A drop in London taxi sales is a scary sign, but drivers need to be better prepared.

A drop in London taxi sales is a scary sign, but drivers need to be better prepared.

The number of new taxis sold last monthfell significantly — only 158 were sold. This figure may have been good in the past, but it does not even come close to the 259 new taxis sold in the same period last year. The figures are a cause for concern for the sector as they show that drivers are reluctant to buy new vehicles.

One taxi fleet dealer told cab Newspaper that the hesitation is due to not knowing what will happen. Many taxi drivers are holding on to old taxis they own without a clear plan of what to do when these vehicles can no longer be used. A common theme in conversations with drivers is that taxi owners find it difficult to plan for the future because they do not know how they will pay for a new or better vehicle if their current taxi breaks down.

The dealer said that financial discipline could help. Older taxi owners who own the taxis outright could save up the equivalent of a week’s hire to put down a deposit. That way, they would be better prepared when the time comes to replace their taxi.

Quote from TAXI Newspaper: “I know from talking to many drivers that there is an army of taxi drivers who drive old taxis without a deposit and have no plan for what to do when their old banger breaks down.” If you are running an old owner-operated taxi, I think it’s wise to save up the hire fee each week. That way, when it’s time to call it quits, you will have a large deposit saved up for a new or better taxi.

“Last week I got a call from a driver who wanted to sell a 12 year old taxi. He thought it was worth £4,000 to £5,000 and said that was the deposit he wanted to put down on an early TXE.” He was shocked to hear that £2k would be a great sale. But to me, as the seller, it was worth much less than that. The most interesting thing was that he had not planned anything, had not even thought about it. He looked a little surprised when he learnt he did not have a job.

“Right now you can get offers for early TXEs.” It’s a good idea to sell a taxi that has a year or two left on it. Get the fee and make a plan for what to do next. Doing nothing and heading for the edge of the cliff is not a good choice!”

Mangesh Wakchaure is a veteran writer working at London Lens, focusing on foreign news coverage on a range of topics.