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OPERATOR PROFILES.. TOWN AND COUNTRY: GLASGOW


HOW DRIVERS ESTABLISH THEIR OWN BUSINESS IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF DISTRICT


PHTM has spoken to and profiled so many different people from diverse areas of the country over the years; we thought read- ers might enjoy an insight into the way drivers set up their own business in an urban -v- a rural licensing area.


The “Town” candidate for this feature is 36-year-old Amar Ullah, who was born and bred in Glasgow.


What strikes you immediately you meet Amar is that he is a very caring person… so he’s definitely in the right business, as his main concern with his (very) new enterprise is pleasing his customers. He’s just launched his own private hire business in Glasgow, Raz Private Hire, so we wanted to find out more about why he’s gone down this road.


Amar’s previous work background was with HM Revenue and Customs. In 2010 he started driving part-time as a private hire driver – as is often the case with people who come into the industry. He did this for three months and decided he liked the work and the people.


So he applied to drive for a particular booking office as a full-time driver. Howev- er, he came upon his first setback: he’s dyslexic and can’t sit exams, so they declined him a radio at first. Ultimately he was taken on, and drove for that circuit for just under nine years. The job suited his lifestyle and outlook down to the ground.


ANOTHER STUMBLING BLOCK


Around 2016 Amar suffered another set- back: he was diagnosed with clinical depression. Fellow sufferers would recog- nise the symptoms: you don’t want to do anything, you don’t want to get out of bed on the worst days… Amar says his plight was drawn out because initially he didn’t want to go to the doctor. Once diagnosed, he was treated with medication; however, the main reason he got better was because he met and married his wife Sameera within five weeks over the summer/autumn 2018.


He says that today he’s on top of the ill- ness. Having turned a corner health-wise, Amar decided to set up his own private hire firm – and has been encouraged by his


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wife Sameera every inch of the way. The main reason for this, he told us, is that so many private hire companies are “out for their own inter- ests: get the rent in, get one more job in… they are not concerned about the customer, or the drivers. I wanted to set up my own busi- ness and aim for the best possible cus- tomer service.”


The question is: Where do you start? Amar started by spreading the word, as quickly and through as many outlets as possible. The two main elements were getting drivers, and needing to make sure he’s bringing in enough work for those drivers.


Needless to say, social media plays a major part in this new endeavour: they’re using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and WhatsApp to connect with as many peo- ple as possible. Driver recruitment has been encouraging: there are 22 drivers signed up so far, offering saloons, estates and MPVs; however Amar says that not enough drivers are logged on at any one time, so that has to be resolved.


Facebook is the favourite for bringing in potential custom: he’s advertising special offers, telling people how to contact the company, telling them about his booking app. He’s also got a smart website, and is listed on Google… not forgetting word of mouth and repeat business from pleased customers.


So far Raz Private Hire is covering the majority of the Glasgow area, plus the air- port: they have already had quite a few airport transfers, and have picked up two or three major accounts. Amar himself drives a Skoda Superb… he said he still loves the driving, and as soon as it’s feasi- ble he’d like his wife Sameera to take over the office duties so he can get back on the road where he’s happiest: with his cus- tomers.


ANY INVESTORS OUT THERE?


Being frank, Amar says they could do with a small investment to kick off; however the banks wouldn’t entertain this at the pre- sent time. So he’s operating very cautiously to start with: for example, his booking and dispatch system is Zoom, which – as a ‘pay as you go’ scheme - suits his budget, and organises their online bookings.


The secret to growing his business, Amar believes, is to build up his share of the market, and to search out any niche in the marketplace which might bring in new custom. We asked if he’s able to accom- modate disabled (wheelchair) passengers; he says the problem there is that private hire numbers are capped in Glasgow, so he can’t get a WAV licensed at the present time. He’ll get there…


We come on to the subject of security and driver safety, which neatly gives us chance to mention the CCTV event we attended in Glasgow in November; this is where I met Amar in person. We ran the full feature covering the event in last month’s PHTM.


Amar is fully supportive of CCTV in as many licensed vehicles as possible. He got involved with the event through Barry Sloan of UPHD; Barry is working with Amar and supporting his new enterprise as much as possible, and Barry’s vehicle is equipped with CCTV.


What impressed Amar about the security event was that it was very well organised, and supported by both sides of the trade – which has been more than unusual in the past! “What struck me was the quality of the cameras… I would want all my drivers eventually to sign up for CCTV. In fact, because of the payment scheme that is available I would try to finance as many of the units for my drivers as I could, for driv- er and passenger safety alike.”


The main reason we believe Amar will suc- ceed is that he set up Raz Private Hire as “a company for drivers, by a driver” – so he wants the balance between driver satisfac- tion and good customer service to be right.


It will be… JANUARY 2020


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