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Dundee offices merge amid driver shortage and rising costs
http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38569
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Author:  StuartW [ Tue Aug 02, 2022 7:52 am ]
Post subject:  Dundee offices merge amid driver shortage and rising costs

Another formulaic piece about a merger, this time in Dundee.

Could chunter on and on about this, but maybe better not, but this is a couple of Dundee's smaller players getting together, and looks like a genuine merger rather than a takeover. Apart from Tele Taxis, which as far as I know is still the biggest office in Dundee, there's just one other significant player, Dundee City Taxis, which is more of a new kid on the block.

And they're all mixed HC and PH as far as I know, and no separate PH sector in Dundee.

(Confusingly, Dundee City Taxis and City Cabs are entirely different entities.)

There's links to the photos at the bottom, but they're also a bit, er, generic :-o


New Dundee taxi firm with 100-car fleet launched following merger

A new Dundee taxi business has launched following the merger of two city firms.

CityCabs 450450, based at West Marketgait, has been formed following a merger of CityCabs and Tay Taxis.

Charlie Duthie, the former managing director of Tay Taxis, becomes operations director at the new business.

The business, which will have a fleet of more than 100 vehicles, will be headed up by fleet director Peter Marr Jnr, son of former Dundee FC owner Jimmy Marr.

A new app has been launched to give customers the best experience when booking a taxi, including text updates and ‘track my taxi’ facilities.

New taxi firm boss ‘excited’ by merger

All of the Tay Taxis staff have switched over to work for City Cabs.

Peter Marr said: “We are hugely excited to be launching CityCabs 450450.

“The experience we have in the team allows us provide a customer focused approach and offer the best possible taxi experience to our customers.

“Our growth strategy will drive the use of new and innovative methods to grow our fleet and customer base.

“Our aim is to be Dundee’s Premier Taxi Service – and recognised as putting customer service at the heart of everything we do.”

Meanwhile Mr Marr Snr was pleased to have Mr Duthie remain with the new company.

“He’s been in the business for 30 years.

“Peter will learn a lot from him. That was one of the reasons behind doing a merger.
‘Sensible’ move will help ease costs

He felt the move made sense to capitalise on the strengths of the two businesses.

“It’s two similar size companies, so amalgamating them together made sense.

“We wanted to keep people with vast experience. It was a natural step.”

“We hope to build on the success the two firms had over the years.

“It’s very difficult at the moment with a shortage of drivers and cars on the road.

“We thought this might help the situation.”

Rising fuel costs are a problem for taxi drivers, Mr Marr said, while adding the biggest issue the company has faced has been taxi drivers who have turned to other work.

“A lot of guys that had their badges retired, so that caused a shortage.

“Others left to work for the likes of Tesco, Uber and Amazon, and they’ve never come back.

“Hopefully the shortage will be alleviated through time.”

Mr Marr added that the merger will help keep utility costs down.

“We were both in our own premises, so just being in one office will help things going forward,” he said.

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 40x564.jpg

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 40x564.jpg

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 40x564.jpg

Author:  StuartW [ Tue Aug 02, 2022 7:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Dundee offices merge amid driver shortage and rising cos

Quote:
“Others left to work for the likes of Tesco, Uber and Amazon, and they’ve never come back."

Odd to categorize Uber with Tesco and Amazon there.

But there's no Uber in Dundee, so I'm guessing he means Uber Eats, and therefore the sentence makes a bit more sense :?

Anyway, seems to have been a rash of articles about mergers and takeovers in the past few days. Don't know if it's just a coincidence. But maybe as the post-lockdown landscape is becoming clearer, there's a degree of rationalisation going on in the industry.

Author:  Sussex [ Tue Aug 02, 2022 9:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Dundee offices merge amid driver shortage and rising cos

I think the reduced number of drivers will inevitably lead to more mergers.

And it makes sense in this app day and age to have smaller, and fewer, offices.

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