Emerald cabbie Barrie Hood can finally start to ease into retirement under a new arrangement with 13CABS.
By Russell Bennett
THE taxi services in the hills have received a boost with Melbourne giant 13CABS taking over Emerald Taxis.
Residents in Emerald, Cockatoo, Gembrook and surrounding areas can expect far greater reliability day and night as the once seven-car local operation now has access to cabs across the 13CABS network.
Customers can now take advantage of state-of-the-art navigation systems and the latest in online booking, including an iPhone app.
The 13CABS TaxiTracker system can also tell customers when their cab is about to arrive to pick them up.
The company’s chief operating officer Stuart Overell acknowledged the difficulty hills residents had in calling a cab late on a Friday or Saturday night but said: “We’ve got a number of people working around the clock, helping to close that transport gap.”
Mr Overell also said hills residents would not notice any “jarring” changes at Emerald Taxis.
Emerald’s Barrie and Annette Hood have independently owned and operated Emerald Taxis since 1981 – starting with two cabs they drove themselves.
But after 40 years in the taxi industry, they have gone into semi-retirement.
They will still run the operation side of the business but dispatch and bookings now fall under the huge 13CABS network.
“The booking, dispatch and navigation systems will be a lot slicker but the locals will still enjoy the company of the same drivers and Barrie and Annette will still be involved.”
Mr Hood said: “We’ll still be running the administration side but we’re too old to man the phones around the clock any more or service the vehicles.”
All Emerald Taxis now sport the familiar 13CABS logo with the Emerald Taxis name and customers now have the rest of the 13CABS fleet at their disposal during busy periods.
Additionally, all current booking phone numbers will automatically forward to the modern 13CABS contact centre.
