Showing support to the hard hit taxi drivers of Blackpool and the Fylde coast during these tough times

However demand for taxis has once again nosedived after Blackpool was put into the Government’s Tier 3 regulations earlier this month.

Three of the biggest firms on the Fylde coast, Premier Taxis, C Cabs and Whiteside Taxis, have all reported noticeable drops in demand.

John Cutler, managing director of Premier Taxis, based on Lytham Road, said the firm experienced a massive drop in trade ‘beyond expectations’ which led to a lot of drivers leaving or self-isolating.

John said: “Then of course we had the bounce back which was beyond anything I’ve seen in the past 30 years. For a couple of weeks the hotels were full and everything was great again but we didn’t have the drivers that we had previously.

“It’s thanks to the local people, who we base the business on, for their support throughout this difficult period. It has ensured that we’re going to get through this thing, although we have incurred huge losses. I don’t want to really discuss the amount, but they’re huge.”

He explained how the taxi company is trying to rebuild but said it has had little support to do so

John said: “We are looking to the future and rebuilding effectively. That’s what we intend to do, we don’t think we’ve had the support we could have had, very little support in fact but we don’t want to think it’s all doom and gloom.

“We’re a very strong company of around 30 years. We’re currently the taxi company of the year and we will rebuild as soon as we come out the other side of this situation.”He explained how the Tier 3 announcements have been a heavy blow to the firm’s rebuilding plans."

John also added: “What it has led to in the last week or so is that because the whole holiday trade is collapsing around our feet, it means that even local people, who are our primary target audience, are not using taxis as they would do because there’s no hotel work to be gone and done.

“There’s no job at the arcade or entertainments so the knock-on effect hits everybody. It’s a tricky situation but we are recruiting at the moment to try and get more people on board.

“Effectively what we’re doing is replacing drivers who haven’t returned from the first lockdown. The drop off in trade was found about 80 per cent in the first lockdown and we were astounded. We knew there’d be a drop off but we didn’t think it would be that big of a hit.

“Since then we’ve been rebuilding and working as hard as we can throughout the period and a lot of it has been reassurance to drivers that we are going to come out the other side of this in a strong position.”

Demand for Caunce Street-based C Cabs services dived in March and April and only started picking up in May, according to director Dee Grant.

She said: “A lot of the drivers in March and April just parked their cabs up and didn’t work for fear of catching coronavirus. I would say we got back to normal in August but obviously since we went into Tier 3 it has dropped right off again. It’s essentially the lack of tourists in the town that has caused the drop again.

“Because the drivers are all self-employed individuals they have only been able to get what they can off the Government which isn’t a lot. We have reduced our cost to them as much as we possibly can but we can only do so much.”

She said that during the summer holidays the amount of people taking staycations helped the taxi drivers.

Dee said: “Because lots of people weren’t going abroad and coming to places like Blackpool, the Promenade looked like it did in the 1970s. We got back to our normal service in August and more tourists in the town gave the company more demand.”

However the Tier 3 announcement was a bombshell for the firm despite putting in the work to make sure the vehicles are safe.

She said: “The majority of our taxis now have got PPE screens in them which separate drivers from the rear of the cars and the passengers are obviously separate from the drivers which has been giving the customers a lot more confidence to use taxis.

“When our customers ring up now a lot of them are specifically asking for a taxi with a PPE screen in it.”

Dee described the situation as a ‘nightmare’ but said it was hard for anything to be done about the dilemma.

She added: “The difficult thing about it is that there is nothing we can do. I keep messaging the drivers and tell them that the company will survive and thrive once all of this is over but it’s beyond anyone’s control and I think you have just got to get on it with it the best you can.

“We can’t drag people out of their homes kicking and screaming to make them use taxis but I hope people see that we are all in this together and try and support local businesses and services.”

Stuart Miller, manager of St Annes-based Whiteside Taxis, said the drop in demand since Tier 3 was introduced has been ‘colossal’.

He said: “The first week we were down around 320 bookings and going into the second week we are down a further 750 bookings so it has been a tough time with consumer confidence.

“The night-time trade has suffered the most with everywhere closed early but daytime trade has also been really bad.”

Stuart said that by the end of September the firm had recovered to around 70 per cent of where it was prior to Covid-19 but the Tier 3 regulations have undone all that work.

He said: “It was a hard slog to get back where we were and now we are asking drivers to take holidays as there is no work coming in. It’s not a nice time for any of us at the moment and it’s not getting better anytime soon.

“We have helped with concessions to save drivers some money but because we are not getting any help from the Government like the previous lockdown there is only so much we can do.

“A lot of the drivers are still upbeat and it’s not as bad as it previously was so there may be some light at the end of the tunnel but only time will tell.”

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