Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Inverness taxi drivers urged to ‘reclaim the streets’ following pandemic

Inverness Taxi Alliance chairman Andrew MacDonald at Castle Wynd. Picture by Sandy McCook.
Inverness Taxi Alliance chairman Andrew MacDonald at Castle Wynd. Picture by Sandy McCook.

Independent taxi drivers in Inverness are implementing a new initiative to “reclaim the streets” in a bid to fight back from the downturn in trade during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Inverness Taxi Alliance chairman Andrew MacDonald, 75, owns several cars which trade under Caley Taxis and Black Mercedes Taxis, and hires his vehicles to self-employed drivers.

He is urging independent taxi drivers across the city to “reclaim your streets and your livelihood”.

He said: “Here in Highland there are over 1,000 taxi drivers, many are self-employed independents who depend on working the few available ranks.

“Too many are trying to share an ever decreasing slice of the cake.

“Many of this beleaguered section have no choice but to continue working to try and scrape a living. Times were hard prior to Covid – they are significantly worse now.”

Mr MacDonald said he is trying to bring together independent drivers to join an initiative which will provide a 24 hour, seven-day-a-week service which will take many away from waiting hours for a shout on a rank.

He added: “This is an appeal to all independent drivers to reclaim the streets and get their due without dues, reduce pollution and their fuel costs and maximise what work is available.”

Caley Taxis has purchased a phone system that incorporates both the firm’s advertised numbers as well as the drivers’ mobiles.

Calls will be directed to the drivers’ mobiles when a call comes in, and the first to answer will get the job.

The calls will be rotated in sequence to registered drivers.

Mr MacDonald said: “Obviously, an appropriate number of cars are needed to cover 24 hours/seven days will be required.

“This is therefore an appeal to local drivers to join what will basically be a workers’ co-operative – no dues, and no commission for the duration of this crisis.

“The only pre-condition will be that drivers will take a maximum of an eight-hour shift and be available exclusively to the number at those times.”