Press release -
Taxi firm invests a million to create 350 jobs
A North East based taxi firm will invest £1 million over the next two years in new technology that will improve passenger safety and experience and help the businesses grow.
The move will see the firm increase its turnover by 50 per cent in the next two years and create 350 jobs in the next three.
Phoenix Taxis, the largest electric and hybrid taxi company in the country, has bought Drivr, award-winning technology that allows people to “hail” and pay for a cab, including the 100 percent electric sports car Tesla Model S and the Lexus GS 300H Hybrid, from their mobile device and track the vehicle throughout the entire journey.
Managing director, Alex Hurst, said: “This is a very exciting time for us. Drivr have provided us with a huge vote of confidence by teaming up with us and our selected partners in an exclusive partnership agreement for the whole of the North East of England.
“We know that excellent service is fundamental to the success of our business. The Private Hire dispatch and App industry has been revolutionised in recent years; this significant investment with Drivr makes perfect sense so we can continue to provide a superior and unique service to our growing customer base.”
Phoenix Taxis currently employs 52 people directly at their Headquarters in Blyth, and have over 300 drivers on their books. It is expected that the investment will lead to creating jobs for a further 300 taxi drivers and 50 new office staff over the next three years.
Nikolaj Køster, Co-Founder at Drivr, said: “Drivr is building a global network of the best taxi companies to help people get safe and convenient transport anywhere in the world. We carefully select each local partner and we’re thrilled to be working with Phoenix Taxis in the North East. The world of transport is changing rapidly and we’re particularly passionate of Phoenix push for clean electric vehicle transport.”
Phoenix has also recently invested in two £80,000 Tesla Model S premium electric cars as a luxury addition to its executive range of cars, which are currently the only ones available as a taxi in the north of England. They plan to purchase another eight over the course of 2015.
Interested parties can sign up for the free app at http://www.phoenixtaxis.net/drivr-taxi-app
Topics
- New products, services
Categories
- taxi
- jobs
- investment
Regions
- Northumberland
For more information please contact Jennifer Robson on 07577999757/ jen@sparklecommunications.co.uk or Nicola Little on 07939 537 123 / Nicola@sparklecommunications.co.uk
Notes for editors
In the three years since Alex became Managing Director, he has transformed this £1.6million LPG-powered business to a £3.8million company with environmental impact at the core of its business strategy. Through this strategy, we have invested heavily in customer safety technology as well as trying to reduce their carbon footprint. They were the first taxi firm in the UK to introduce the Nissan LEAF as an integral part of the fleet to help us meet our environmental commitments. As a rapidly growing business, doubling turnover and a dramatically increasing fleet size, the introduction of the Nissan LEAF slashed their carbon footprint by one third since 2010 (last checked September 2013).
Established in 1990 Phoenix is a family-run business and proud to have one of the "greenest" taxi fleets in the United Kingdom. The majority of its cars run on Liquid Petroleum Gas or are hybrid vehicles, rather than diesel.
Visit the website at http://www.phoenixtaxis.net
