APPLICATION MADE FOR ANOTHER TAXI BUSINESS IN TOWN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 72, 1 April 1949, Page 5

APPLICATION MADE FOR ANOTHER TAXI BUSINESS IN TOWN

No. 1 Transport Authority, Mr E. J. Phelan, reserved his decision in the Whakatane court on Tuesday on an application by Kenneth Murray, Whakatane, for a license to start an additional taxi business at Whakatane. The application was* opposed by Mr G. Otley for McComb and Co. Ltd., taxi operators at 'Whakatane. Mr B. S. Barry appeared for applicant Supporting his application Murray, who is an American ex7serviceman but has lived in New Zealand for some years, said he was well acquainted with the taxi business and with his knowledge considered he could make a living at Whakatane.

Murray said he had originally worked for McComb and Co., but his employment had been terminated later without any apparent reason. While with McComb he had been driving for, about two years. When the present owners took over, for six months he was office manager: While in this position he had received many complaints from the public about the serviced He claimed that on some occasions there were only two cars on the road on week days, and that the Sunday and all • night service was not large enough for the demand. Arthur William Wood, one of the. new proprietors of McComb and Co., claimed that the taxi business had depreciated by the extension of the bus services and not through any slackness on the part of the company.

There had been complaints, but he had not heard of many. Murray had been employed in the office as manager, but his salary was too high for the position and a girl was employed at half that wage, and Murray was offered a job driving one of the cabs. M Wood said that the application had. been a complete surprise to him. He did not think .'the tdwn would support another taxi business, as going by the figures of his company it was obvious such business was falling off. Mr Phelan decided to withhold his decision until he had investigated the position further.