Auckland taxis start to suffocate

The recession is having a serious impact on the taxi industry with demand down by as much as 20 per cent, says the executive director of the New Zealand Taxi Federation, Tim Reddish.

People are becoming increasingly careful with their discretionary income, and spending less on expenses like taxi fares, says Reddish.

“Before [the recession] people were going out every night or two. Now they might be going out once every two weeks.”

Reddish says companies in the big cities are hardest hit, while those in provincial centres such as Tauranga, Nelson and Invercargill are surviving the downturn better.

But one thing is certain – the Auckland taxi industry is beginning to suffocate.

Lilit Sharma, an Auckland driver for Discount Taxis who has been on the job since 2007, is becoming increasingly troubled by the situation.

He says 2007 was a good year for business, but by the second half of 2008 demand began declining.

Sharma, a father of two, is now adding night shifts to his schedule in order to support his family. Before the recession he only worked days.

“Customer-wise, nights are very bad,” says Sharma. “You get some real weirdoes.”

Dherminder Singh, a driver for VIP taxis, has been working the Auckland streets for two years.

“The situation at the moment is very difficult because catching taxis is one thing people can avoid [to save money],” he says.

Singh is trying to deal with the lack of business by giving hefty discounts and “making deals” with customers.

Even though business is down, Singh says he still manages to make a living, though he has to work longer hours than before, leaving him with little time to spend with his wife and four children.

Peter Henare, a driver for Co-op Taxis, is semi-retired and entered the taxi industry recently after 30 years working on the Auckland waterfront.

Henare says that, while business in the recession is a little slow, it’s “not too bad”.

The recession appears to be having less of an impact on big taxi companies, like Co-op, which have a large customer base servicing hospitals, hotels and the airport.

But Henare, like many other drivers in the industry, is looking towards the future with a little trepidation.

“It’s OK now, but come back and talk to me in three months time and I might have a different story to tell.”