Act now to reap maximum rewards
The phones have been hotting up here since the PM’s roadmap announcements last month. Speaking with our customers over the past week or so, the surge of enquiries we’re getting reflects the will of a general public desperate to get away on holidays or to big events. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel and we’re getting unprecedented levels of calls from operators who want to buy a 9-seat minibus taxi. 
We experienced a near 90% fall in sales during lockdown. But from June onwards—subject to Big Brother’s conditions being met—it will be a free-for-all as the UK general public drink in their new freedoms. The boom we have all been waiting for will hit. We now have little notice to get organised.
What are our Taxi/Private Hire Drivers and Operators saying to us right now? It is simply this: “I need vehicles!” Typically in this business, our customers buy minibuses on finance, and want their new vehicles delivered yesterday.
Supply chain challenges
But the Pandemic and Brexit have thrown spanners in the works for all the major manufacturers, including those we buy from. They are struggling to get their vehicles into the UK and this has created quite the backlog for delivery times on new vehicles.
The only advice we can give to our customers is to buckle up and get ready, now is the time to plan, project and invest. After what has been a really tough year, no one wants to be left out in the cold waiting for delivery of their new or used vehicle. You don’t want to miss out on bookings on Day One of the big kick-off.
Get ahead of the pack
We have just over three months until life as we know it returns to some form of normality and even less time to get additional or new vehicles plated and ready to go. Steep increases in public spending and holiday bookings will create huge demand for our trade as people need to get from A to B; and with demand comes the issue of supply.
The upturn that is inevitably coming is a brilliant opportunity for the trade to lap up this much needed business. But don’t miss the boat here! To benefit from what is to come you will all need to be able to meet that demand.
We will continue to create the most affordable, most cost-effective methods for our new and existing customers to purchase. In the wake of the recent great news about society opening up again we are here to work with you.
Price, service, delivery
The Taxi Shop continues to work closely with its supplying Manufacturers on fast delivery, we work hard to negotiate the best possible discounts for you, and indeed we are currently helping fourteen operators buy new minibus taxis on finance. Everyone is preparing for the boom that is to come. We as a trade have the absolute right to recuperate the losses that we have suffered these past 12 months.
To all of our good friends of 20-plus years in this business, and everyone in the taxi trade, get planning, get projecting and get investing. Good times lie ahead.
This is the second part of a post on the economic upturn. Read the first here.
To prepare for the upturn, call Josh on 01525 717695 or email josh@thetaxishop.com.