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North East taxi firm to create a colossal 350 new jobs with £1m investment

North East taxi firm Phoenix Taxis will invest £1m in new technology, over the next two years, that will improve passenger safety and experience.

The move is expected to see the firm increase its turnover by 50% in the next two years and create 350 jobs in the next three, ultimately helping the business grow.

Phoenix Taxis, the largest electric and hybrid taxi company in the country, has bought Drivr, award-winning technology that allows people to “hail” and pay for a cab, including the 100 percent electric sports car Tesla Model S and the Lexus GS 300H Hybrid, from their mobile device and track the vehicle throughout the entire journey.

The company currently employs 52 people directly at their Headquarters in Blyth, and have over 300 drivers on their books. It is expected that the investment will lead to creating jobs for a further 300 taxi drivers and 50 new office staff over the next three years.

Managing director, Alex Hurst, said: “This is a very exciting time for us. Drivr have provided us with a huge vote of confidence by teaming up with us and our selected partners in an exclusive partnership agreement for the whole of the North East of England.

“We know that excellent service is fundamental to the success of our business. The Private Hire dispatch and App industry has been revolutionised in recent years; this significant investment with Drivr makes perfect sense so we can continue to provide a superior and unique service to our growing customer base.”

Nikolaj Køster, Co-Founder at Drivr, said: “Drivr is building a global network of the best taxi companies to help people get safe and convenient transport anywhere in the world.

“We carefully select each local partner and we’re thrilled to be working with Phoenix Taxis in the North East. The world of transport is changing rapidly and we’re particularly passionate of Phoenix push for clean electric vehicle transport.”

Phoenix has also recently invested in two £80k Tesla Model S premium electric cars as a luxury addition to its executive range of cars, which are currently the only ones available as a taxi in the north of England. They plan to purchase another eight over the course of 2015.

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