By Rex Morrow
Photography by Rex Morrow and Frank Mendicino
ABOUT REX
I am 47 years old and joined the Christchurch taxi industry seven years
ago. Christchurch is the South Island of New Zealand. When passengers ask me why I left
farming and took up taxi driving I usually answer that I am still farming but now it is
with people. The advantage is I don’t have to drench, crutch, vaccinate or shear
them.....I just fleece ‘em. Just kidding of course!
The interesting part of being a Kiwi cabby is that the days and nights are so
unpredictable. Some days takings can be brilliant, yet others really dismal. More
importantly and probably with the night shift, the mood can be different. People are
either jovial and happy or on the other hand, you have to be wary because the mood of the
public can be so negative and it is on those nights that I am particularly cautious. My
aim is always to enjoy myself and have a laugh with my passengers everyday. If I am not
feeling good and not enjoying my day, it is time for me to call it a day.
CHRISTCHURCH
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island with a population of
306,000. It is serviced by an international airport with flights from Australia,
Singapore, Japan and the Pacific. The city is somewhat English in its layout with many
parks and the River Avon meandering through it. There is also great evidence of street
names from England.
It is mostly a flat city but there are residential areas on the Port Hills of
Banks Peninsula which is home to the city’s Port of Lyttelton.
Christchurch has many attractions within the city and in the surrounding areas. Among those are Ski-fields, winerys, hot thermal pools, beaches and fishing rivers.
BLUE STAR TAXIS
Blue Star Taxis (Christchurch) Society Ltd is the largest taxi company in
Christchurch and the South Island having 225 members with 250 cars on the road. The fleet
consists of four and five passenger cars, 10 seater vans and Wheelchair vans as well as an
Executive Car division.
Ian Brokenshire is our General Manager. He is a Justice of the Peace,
Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport. Blue Star Taxis
is also a member of the New Zealand Taxi Federation.
Blue Star introduced tough standards for drivers and members not long after I
joined the company. (although not as tough as your London Knowledge - but then NOTHING is
as tough as that)! Drivers now have to have been resident in New Zealand for two years and
have held a NZ drivers licence for the same period before joining our organisation.
We then have a training academy to teach them the Blue Star way of dealing
with the public, the computer dispatch system and dealing with the physically challenged (
we have maxi vans for wheelchairs). I am involved with the training school insofar as I
take some training sessions with the computer dispatch system and finally as an examiner
to those who have been through the academy.
Executive and Blue Star cab
A Christchurhc tram heads down New Regent Street
For the past 5 years, we have used Raywood computer dispatch which has helped
us in keeping our jobs. Why? Well, in 1989 the government deregulated the industry and the
"scab" companies listening to scanners were homing in on our work. They haven't
gone away, but the public realise that we are an established company with reliable English
speaking members and drivers. The scab companies (pirates, cowboys and cherry pickers are
their other names) rely mainly on the airport for their work and also by sitting outside
bars and night clubs. Because of their antics, the City Council, Airport Company and
police have toughened up on all aspects of taxis illegally parking in Christchurch.
