[quote="Jasbar"]In today's Edinburgh Evening News
Threat from private hires drives black cab firms' talks on merger
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Published Date: 25 February 2010
By CHRIS MARSHALL
TWO of the Capital's biggest black cab firms are in talks over a possible merger amid suggestions they are losing ground to the city's private hire trade.
Central Taxis and City Cabs, which between them have around 700 vehicles, are in early discussions, with the threat from the city's minicab trade and rival firm ComCabs said to be looming.
Members of City Cabs, which is run as a co-operative, will
meet next week to discuss setting up a feasibility study.
The firm today said any merger was still "a long way off," but rumours that the two firms are set to join forces are rife.
Les McVey, company secretary for City Cabs, denied that the merger was being discussed.
He said: "We've set up a meeting with members for next week to discuss a feasibility study, but a merger is a long way off.
"There are a variety of reasons for it, but private hire firms have been here for several years. The two companies already work together at the airport, so it makes sense (to look into a merger]."
Last year, the city's black cab firms described a decision by the city council to allow minicabs the right to charge lower fares as a "recipe for disaster".
The move raised objections from Central Taxis and City Cabs, who argued it would lead to "confusion" among passengers.
its place on the battlefield.
There is not a better way to tell all of our customers that we're expensive and we're ripping them off - by up to a whopping 30%. And to help protect us while we roger them, we're gonna merge into a bigger co-operative so that we can use our greater clout to roger them even more.
That's what McVey told the customers. This is excellent PR for ECPH.
McVey has just made it harder for all of us, streetcars included.
As for Keir, his restriction has allowed the unfettered growth of PH to the point where it is no longer embryonic, it's now been born and is developing into the warrior that is going to slaughter us.
Rather than allow market forces to grow our trade, the restriction has fed all of the market's expansion needs into PH.
The trade barons have destroyed this trade with their amateurish commercial ineptness. Tinkering to suit their own greed has brought us to the brink of destruction.
If I were a customer of either of these two stupid companies, with their stupid memberships for allowing the scum to destroy the trade, I would be looking for a hefty contract price reduction after reading this.
And who's gonna have to pay for this, the stupid members.
Travis Gladstone, Dougie and the host of other sycophantic asswedgies - this is your doing too. You can share the responsibility for massaging the egos of the vested interests.
