Shenfield station taxi office makes way for Crossrail
ON THE MOVE: Shenfield Taxis' Paul Dartford, Jamie Schofield, Raymond Cansell and Mike Phillips in front of the soon-to-be-demolished hut
A WELL-KNOWN taxi firm has moved from its 50-year-old radio hut to make way for Crossrail.
Shenfield Taxis, known for its green stickered fleet of cars, takes customers from the station's forecourt to their homes across the area.
The operation, which involves 30 cars, sees a controller that mans the radio, answers the telephone and provides face-to-face customer contact sit in the hut near the station entrance, which has been standing for decades.
But now, due to Crossrail needing to set up a worksite and having to get vehicles to the area behind the hut, Shenfield Taxis' base is set to move for about 18 months.
One of Shenfield Taxis' bosses, Jamie Schofield, said: "We are going to be at the back of Brad's Barbers in Hutton Road.
"At the barber's shop, there is a toilet and then there is a small office that has been converted.
"We are going to put a freephone at the front of the shop.
"We are going to advertise and we will get an A-board done.
"We just want to make people aware that we are going to be in operation."
Mr Schofield continued: "We will still operate our cars from the forecourt, but we are not going to have the customer face that we have at the moment.
"We are not going to have people walking up to the office."
The technical equipment, such as a different phone line and radio aerial, was moved into the shop on Monday afternoon and the new office was opened on Tuesday morning.
The work behind where the taxi hut used to stand is expected to start shortly.
Work at the Crossrail site in nearby Friars Avenue, meanwhile, began at the start of February, with workers clearing trees and other foliage off the bank so the main works of creating a new platform six and strengthening the embankment could begin.
Mr Schofield said: "We are moving because Crossrail need our office space. They said they will be replacing the office when they finish their work.
"Whatever they disturb or disrupt they need to put it back as it was before."
And the taxi partner had a message for his customers.
He said: "Hopefully they will carry on using us and get in a Shenfield car. We will just carry on as normal."
The Crossrail route, which is set to open between Shenfield and Reading via central London in 2018, will see up to 12 trains an hour in the rush hour start at the station.
Read more:
http://www.brentwoodgazette.co.uk/Shenf ... z3TmoYJRms
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