Taxi Driver Online

This is just a paid advert, presumably, so largely flimflam, and to be honest I didn't read it all.

But did notice a cracking throwaway line with regard to the legal perspective for operations like his.

See if anyone's thinking the same as me


Shaz Saleem takes us behind his Express Taxi business in Halesowen

https://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/18 ... halesowen/


Image: Halesowen News

Name of Business: Express Taxis Halesowen

Address: 234 Dudley road, Halesowen, B63 3LW

Telephone: 01215012345

Website: http://expresstaxishalesowen.co.uk/

Social Media: fb: @expresshalesowen insta: @expresshalesowen twitter: @expresshales1

Opening Hours: 24/7


Who are you?
Shaz Saleem, Manager Director

When did you open and why?
I have been in the taxi trade from the age of 13! I supported my dad's taxi office in Dudley called Beacon Taxis. I used to finish school on Friday afternoon, work Friday evening, Saturday day and night and Sunday day. Working with my dad and being in a supervisor role really helped me grow as a person and learn so much about work life. At the age of 17 I became manager as I began running day to day operations of the business, but after graduating in 2009 I wanted to be my own person. As much as I loved managing Beacon, I felt I had so much potential to do more and unfortunately at Beacon I couldn't. So at the age of 25 I became the youngest taxi office owner in the Midlands when I took over Express Taxis Halesowen. Originally Express was located at Mucklow Hill. The previous owners who began the company in 2004 had decided to sell as they felt they couldn't take the business forward. When I did my research on the company I was very impressed with its progress but felt it had potential to so much more. You could say Express mirrored my position in life at that point and we were destined to be.

Tell us about your business:
Express Taxis Halesowen is a 24/7 private hire and taxi office. It began in 2004 with the support of the iconic figure of Mr Happy. When I took over in 2011 it had 25 vehicles and was using the old radio system. Since then we have improved our service, which enabled the company to grow. We moved homes to our current location in 2014, and went computerised in 2014 allowing a better way to communicate with our customers by offering a text back system. This was a first in Halesowen. In 2015 we launched the Express App which made booking a taxi easier for our customers. In 2016 after doing a survey with our customers we launched ExpressWhatsApp allowing customers, mainly teenagers, to book with this service. In 2019 we became dementia friendly with Halesowen BID and we brought Starfleet Taxis (which had a 25 year history) this has made us Halesowen's largest fleet as we now have 70 drivers. We have recently opened a branch in Blackheath with Sandwell Council allowing our customers to get an Express Experience.

How did you decide on the name?
It name was chosen by the previous owners and I absolutely loved it so continued with it.

Who are your customers?
We have a wide range of customers, local residents, businesses and so on. we are very proud of the service we provide.

What’s your most memorable / proudest moment in business?
Every day walking in to Express is a proud moment. It's a company that in 2012 almost closed as I took on a debt from the previous owners, it was a tough challenge but we worked so hard to make it the company it is today. We have such an amazing workforce, we're a family. I have never called an employee an employee as for me they are not they are my family. I believe no one is bigger than the organisation. Today Express is mine, tomorrow it might not be, every decision I make must be for the future of Express.

Have you had any strange/ quirky suggestions or stories from customers?
I might write a book on this, but in back of a cab our drivers have seen and heard it all.

What are your ambitions for the future?
The ambition is to keep growing. We just launched an office in Sandwell to ensure our company continues to grow and give our customers an Express Experience.


Image: Halesowen News