Cabbie aims to poach rail customers
4:33pm Wednesday 3rd November 2010
An enterprising taxi driver is hoping to pinch trade from a rail company’s disgruntled customers by launching a minibus service for commuters.
Fred Day is offering to drive passengers from Colchester’s North Station to London Liverpool Street and back for £35 a day.
Mr Day said he plans to leave the station at 6.30am to arrive at Liverpool Street by 8am.
The return journey would set off from Liverpool Street at about 4.30pm each week day.
The 53-year-old said: “Passengers going in and out of London are not very happy at the moment.
“They would pay a lot less in my minibus than they do at the moment for overcrowded, unreliable trains.
“I have had several enquiries already and I’m pretty sure I could get the bus full.
“It would save people an awful lot of money.
“Once we get it running we would offer weekly, monthly and yearly season tickets at half the price it costs on the trains.”
Mr Day, who lives in Ipswich, said passengers fed up with cattle class trains would have every comfort in his luxury eight-seater minibus.
He added: “Each seat has its own air conditioned vents, it has luxury seating and carpeting so they can put their feet up and enjoy the ride.
“If there was a desire we could even lay on newspapers and a bottle of water and of course you would be guaranteed a seat.”
Peter Meades, a spokesman for National Express East Anglia said: “There is competition on the route already and people have a choice how they wish to travel.
“In terms of addressing capacity concerns, from December there will be an extra 1300 seats on the morning peak services from Colchester and an extra 2100 seats in the evening.”
Source; http://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co. ... customers/
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