TAXI BUSINESS DULL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17956, 5 December 1921, Page 8

TAXI BUSINESS DULL.

RANKS FULL OF IDLE OARS. DRIVEHS' SMALL TAKINGS. Competition has been so keen and the business so slack on the taxi ranks lately that many of the men are barely making a living. This is attributed partly to the tightness of the money market. Another reason advanced by taxi owners is the practice of owners of convertible motorlorries plying for passenger hire on race days and holidays. Six months age it was very difficult to procure a motorcar off the ranks, but now a long line ,of cars may be seen idle on all the stands in the city, during practically the whole day. To give an idea of the slackness of business on the ranks, one of the drivers stated that a man may arrive on the rank at 10 a.m. and take his position at the rear of the waiting cars. Possibly by 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. he has reached the front of the rai.k, but he has had no fare all day. This, it is asserted, has not occurred once, but often; many of the men become disheartened and leave the rank to seek fares elsewhere. The fortunate men on the rank, and they are few, are those who have connections among the medical men, business firms, and tourist bureaux. These men are seldom idle, and reap a harvest, while the man running on his own account has a hard time to make ends meet. It is stated that the average taxi driver at present feels satisfied if he finishes the day with 7s 6d after being on the rank.