Taxi Driver Online

Thought for a second that this was the same guy doing a very similar thing in Liverpool the other week. But apart from, er, skin colour, can't really see any connection between this and the Liverpool thing

Anyway, maybe more interesting than the app (or whatever it is) is the HC stats - down from 855 in 2016 to 326 today

Thought there was maybe an error, but I checked the latest DfT stats and those from 2015, and they're in the same ball park (not precisely reconcilable, but presumably they're from slightly different dates).


Love of black cabs behind developer's booking plan

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c980eq9zeg2o

A Coventry man says it was his love of black cabs that drove him to help struggling taxi drivers in the city by developing a new app to allow their customers to book with them directly.

Max Parsons, from Hillfields, developed his Artificial Intelligence direct booking tool, which uses WhatsApp, specifically for black cabs.

Drivers of the vehicles told the BBC their usual level of trade in the city has dropped over the years due to an increase in the cost of living and competition from ride hailing apps.

"I've been a fan of black cabs for quite a long time and I realised how much in decline they were so," Parsons said, about what drove his idea.

"As a developer, I thought, 'if there's anything I can do to improve their situation, I should try to help them'."

There are currently 326 licensed black taxis in Coventry, compared to 855 in 2016.

The software developer has created a community interest company called Black Cabs Unite for the scheme.

Parsons said in his long-term plan, once the system was fully operational, customers could book a black cab directly for a fixed fare for their journey.

The full fare would go to the drivers but customers would be charged a fee for the service.

While the project is still in its early stages, about 20 drivers are trialling the app.

They were given business cards with their own QR codes which people scan to access the new system.

The biggest impact on black cabs in Coventry over the last few years has been the influx of private hire cars, licensed by other West Midlands councils, according to some drivers who spoke to the BBC.

In 2024, the City of Wolverhampton Council issued 8,563 taxi licences in the first five months of the year, compared to 27 issued by Coventry City Council for the same period.

Reza, a black cab driver in Coventry for more than 20 years, said the competition from out-of-town taxis and ride-hailing apps had dented his trade.

"Business is very difficult for us at the moment thanks to the economy and inflation and customers are looking for cheaper options," he admitted.

He is one of the cabbies trialling the new booking system.

"We need time for people to see what we're doing and to put their the trust in us," Reza said.

Funny thing, though, is that there are even fewer PHVs in Coventry than the HC numbers on the 2026 DfT stats - 397 HCs, but only 334 PHVs

Of course - and as mentioned in the piece - that's easily explainable by cross-border cars from Wolverhampton, and particularly since Coventry and Wolverhampton are reasonably close to each other, with only the city of Birmingham between the two.

Funny thing, though, is that the DfT stats show 846 HCs in 2015, but only 156 PHVs

Which, of course, was before the Wolverhampton thing got going - in 2015 Wolves only had 669 PHVs, as opposed to around 38,000 in the latest DfT stats.

So although cross-border working was around back then, it probably didn't explain the dearth of Coventry PHVs at that time.

So it was maybe one of those oddball big cities (common in smaller locations), where HCs encompassed most of the market - I think Liverpool and Edinburgh were broadly similar once upon a time, although a good few years before 2015.

But that would explain why the Coventry HC fleet has reduced by 62% in the last decade or so, as the PHV sector has grown significantly, albeit via cross-border plating.

(I'd guess they've never been capped either, which again has probably kept the number of PHVs down historically. And, by the same token, when PHV numbers increase hugely, there's no historical cap figure which might keep HC numbers up, so they've plummeted as per the stats.

So, back maybe 30 years ago, HC caps helped increase PHV numbers. Now, apps and virtual hailing are increasing PHV numbers but deflating HC numbers.)

Can't be bothered checking all those numbers again, so there may be errors. But I'm sure they're in the right ball park.

And, of course, all that's assuming the official stats are accurate in the first place. Which hasn't always been the case

The other odd thing I found last night (down a couple of different rabbit holes at 3am ) was this. I mean, check out the guy here second from left with his hands together, who is supposedly the chap developing this new app:

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/9 ... 1.jpg.webp

So his name is Max Parsons. Any relation to this Maxwell Parsons from Coventry?


Maxwell Parsons: £2.5m fugitive bank fraudster arrested



A man who was sentenced in his absence for defrauding the banking industry of £2.5m has been arrested.

Maxwell Parsons, 49, devised computer software to reverse bank transactions, Manchester Crown Court heard.




That was from 2014, so he's obviously been a bit of a software geek for some time.

I mean, it looks like him, the names and location fits, as do the ages - he was 49 in 2014, and according to Companies House a Maxwell Parsons from Coventry was born in 1965, so that fits.

And the Companies House records show that back about 2011 he founded a couple of companies called I-BOOKTAXI LIMITED and TAXI MAX SYSTEMS LTD. Both were dissolved in 2102 or 2013, thus before he was jailed for the bank stuff

So I'm 99% certain it's the same guy

well coventry is just down the road from tangerine city so hardly surprising the numbers of locally licensed are down

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

And compare the latest photo above about the HC app stuff with these other photos of the convicted scammer after he came out of jail - deffo the same person

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/9 ... 1.jpg.webp


This one in the Coventry Telegraph:




This much earlier one in MEN about the bank scam:


Fugitive multi-million pound fraudster faces ten years behind bars after arrest

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... nt-7295433

Maxwell Parsons was arrested yesterday by officers in Nottingham after fleeing just days before being convicted in December

The biggest impact is the cost of the bloody things. If they were £30,000, not £60-90,000, then the decline would be nowhere near as big.

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IDFIMH