all probability those companies are getting much the same trips as they were before, the only difference being that the car is ordered via the one system – Concierge." He continued: "Concierge is not a dispatching system; it is a stand-alone job distribution engine with Dial-a-Cab being another vendor on it – and needless to say when you see how much extra revenue this JDE has made the Society and drivers, it’s one we are very proud of." And how much is that extra revenue? "Well 2006 saw a total of £10.4million turnover go through Concierge of which £5.3million went to 6 car companies and one licensed Taxi Company and £5.1million in its entirety came to DaC. We also estimate that we attracted over £2million of extra income thanks to Concierge and in addition to that, we also get a service charge for every job that is distributed via Concierge in addition to our normal service charge." And is Concierge likely to continue its current financial position? "No," said Brian smiling, "I have no doubt that it will increase and anticipate that the |
£10.4million turnover I wrote of earlier, will rise to between £15 and £20million by the end of the current financial year. In addition to the extra revenue it brings to the organisation itself and to our drivers, I also consider that our clients that currently use the system, are less likely to want to look elsewhere because they like Concierge so much." Brian ended by saying: "I’m delighted that our financial position has now enabled us to expand even further and we will be moving into our new, larger premises by the end of the first quarter of this year when we will have the largest taxi call centre within the UK. This will bring our members even more work and we intend continuing to expand with more mobiles as our workload increases. Our clients already know that DaC is by far the most technologically advanced taxi system in the UK where they can book their cabs online or via Concierge, or if they so choose to be answered quickly by a calltaker who because we have remained in London, will answer with a voice they can understand and one who understands London. "Of course," said Brian finally, "you can have all these things and the clients may love them, but the bottom line is that when they order a taxi, one arrives at their door in a reasonable time. We believe that Dial-a-Cab has it all and we are justifiably proud of it…" |
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COLLETTE NOW RUNS BELL & HORNS |
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Today, dotted around London, there are just a handful of these ‘rest rooms’ left, maintained by charitable institutions and run by a dedicated group of hosts and hostess’s. So they deserve all our support before they too, like the Dodo, become extinct. One such sanctuary from the pressures of traffic and the pangs of hunger is the Thurloe Place shelter (sometimes known as the Bell and Horns), recently taken over by Collette who runs the place like a 5-star cordon bleu restaurant, having honed her culinary skills under the watchful eyes of Pat and Julie who themselves run the Warwick Ave bijou. Situated in the heart of Knightsbridge and close to several cab ranks, the shelter is ideally placed for a quick bite before getting back to work from the busy South Kensington Rank, the Sloane Rangers abode or of course, the top people’s shop! Collette offers a warm welcome and even warmer food, so when you’re in the area pop in and try for yourself… © Call Sign Magazine MM7 |
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