Taxi Driver Online

Loking for any help or hints that anyone can give me?

I have been a private hire driver for 6 years and have always wanted my own office, but could not afford to buy one or start one from scratch with radios, premises and drivers etc.

To try and get around this problem i bought myself a Peugeot Eurotaxi so that while i build up my phone work i will still be able to earn money via my hackney licence.

I give business cards to everyone who gets in my car, and i also post leaflets for about an hour a day. Due to my lack of finances i am not able to pay anyone to deliver the leaflets for me. Lack of finances comes from spending over £2000 in repair money on the second hand hackney carriage which i bought from Cab Direct in Coventry. When i told them my problems they did not want to know, but thats another story.

Another problem i have encountered is that the town i work, Wrexham, there are not many hackneys working from a rank, 2 at most including myself. Now when i park up in the rank with my light on not many people approach me as they think i am waiting for a particular person. This gets real annoying when i can see the private hire office packed at 3.30am and i am parked on the rank and no one approaches me!!

What i would like to ask is if anyone knows a way to get people to know that i can be flagged down, or am i going to keep having this problem due to the lack of hackneys. I would also like to know what anyone can suggest as to advertising on a limited budget?

Any help would be grateful,
Cheers.

Why walk with weary feet flag this cab on the street.

I suppose you could, if allowed, paint your motor pink or blue with white spots.

Or you could give that Taxi-call a look at. http://www.taxi-call.info/

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IDFIMH

Where is the rank in Wrexham??? in the center or near the railway bridge, or station, You could try handing out flyer's to all the pubs and clubs, and get the council to put the pick up info in the local paper.
do you have to sit on the rank or can you sit near the night clubs.
how many ranks do you have there, if there is only one ask the council if the will allow you to create your own at night you will know the best spots.

As for buying a second hand cab from cab direct, I would take them to the small claims court and get your money back, then call the taxi center in Glasgow and they will bring down a brand new one with no deposit
to lease one it will cost you, £112.79 per week over 4 years then you pay £2500 plus vat or continue to pay until clear.
Or for hire purchase £117.28 both terms over 4 years, and both have a 2 years unlimited mileage warranty
give them a ring on 01413343999 or look at there web site www.thetaxicenter.com. they come with meter calibrated to your area and have the fire extinguisher and first aid kit included
If your up to it GET THE NEW ONE FIRST and phone the cab direct finance company and tell them to come and collect it and that you wont be paying any more.

wrong spelling in link it should be www.thetaxicentre.com

Thanks for the pointers.

There area a few taxi ranks in the town, but the only real one that gets busy at night is outside the nightclubs, but it is always a nightmare parking on it as ordinary motorists, private hire drivers and even the police park on it!! Most people still choose to walk past the cab and go to the private hire offices, just wondering wether people are not used to hailing down a black cab as there are so few around Wrexham and there are only about 3 drivers using it on a good night.

Its a bit more difficult with Cab direct as i took out a loan with my own bank and paid for the cab that way. I was going to pay around £13,000 for a second hand vehicle as i could not afford a new one. The salesman directed me to the one i purchased which i got for £6995, the only problem i new about was it pulled to the side which was a bent lower arm.

The problems i have had are as listed:

1. Cam shaft bolt overtightened which snapped when removed. £1,100 to fix because the engine had to be removed to get the bolt drilled out, replace the lower arm, new clutch and brake pads.
2. Turbointercooler was cracked, this resulted in the engine malfunction light coming on after i had only driven it about 5 miles. I called Cab Direct and they did not want to know. £380 to replace.
3. All the indicators stopped working, turned out to be a loose wire.
4. The intercom button broke. £18 for a new one.
5. The rear window button broke off. £10 for a new one
6. Non stop trouble with the sliding doors. The brake locking stopped working, and then the door handle inside the door came apart.
7. Wheelchair strap button does not work.
8. Cigarette lighter does not work.
9. Rear heater does not work.
10. Handle in the rear fell off.

Some of the problems i can accept as thats what you get buying second hand, but i went to Cab Direct as i thought they would be a good company to buy from. Big Mistake!

When i called they and said it has cost over £2,000 to fix nearly all the problems, there answer was to say that if i had paid them £10,000 for the car in the begining then they would have fixed all the problems. Unbelivable!

My conclusion is that i like the versitility of the Eurotaxi but i would never buy a second hand vehicle from Cab Direct and would advise people thinking about using them to stay well clear, but thats just my opinion.

Anyway, any other hints for getting more trade apart from leaflets??

Cheers.

You need to do something that the other lads don't.

Maybe discounts for OAPs between certain 'happy hours'.

Oh and I'm a big fan of freephone numbers, but nobody on here ever agrees with me on that.

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IDFIMH

ARC, you are still covered by consumer protection laws, if the cab was not as advertised then sue them, it should never have been allowed on the public roads with the bent control arm in the first place, you will be able to get legal aid to do so with your income being so low, or go to the citizens advice burro they will tell you what to do to get all your money back. cab direct offer second hand cabs with 1 years unlimited warranty, in there adverts so don't let them away with it.
You say that there are ranks outside the clubs, is there signage there saying no parking except taxis??? there should be if not tell the council there must be by law, and get the police to book the private cars parked in the rank they have to by law if the rank is marked taxi rank, and definitely get them to book any private hire cabs as they are not allowed on your rank at all and let the council taxi inspector know this as well, stand up for yourself you have rights
Keep a full record of problems with the cab and costs so your solicitor has more to help. now if it was a TX 2 it would most probably be the one that Green badge go rid of, he's a hashy driver

and the cigarette lighter didnt work terrible

Well the cigarette lighter may not be a big deal to you tcabbie, but when i have been out working all day and need my phone to take jobs and it has run out of power, what do you suggest that i use to charge it up?!!

Anyway, i was explaining what problems i have had with the cab and that is just one of many if not really that important. Oh and another thing, i forgot to mention that i had to have a new fuel tank as the old one leaked, so that was another £400 sunk into the vehicle.

Thanks for the advice Skippy, but after all the money i have spent on the vehicle and having now advertised that i am available for work the last thing i want to be is not working because i have no cab. I do like the cab itself as it is great and people around here love it as there are not many around and people are always amazed by the locking doors and intercom! Its also coming in very handy for prams as they dont have to get the babies out of them to get into the cab. It is just a shame that i have had so many problems with it.

I am going to see the council tomorrow to talk about the rank and if there is anything that can be done about illegal parking, but my guess is that because there are not many cabs using it the council will just say ring the police, but that is something i dont want to be doing every time i come back to the rank.

By the way, the rank is right outside the nightclubs, a great little spot, although i have found that people walk past me as they go looking for food before they want a cab, then when they have there food they go to the private hire offices!! I suppose thats what you get from drunkards!!!

hope this helps and good luck

http://www.paramountzone.com/mobile_charger.htm

http://shopping.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/ss_eme ... arger.html

http://www.completeoutdoors.co.uk/produ ... ts_id=1737

Hands free kit works OK as well

I second this, you get to talk legally and charge your phone at the same time

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Legal and proud

Loads a love from BERTIE !!