BUSINESS IS BOOMING
MIDDLETON TYAS FIRM TONY’S TAXIS REPORTS BUSIEST YEAR EVER
A family-run taxi company in Richmondshire has bounced back from the pandemic with the busiest year in its 13-year history. A boom in tourism to the area, along with weddings that had been postponed due to Covid-19, have all played a major part in the success of Tony’s Taxis, which is run from Middleton Tyas by husband- and-wife team Gill and Tony Marshall and their two children. The family has transported people to and from 500 weddings across the area in the last 12 months, in addition to their normal day-to-
day services. This includes ferrying around tourists and taking people back and from airports again, as travel restrictions have eased. They have also become one of the first to complete Richmondshire
DC’s dementia friendly training for taxi drivers – through local charity Dementia Forward - designed to give drivers confidence to help people with dementia. Tony’s Taxis has experienced rapid growth since Tony decided to become a cab driver 13 years after being made redundant from his job in car sales. They now have a fleet of eight vehicles which can be used depending on the nature of the job. This includes three cars, two six-seater 4 x 4 vehicles and three eight-seater minibuses.
MIKE’S TAXI IN ASHFORD EXPANDS HIRING FORMER ARROW TAXIS DRIVERS
A taxi driver who set up his own company after leaving a long- running firm is taking on more staff following the closure of his former employer. Mike Simkins, from Willesborough, worked for Arrow Taxis for 13 years before going solo during the pandemic and starting Mike’s Taxi. Sadly the Cobbs Wood firm parked up its fleet of Mercedes last month after 41 years in business as it became “increasingly difficult” to recruit drivers. After hearing the news, Mr Simkins contacted three of his former colleagues and has now expanded to
three wheelchair-accessible
Peugeot Horizons on the road during the day and one at night. With more vehicles on the road, Mr Simkins hopes to improve the standard of services in Ashford as demand for drivers has soared.
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Mr Simkins said one of the reasons firms are struggling to recruit drivers is because of how long it takes to get a licence. He said: “It took two months for me to renew my licence and I’ve been doing this for 15 years, so you can imagine it’s even longer for a new driver. People left through lockdown to work elsewhere and just haven’t come back.” “One of the drivers Mr Simkins hired was Mike Freud from
Kennington who drove for Arrow Taxis for 16 years. Mike, 52, said: “I was wondering what I was going to do, whether I should buy my own car or change jobs totally. Then Mike rang up and it was a no-brainer when he said come and drive for him. “It was a shock Arrow closed so suddenly, but I wasn’t surprised. I think Covid was an escalator for it.” After taking on the new drivers, Mr Simpkins added: "I was full up 90% of the week anyway but now I have more availability." As well as offering more frequent journeys, Mr Simkins hopes to improve the standards of taxi services in the town. “Drivers have been refusing customers short journeys which is winding me up,” he said. “They do it all the time down the station and they’re not allowed to.”
SEPTEMBER 2022 PHTM
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