Taxi Driver Online

Realisation time, we have to look at new ways to promote our trade and that includes what we wear. Times are extremely tough and only tough minds will survive. The tough minded will buy in to the new ways to promote and advertise our Black Cab Trade. The anti needs upped and big time.

I’ve put together three key messages that we the UK trade can get behind and promote.

Your Safety Matters

Qualified Trusted and Safe

The Knowledge

All 3 are conversation starters

I’ve put these three key messages on Apparel, black background with our iconic for hire light promoting each message. T-Shirts, Hoodies, Male and Female, there’s also Fleece Blankets and more products with the messages on.

Take a look: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/two ... i+for+hire

Tap on the image and browse to the Apparel, All sizes available, feel free to use the resize slider on the designs.

Our trade is mainly individual in the way we operate, we deal with customers individually, we should seriously consider promoting and advertising as individuals too.

I apologise in advance if some think it’s a money making exercise, I don’t make much profit and like most of us in the trade, I’ve not worked or earned a wage for nearly 3 months.

Those who know me in Edinburgh know that I use any profit for trade stickers etc or a charity, if I sell enough I will do so again. I believe in the 3 messages that I’m promoting, my objective is for our trade to unite as individuals and promote and advertise as individuals. No unions, no trade reps, purely individuals working together for the benefit of our UK wide trade, the same message across the board.

Thanks for reading and hopefully you’ll see what I’m trying to achieve.

I’m on Twitter
@DougBrownCabbie

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

We should always be trying to promote and improve the trade.

As someone who has been working throughout I'm not convinced anything extra we specifically do will improve matters.

In short I think most of it is out of our hands.

Now clearly our cars should be clean and we should regularly wipe down the bits that matter, and we should use hand cleaner all the time.

However it's down to the authorities to open up the places we take and pick up punters from, and we need the punters in this country to actually want to go out.

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IDFIMH

I get that, but we have to have our identity in new places, we have to have what we are all about everywhere we can find the space, social media isn’t really working for us, probably the reverse. A new approach is required individually and nationally.

Our trade has due to not only corporate profiteering changed for the worse, the likes of Gett, Free Now, Uber and all will eventually if we allow them to wipe us completely out, a kind of Black Cabs no longer required future and that was happening before the current situation.

Can we see upon a return to some kind of normality, a rise in street hails, I can’t see it. How many fares are going to be paid in cash, not many.

The future of needing a cab is without a doubt going to be booked through an app, the street hail days I say are over. The Black Cab Trade has to ensure our Brand is where it needs to be and that is in the face of the punter, we need to sell Trust, Safety and Promote the fact that we are Qualified Trusted and Safe to travel with.

We are up against big corporates, we need to think outside the box and promote and find new ways to advertise, we need nationally and can only achieve this if we all act individually.

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

There is no bigger fan of mandatory card machines in taxi/PH than me.

Regrettably just before this madness started my council refused to make that policy.

I would imagine as soon as the licensing committee meet again, they will have a rethink about that.

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IDFIMH

I think city/town center ranks will always have a market, and major transport hubs too.

But no one is going to wait on a street corner in the hope of an available cab driving past.

The app is the future and we need to do the app better than the likes of Uber. Which is doable IMO.

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IDFIMH

Cannot understand why there is not 1 app countrywide run by the government for the benefit of all licensed hackney carriages,restricted to given work to vehicle when it is only in its own licensing authority district.
It would not be impossible to implement especially if every license was mandated to sign up on granting of such license.

Good idea Heathcote, I’d support Local Authorities bringing in one app, but the fear is that under there management they might like the rest operate a mixed fleet.

We have just had a big update on the Cordic app as has the other co-op in Edinburgh. There’s never been a time in recent times to take our trade back out of the hands of the corporate greedy.

We are lucky that both companies are co-ops, but before the pandemic the corporate greed was infiltrating and it was becoming a problem for us. I bought in to it for awhile, but could see where it was leading. We have an opportunity now, whilst our trade is at rock bottom to grab back control, I have to promote the message nationally in the hope that we individually are acting for the benefit of the whole Black Cab Trade and it’s future.

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!