LIMOS
In the last few issues of Call Sign, Board Members have started giving
their personal views on how they see the Society moving forward to combat
the new licensing laws regarding mini-cabs. That involved introducing
limousines to the circuit.
As I was the Board Member given the
brief to look into this project some two years ago with Roger Ascough, I
feel that I should also state my views. Roger and I gathered a
considerable amount of information prior to his presentation at an EGM. A
number of senior clients were asked to participate in a survey.
One-to-ones took place with a number of drivers and I even went to a car
dealership to look at vehicle costs. Premises were also viewed to see how
we could run the operation.
The very thought of limos being offered
as an alternative supply originally came from our own customers. If I had
a £I coin for every enquiry I have received, I would be a rich man. With
the vast majority - if not all of them - using both services, it made
sense for them to source one supplier. It didn’t stop there, they then
looked at all their ground transportation requirements ie coaches and
bikes etc and clearly offered us the business if we wanted it. I asked
myself - why us? It must have been the professional approach to the way we
managed our operation and the service we were providing. A one-stop shop
was making more and more sense.
S Class Mercedes
I investigated the costs of Dial-a-Cab purchasing a fleet of S Class
Mercedes that could be driven by our drivers and who would be paid a
salary. As with any new venture, we had to predict the costs to the
Society. The figures that Roger Ascough based his predictions on, were in
hindsight, slightly wrong. With the vast majority of bookings being
airport transfers, car companies were charging £35 from the City to the
airport in a Scorpio or Volvo-type vehicle. Using this figure in the
predictions made this venture look risky. However, there would still have
been a profit over a five-year period. Using journey costs of £55 to
£60, which was the amount that car firms were charging for the airport
journeys in a Mercedes-type vehicle, the figures were much better. Some
saw this as too high a risk for the Society to undertake, hence the reason
that the idea was shelved.
Circumstances have now changed for the
taxi industry. The licensing of minicabs will improve the service to
the public and will remove those individuals who chose to run illegitimate businesses, but more importantly it will have a direct impact on the bread and butter work of the licensed radio circuits. The S Class Mercedes or limo-type vehicle will still be required for it’s comfort. So, although the licensing laws will affect the limo types of companies, I see no reason why their work should not remain at the levels they are now.
People Carriers
The up-market minicab firms, the ones that insist their drivers wear a
collar and tie, check cars for insurance and MOT certificates, are now
starting to purchase vehicles that are designed as people carriers. At
last year’s Taxi Driver of the Year Show, both Fiat and Mercedes had
vehicles on display and one company had already placed an order for 100
Fiats. The design of these vehicles is not to compete with the limo market
but more towards the black cab that carries passengers on shorter journeys
with a reasonable amount of comfort.
In September, we expect to see the
first proprietor’s licenses being issued. It will not be long after that
the first driver and vehicle licenses will be issued. So what will we have
then? A vehicle that is tested and passed fit to carry passengers. A
driver who will have been checked and gained a knowledge of the area he is
licensed to work. A company director who will have received a clean bill
of health to run a taxi operation. Does this all sound familiar? Of course
it does. Their only difference to the black cab trade is that their work
must come via the telephone. Oh! I nearly forgot, they are not required to
fit a meter. This allows them the opportunity to charge less than we do
and I’m sure it will happen. However, with their overheads increasing
due to the licensing laws being enforced, their charges will increase but
not to the levels of the black cab driver.
And the Future?
I believe customers will be offered a
service that will see these purpose built people carriers going from the
City to the west-end cheaper than a black cab. I can see no reason why any
buyer in their right mind would turn this down. It will offer substantial
savings to any company. Licensed
taxi circuits will no longer be able to
sell against a driver not knowing where he is going. They will not be able
to put doubt about the vehicle being road worthy or insured; they will
loose their bread and butter work. Drivers needing to earn money will
leave and revert to doing street work.
So what can Dial-a-Cab do to retain its
business? It is my belief that we should look at supplying the customer
with what they want and if that means a car, then so be it. Cars should be
purchased by the Society and a pool of willing drivers be selected from
the membership and employed to do the job. A salary can be offered that I’m
sure some members will find attractive. More attractive to those of you
who have been driving for some years and are looking to reduce your
overheads, although it would not be possible to pay the amounts that some
of you earn in your cabs. We have the experience and the technology to
carry this off, more importantly we have the confidence of our customers.
Alternatively…
An alternative idea would be to contract a car company to work on our
behalf. This would only be an option if it were felt there was too much of
a financial risk to the Society in carrying out the first option. In my
opinion, it is totally a non-runner.
These are the only two options that I
believe are open to us. The first option is the one clients are crying out
for radio taxi organisations to take up. I honestly believe that we have
no option but to take this route. I have heard all the arguments about the
licensed trade against the unlicensed trade and my views have not altered.
We are all soon to become the licensed trade and that is where the
differences will stop. The majority of the membership will be looking
towards this Board of Management to hold on to their work. To lead them
forward into the next century.
I am afraid that if we do not diversify
our business now, we will see a decline in work unlike that ever seen
before. The radio circuit that is brave enough to take this opportunity
first will end up as the market leader. I say, why not Dial a Cab? Two
years ago, when I first looked at this project, I felt that it was the
right way of increasing our work and making this Society more profitable
than the rest. Now I believe we must look at the project yet again, but
this time it will be to stay alive.
Keith Cain
