Taxi Driver Online

Aberdeen Press and Journal

August 18, 2006 Friday

HEADLINE: Largest Elgin taxi company collapses under rising debt

BYLINE: Raymond Shewan

Elgin's biggest taxi firm - a major provider of school run services - has gone out of business with the loss of about 20 full-time and part-time jobs.

Scotravel operated 17 vehicles and held a number of Moray Council school transport contracts, but it has emerged that the firm had run up sizeable debts that it was unable to pay.

Last night the council reassured parents that alternative transport arrangements had been made for their children ahead of the new school session, which begins next week. Licensing committee chairman Alastair Bisset said the council had acted quickly to ensure there would be no disruption to the school transport service.

"All those who were due to be transported by this company will now be transported by other firms," said Mr Bisset. Letters confirming the new arrangements were being sent out last night to the parents of 150 pupils normally driven to and from school by Scotravel.

Mr Bisset said the council's transport officials had removed the taxi licence plates from all Scotravel vehicles as soon as they became aware of the situation. It was confirmed yesterday that Iain Fraser, an Aberdeen-based director of insolvency practitioners Tenon Recovery, had been appointed trustee of the defunct company.

Mr Fraser said Scotravel owner Fernando Oliveira, who operated as sole trader, had signed a trust deed in his favour. His role as trustee will be similar to that of a liquidator in cases where a limited company is involved. "My function will be to realise the assets of the company and pay out to creditors as best I can," he said. Mr Fraser was unable to say how much Scotravel was in debt but confirmed there were debts that it had been unable to pay. He said the business had ceased trading and its staff made redundant.

Their redundancy claims would go to the Department of Trade and Industry for settlement from its redundancy fund, he said. It is understood that the collapse of the business is not linked to increased taxi fares imposed on Moray operators earlier this month by the Traffic Commissioner following their failure to reach agreement with Moray Council on a new fare structure.

Yesterday, the firm's premises in South Street were locked up and deserted. Mr Oliveira, who set up the company about 12 years ago, could not be contacted.

He had been living in rented accommodation on the outskirts of Elgin but a man who was at the property yesterday said he understood Mr Oliveira had left earlier this week.

A former hotelier, Mr Oliveira founded Scotravel after selling the Mansion House, one of Elgin's top hotels. He and his wife had opened the hotel, converted from a semi-derelict former nursing college, in the early 1980s.

As well as school contracts, Scotravel also had a contract with NHS Grampian to deliver medical samples and other materials to Aberdeen from hospitals in Moray. The 17 vehicle plates it held represented 10% of all taxi plates issued in Moray.

Mr Bisset said he was disappointed that Scotravel had gone out of business after operating successfully for so many years. "It was a reputable company with an excellent fleet of vehicles," he said. "It was a company of high standing within the taxi trade in Moray and one which never caused the licensing authority any concerns."

Several Scotravel drivers who lost their jobs are already understood to have found work with other taxi firms in the area. One taxi operator, who did not want to be named, said the demise of Scotravel had come as a complete surprise to everyone in the local taxi trade.

"It came totally out of the blue," he said. "There was no word that they were in any kind of trouble and even their own drivers didn't have an inkling.

"Most of their vehicles were new or nearly new and it was a company with a good reputation in the trade."
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I've got a funny feeling that those school runs will still be done by the same lads driving the same vehicles, possibly booked by the same operator.

Just a different name on the invoice.

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IDFIMH

This looks suspiciously like another cab company that has tried to undercut the opposition for the school contracts and just goes to show it does not work, In the 25 years of doing the job I have never put in for them, If they want me to do them it is the meter price minus 10%, and that goes for all contracts
I don't know why companies cut there own throats, with the council or any other contracts.

Rich coming from you, going over to PH because you object to a fare increase?

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Former taxi driver

An object lesson here, how to make a small fortune in the Taxi/PH industry.

Start out with a large one!

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Former taxi driver

Not really a school run fan, always been of the opinion that they would be fine but for the kids, but many of my mates do very nicely out of them indeed.

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IDFIMH

I'm still public hire Jimbo, If you had read the thread properly you would have seen that I wanted to keep my meter in the cab but have a different tariff, but the council would not let me do that, so i stayed hackney but give a discount, and I always go the shortest way possible, unlike most of the drivers here who are ripping the arse out of the road works that are going on here, they are going a mile further than they should, the same run is £4.50 with me and £5.90 with them, and thats on the meter.
conclusion I get now get double there runs

Of course you do. And you get the cake, and eat it too.

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Former taxi driver