Taxi Driver Online

TAXI drivers in Oban yesterday staged their own protest against corporate late payers, by declining the offer of a series of hires to Glasgow and beyond.

They were asked to help First ScotRail by taking around 80 passengers south – at around £70 a fare – when the 8.20am train to Glasgow Queen Street was unable to leave because of an engineering fault.

But the drivers in the local taxi association claimed that when they had made the 90-mile trip to Glasgow with rail passengers in the past, they had to wait up to three months before they were paid by the train company.

Norman Carmichael, one of the drivers, said yesterday: "This dispute has been running for about four or five years. It has been seven to 12 weeks before we get paid and no small business can stand that. Somebody was supposed to come and talk to the Oban taxi association several years ago, but he never came.

"So unfortunately for the passengers on this morning's train, no association taxi would go unless it got cash up front. One did. He got paid in pound coins, which, we hear, came from the station float. He had to take the train driver and guard to Crianlarich to meet the next train."

A 22-seater bus had been sent up to help and one taxi firm, not in the taxi association, was understood to have sent two vehicles, one a seven-seater. But it was not sufficient.

A spokeswoman for the operator said it had only taken over the franchise from Scot-Rail last autumn and the issue had not been raised with them.
She added: "This is now being looked into as a matter of urgency and invite any company to contact us should they feel the matter is not resolved."

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IDFIMH

Par for the course really - big businesses are notoriously slow in paying small businesses

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Scotrail are well known as slow payers, but theres plenty of St Andrews firms willing to do the work at Leuchars station, usually to Edinburgh.

It might be because they get the metered rate which is about a third more than the going rate, but its maybe just because they need the work anyway.

I suppose if they factor out the invoice, which they have done at the full fare, then there's no difference than offering the train firm a 10/20% discount.

Only with the factor firm they should get their money quite quickly.

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IDFIMH