On the road again

Taxi owners locked into four-year finance agreements to pay for equipment abandoned by Cabtivate, the taxi advertising company now in liquidation, are being invited to consider signing up with a rival company to pay off their debt.

CabScreens says that unlike Cabtivate, which received a £100,000 grant from Scottish Enterprise, it has had no grant help and it does not charge drivers to install display screens in their cabs.

Cabtivate, by contrast, persuaded more than 100 drivers in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester to sign contracts for installation costs of £3100, which they are now repaying at £104 a month over four years.

The promised £192 a month of income dried up when Cabtivate's directors, led by founder Mark Greenhalgh, petitioned for liquidation.
The Herald revealed that the group's finance director had quit, yet screens were still being installed in cabs, and that creditors were likely to be owed close to £1m.

John Lygate of Cabscreens, commented that there was a "glaring discrepancy" between the cost of Cabtivate's equipment and the £3000+ charge made to drivers. "We fit our systems free of charge with no cost to the driver and he/she is paid a percentage of monthly sales"

Cabscreens set to take vision to the travelling public

Taxi drivers who landed in debt following the collapse of taxi advertising firm Cabtivate a year ago have been given a financial lifeline by East Kilbride based Cabscreens, which is launching its own service in Glasgow on January 1.

The Herald revealed last year that Cabtivate had received a £100,000 grant from Scottish Enterprise but had saddled dozens of Glasgow and Edinburgh cabbies with expensive four-year finance agreements before going into liquidation. Founder Mark Greenhalgh had persuaded drivers to pay £3100 for his equipment, repaying it at £104 a month over four years, on the promise of £200-a-month income.

Following further reports in The Herald, Cabscreens won backing from Glasgow taxi interests and was granted permission by the city council to launch its service. Stephen Wales, a director, said: "We have fitted out the cars with a completely new system custom built on our behalf at no cost to the drivers whatsoever.

Cabscreens aims to have 100 cabs running by the end of the year

Cabtivate's debts included some £300,000 to Bank of Scotland when Greenhalgh petitioned for its liquidation on January 22. The Herald revealed that on January 25, Greenhalgh registered a new company in England, and in February began advertising for drivers to run a new, identical-sounding, service in Edinburgh which, however, never materialised.
The Herald had initially revealed that Cabtivate's group's finance director had quit on December 4, seven weeks before the liquidation, yet screens were still being installed in cabs later that month, and that creditors were likely to be owed close to £1m