Expanding Sheffield cab firm, City Taxis, has acquired Rotherham-based Skyline Taxis under its Northern Taxis brand, which has also opened new premises in the borough.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes as the Barclays-backed, £10m turnover company launches in the Rotherham area. City bought Chesterfield's Club Taxis in September 2016 and acquired Ace Taxis of Barnsley in July last year, preserving work for local drivers and call centre staff jobs.
Skyline, based in Wath, has been operating for nine years and currently runs 35 cars. All call centre staff and drivers will become part of rapidly growing Northern Taxis, which handles around six million journeys a year.
175 of City Taxis' current 1,750 drivers already live in Rotherham.
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Arnie Singh, managing director of Northern Taxis Ltd (pictured, left), said: "Continuing the trend of last year, we are pleased to announce another acquisition furthering our services around South Yorkshire by expanding into the Rotherham area from our new headquarters in Greasborough.
"We look forward to offering our services to the people and businesses of Rotherham.
"Customers booking journeys will be able to do so through our user-friendly app, and Rotherham businesses will now be able to open corporate accounts, giving customers access to a modern, efficient, friendly and safe taxi service which makes a huge contribution to the economy and community of South Yorkshire.
"All of our Rotherham drivers will be subject to enhanced DBS checks and will have CCTV in their cabs – reassuring drivers and customers alike, and rebuilding confidence in the private hire sector in the town.
"Rotherham Council have welcomed our arrival, recognising that this thriving area of call centres is currently under-served by a taxi service. Skyline have been going for nine years and this move allows us to expand our customer base from their current 35 cars. All jobs will be protected."
Mehmood Hussein of Skyline (pictured, right), added: "We are pleased to have struck a deal with City Taxis and hope that moving forward our drivers and staff will see a real benefit from working within a much larger organisation."
Launching in 1996, City has seen a 300% growth in staff since 2010: over 102 call centre operators now support over 1,750 drivers, making it the third largest independent taxi firm in the UK.
I sincerely hope that all of City Taxis fleet will be forced to adhere to the same strict regulations that Rotherham firm's must. It strikes me that it's just a cynical move to exploit a loophole in the licensing regulations, allowing cabbies that aren't registered in Rotherham to encroach upon the borough.
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I sincerely hope that all of City Taxis fleet will be forced to adhere to the same strict regulations that Rotherham firm's must. It strikes me that it's just a cynical move to exploit a loophole in the licensing regulations, allowing cabbies that aren't registered in Rotherham to encroach upon the borough.
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