The taxi industry consists of participants or individuals providing private hire vehicles and taxis for personal and business travel on British roads. The industry is worth a reported £8.8bn but has faced difficult operating conditions over the past five years as a result of high input costs and inconsistent demand. Bristol taxi travel has faced the same conditions but has nevertheless made the most of consumer demand for this type of transport in and around the city.

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Airport connections

Situated in such close proximity to its airport, the city of Bristol is well positioned to tap the demand for both business and recreational travel. Just shy of six billion passengers have flown out of Bristol airport in the year to date, which represents more than a 7% increase on the previous year. In terms of aircraft, just short of 60,000 planes have flown from the airport, which again equates to more than a 7% increase on the previous year.

Commuting to Bristol

Bristol is a notoriously difficult place to commute to from all angles. A hive of industry and business activity, the volume of traffic attempting to enter the city centre is impressive and the same situation occurs with commuters leaving the city in the evenings. The benefits of taxis, which can utilise the bus and taxi lanes, mean that travel to and from Bristol need not be so time-consuming. When sharing the cost with other commuters, prices need not be prohibitively expensive.

Taxi businesses such as Bristol taxi company are well placed to tap the opportunities afforded by both the city’s airport connections and its commuter challenges. The airport and city are just as busy at weekends as they are during the week, with tourism, shopping and nightlife all bringing considerable numbers of people to Bristol. In 2013 the city was ranked the fourth most-visited in England behind London, Manchester and Birmingham. Again ranked behind London and Birmingham, Bristol was the third most-visited city for business purposes.

Future prospects

Employing just under 300,000 people and covering just over 18,000 businesses, the UK taxi industry is expected to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.5% over the ensuing year. With its airport connections and significant business travel, the taxi industry in Bristol is likely to follow this trend while maximising the demand that presents itself.