This week we were delighted to speak to a taxi driver who has an interesting story to tell of his lockdown experience. Neil Mcaskill from Hawick in the Scottish borders started his taxi business, Teviot Taxis, two years ago and after recently buying a new Ford Tourneo now manages a fleet of five taxis.
Neil’s Journey
Neil told us that he used to work in agriculture so moving into the taxi trade was a challenge, especially as he started out in November 2019. Amidst the COVID pandemic, while many other drivers operators were reducing their numbers, Neil decided to buy his first cab. Neil explained “ All the taxis in Hawick stopped operating. I stayed out and got one or two fares every night – I even took on deliveries.”
Neil contacted Cab Direct in January 2020 and ordered a Ford Procab which was delivered in March and helped his business enormously through a tough few months. The ProCab was used throughout lockdown for helping people get to the shops or appointments. They offered free journeys to the elderly between 9 and 12 Monday through to Friday. Teviot Taxis became a lifeline in the town!
2021 Taxi Purchases
This year Neil has continued to grow his taxi business and defy all his competition. He was delighted to secure a school contract and decided he needed another wheelchair accessible taxi. After contacting Cab Direct he decided to buy a Mercedes-Benz Vito Taxi in March. Since then he has secured a total of five school contracts over the next five years which is fruitful income. He told us that he’s only had 4 days off in the last two years and works around 100 – 110 hours a week!
His most recent purchase is the Ford Tourneo Custom, a nine-seater taxi with a large boot capacity for those airport runs. I asked him why he chose the Tourneo and he simply said “I wanted something a similar size to the ProCab but as we don’t have too many wheelchair jobs it seemed expensive to buy another wheelchair accessible taxi. This taxi fits eight passengers so it’s ideal for the school contracts”.
Ford Tourneo Features
The Ford Tourneo has become popular in the private hire taxi trade over the last few years. The models we offer are the Titanium and the Titanium X. Both models have a 2.0 L EcoBlue engine with a range of power options and choice of manual or automatic transmission. Standard features include 17” alloys, daytime running lights, parking sensors, cruise control and an 8” colour touchscreen.
At Cab Direct we’ve continued to support the taxi trade and we are so pleased that we’ve helped Neil grow his business in Hawick. If you are looking for your next taxi please contact us on the telephone number at the top of this page or enquire online.