Taxi Driver Online

Abergavenny taxi drivers hit out at car share scheme



TAXI drivers in Abergavenny have accused a new community car sharing scheme of threatening business in the town.

Taxi drivers became upset after organisers of the new scheme put an advertisement in local newspapers asking for volunteer drivers.

Rob Shepherd, 45, of Abergavenny, founded his taxi company, Cymru Cars, seven years ago.

He said: "If someone starts putting out cheap taxi prices and undercuts you by 50p or so, then you deal with it, because that’s just business. But when someone is charging 40p for a journey which should cost a couple of quid, how can we compete?"

Mr Shepherd owns two vehicles and has to pay for premium ‘Hackney Cab’ insurance, five MOTs a year, £175 a year for number plates, £60 for annual Monmouthshire council badges and has to pay for regular Criminal Records Bureau and medical checks.

Nigel Webb, 62, has driven a taxi in Abergavenny for 30 years. He said: "The council told me they couldn’t do anything about it because it’s not their department. We are not going to stand for it. If our customers get wind of this it’s going to put virtually every taxi service in Abergavenny out of business."

Kerry Crosfield, 34, of Abergavenny, founded the scheme in Abergavenny after success in Crickhowell, which has 30 drivers and more than 100 clients.

Ms Crosfield said there had never been any problems with taxi companies in Crickhowell.

She said: “There is no commercial benefit from this service. The £5 annual fee is to pay for administration and the phone calls we make to clients. The 40p per mile each driver receives is a contribution towards petrol and is actually 5p less than the HM Revenue and Customs recommends.”

The car share scheme also conducts CRB checks on its drivers.

Ms Crosfield said: "It’s not open to everybody, we don’t take people to the pub. It’s for people who are isolated and vulnerable. We are doing it purely to help the community. We are not in competition with anyone and we are not illegal."

source: http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/9 ... re_scheme/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

IMO wrong on both cases.

_________________
IDFIMH

Its a wee bit difficult to compete with people charging f*ck all.

But lets face some truths here.....the 40p per mile is both ways.....in taxi terms its 80p per mile.......even at that we still cant compete.

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I wonder if they have hire and reward insurance, our council insisted that swmbo had it to take my son to special needs school before they would pay her

No they don't have to have hire and reward and they do take a lot of work off the regular taxis especially the trips to and from Hospitals doctors train stations but you don't see them out late at night

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

Car sharing and paying a fee?? Hmmmmm this will open a can of worms IMO.

None of this will change until a nasty crash kills a few punters/passengers.

Then when the insurance company don't pay out, the powers that be might act.

_________________
IDFIMH

Time to get in touch with Mr Shepard.