I’m a cyclist.
But that doesn’t mean I cycle everywhere, all the time, I take the train, I take buses, I take trams and quite frequently I take taxis.
Taxis and cyclists don’t always get on, this doesn’t have to be: I take taxis a lot more often than if I owned a car.
The boss of London Minicab firm Addison Lee, sadly unaware of this clear relationship when he laid into cyclists in the capital last year, with a raft of stupid comments, which made me uncomfortable giving my money to his company, given the choice.
I’m no militant cyclist. I ride a 3 speed ladies bike. I stop at traffic lights. My dynamo lights work. I use arm signal when changing my position in the road. I acknowledge and thank careful drivers and drivers who let me out.
Cyclists and Taxis will always co-exist. Indeed, Cyclists will often be a taxi-drivers best customer.
So the question is this:
Is there a business opportunity for a taxi company to declare itself to be a special cyclist friendly taxi company? Clearly, Greater London is not a very competitive market, but Manchester on the other hand, has a large number of firms, all vying for position.
Could 2013 see one of them positioning themselves as the go-to firm for cyclists?
