1) The eco in Ecocabs is no gimmick
Building a sustainable transport business was the dream of our founder and MD, Matthew Kirkby. CO2 emissions have been a primary driver for choosing our vehicles over the past fifteen years. The majority of our fleet is now hybrid or electric and our drivers are taught to drive in the most eco-conscious way.
Larger vehicles, such as mini coaches, remain hard/impossible to source as hybrid or electric. However, we watch industry developments like hawks and are early adopters of new tech. Last year, we were the first in the UK to buy a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) Ford Tourneo 8-seater minibus. We’ll soon welcome another Ford PHEV to the fleet as we have just signed for a Tourneo CUSTOM EJ70 ZJO. The technology in these vehicles is outstanding.
Matthew Kirkby gained a Business Sustainability qualification from Cambridge University in 2020. He applies his knowledge across the whole business from major investments such as buying plug-in hybrids down to the detail of choosing a green energy supplier, and plastic-free tea bags for our all-important cuppas.
2) We offer more than cabs
Our Hexham-based taxi business is at our core, but we also have an adventure holiday offshoot called Ecocabs Cycles. We help everyone from solo explorers to corporate charity cycling teams to explore Northumberland or complete sporting challenges such as the C2C.
Ecocabs employs more than fifty people at our HQ in Hexham and we’re the biggest taxi business in south and west Northumberland. We offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles, people carriers, minibuses, mini coaches and trailers in addition to our fleet of four/six-seater cabs.
Having built the business from scratch since 2006, we have ambitious plans to grow the existing business even more. We are also working to take Ecocabs and Ecocabs Cycles into two other key tourist areas by taking on franchisees.
3) We love a bit of tech
Matthew, our MD, is passionate about technology. He’s always looking at how we can make things work even more seamlessly. For example, having the ability to deliver digital training meant that we were able to speedily provide online training on Covid safety to our drivers without exposing them to unnecessary risks.
You can book with Ecocabs in under 10 seconds via our apps on Google Play and Apple’s App Store. You’ll even be shown the earliest pick-up time before you book. If you prefer, you are very welcome to book by phone or via our website.
4) We’re people people
It may not be sexy business jargon, but we’re proud to be pleasant at Ecocabs.
Customer service is a vital part of our business and we want customers to be impressed by our professionalism at every stage of dealing with us. We recruit people who will go that extra mile to be friendly and helpful. We want to combine professionalism with genuine warmth.
Everyone deserves to be treated well. An estimated 83% of the taxi industry runs on a self-employed basis. However, we take our drivers (and our other staff) on as Ecocabs employees. That means that they have rights such as holidays, pensions, sick pay and so on. This earns us a lot of staff loyalty and it also means that we’ve built a happy team of people who work well together. Working at Ecocabs should be a pleasure not a pain.
5) Dogs are an Ecocabs obsession
We love dogs. Lots of the team have them – it’s pretty much compulsory in Hexham – and we want to make life easier for customers that do.
Hexham is dog paradise thanks to our big, central park – The Sele – and lots of other dog walk options such as Tyne Green along the river. We’re surrounded by miles and miles of countryside. Just ask us if you’d like other dog walk recommendations – getting them up to Hadrian’s Wall is a real pleasure, for instance.
Ecocabs will happily take dogs in our taxis and larger vehicles – just let us know when booking. There’s no charge for this unless your dogs have got filthy while having fun (it happens!), in which case we will need to charge a small fee for cleaning up after them.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed our ‘Five Fascinating Facts’. We’d love to hear from you if you have comments or suggestions on any of the above.
Make a booking
To book a taxi from our Hexham HQ, call 01434 600600, book online with us or download the Ecocabs app to your phone.
