Taxi Driver Online

This is bog standard advertorial, but considering there's only four of them driving they seem to have quite a fleet of vehicles. Great if everyone has a specialist vehicle available all the time, but does seem a bit over the top

But suspect they're doing quite lucrative contract work that maybe justifies each driver having a car and bus at their disposal


Middleton Tyas firm Tony's Taxi's is busiest for 13 years



Image: The Northern Echo

A FAMILY-run taxi company in Richmondshire has bounced back from the pandemic with the busiest year in their 13-year history.

A boom in tourism to the area, along with weddings that had been postponed due to Covid-19, have all played a major part in the success of Tony's Taxis, which is run from Middleton Tyas by husband-and-wife team Gill and Tony Marshall and their children Craig and Kim.

The family has transported people to and from 500 weddings across the area in the last 12 months, in addition to their normal day-to-day taxi services. This includes ferrying around more tourists and taking people back and from airports again, as travel restrictions have eased.

They have also become one of the first to complete Richmondshire District Council’s dementia friendly training for taxi drivers – through local charity Dementia Forward - which is designed to give drivers confidence to help people with dementia.

Tony's Taxis has experienced rapid growth since Tony decided to become a cab driver 13 years after being made redundant from his job in car sales.

They now have a fleet of eight vehicles which the four family members can use depending on the nature of the job. This includes three cars, two six-seater 4 x 4 vehicles and three eight-seater minibuses.


Image: The Northern Echo

Tony said: “The pandemic made it difficult for all taxi companies, but we were hit particularly hard due to the fact we are a pre-booked taxi which meant most of our business was related to the hospitality or travel industry.

“However now things have opened up again, all the previously postponed weddings are now taking place, and when you combine with the large numbers of people coming into Richmondshire on holiday and a general desire to get back to drinking and eating in pubs, it means we are busier than we have been in our history.

“We have built up a reputation for being reliable, punctual, and going that extra mile, so for example if we have a vulnerable customer we will wait until they are in their house before leaving or we will help people in with their shopping.

“People also like the fact that we’re a family business and they know that it will only ever be one of the four of us who picks them up or drops them off.”

Tony says they were delighted to become a dementia friendly taxi firm.

He explains: “My mum had dementia when I was young before things like that were diagnosed as such, so it means a lot to us as a family to help people who are vulnerable.

“We also work with Richmondshire District Council and other local authorities like Wakefield Council to provide taxi services for vulnerable children.”

With Tony aged 64 and Gill aged 62, whilst the pair have no plans to retire just yet they are looking to the future.

Tony said: “Gill and I are trying to reduce our hours, so we are in bed at reasonable times, for taxi drivers anyway, and we have fantastic support from Craig and Kim."


Image: The Northern Echo