Drivers: too many cars for taxi trade

By Joe Helm

The purchase by former Skellerup Group executives Murray Bolton and Allan Dickinson of Auckland-based taxi company Corporate Cabs has raised a few eyebrows in the taxi industry.

George Hawthorne, of Alert Taxis in Auckland, said Corporate Cabs had been bought and sold a few times in recent years.

"It seems to be traded among entrepreneurs who think they can make some money out of it," he said.

Mr Hawthorne said Corporate Cabs had an entry fee of about $29,000.

"So every time a driver joins, they get about $29,000," he said.

On top of that, prospective drivers had to buy a new Ford Fairmont car which cost about $60,000.

A representative of another Auckland taxi company said: "This is an extraordinarily competitive business and it is getting more competitive all the time."

Company representatives agreed it was getting harder for drivers to make money now.

"You can't tell me those drivers who sit on the airport ranks for hours on end are making much money," said one.

"Even at the top end of the market where a lot of work is pre-booked, the work is dropping off as companies cut costs."

Gavin Dobie, general secretary of the Taxi Federation, said there were more than 7000 taxis in New Zealand, with about 3000 in the Auckland area, the same number as in Sydney.

Ten years ago there were 2700 taxis in the country.

Mr Dobie said the figures included shuttles and limousine services which had grown in recent years.

He said since 1989 taxi numbers had grown by 15 per cent a year.

That was now slowing, but taxi numbers in Auckland had increased about 8 per cent in the last year.

Taxi companies were unusual in that they were there solely to provide services to drivers for a fee.

"It's a business within a business to be a taxi driver," Mr Dobie said.

Mr Hawthorne said while the number of taxis had grown, the number of people using taxis had declined.


"With cheap imports everybody's got a car now, most families have two, so they're not using taxis as much. There are more taxis competing for a smaller pie."

A spokesman for the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA), which polices the taxi industry, said it cost $30 to register as a taxi company in the Auckland area.

Before being allowed to operate, the company had to prove it had at least 15 vehicles and operators who had to be named on the application

The authority organised police clearances for those people for $80 each.

It does annual audits on taxi companies.

Individuals must be a member or shareholder of a taxi company to become a cabbie.