Cheap minicab firm fined

A FIRM that wants to bring cheap minicabs to France has been fined €5,000 after competitors took legal action over “unfair competition”.

Avignon-based Easy Take were found guilty of picking up passengers from the roadside, according to a spokeswoman, Elsa Rotureau.

However she said they denied doing so and planned to appeal. The Vaucluse taxi union, which took action against Easy Take, had, however, asked the Nîmes appeal court to close down Easy Take, which it refused to do.

In another skirmish with the taxi drivers the firm recently found its “tourism car with driver” licence (for carrying single passengers) temporarily suspended by the French tourist board.

It had proposed continuing with a Transport Ministry one for multiple passengers, but the other has now been restored.

Easy Take charges €7 for up to 7km, €15 for up to 15km, €25 for up to 25km and €35 for up to 50km.

These apply at any time of day and are half as much or less than what French taxis typically charge.

The low prices are made possible partly by the use of advertising on the car and advertising DVDs on a screen inside.

Ms Rotureau said what they do is no different from many other minicab firms but the taxi drivers “frown on us because we offer a service at a very attractive price”.

In fact most of their customers are people like students and the elderly who do not use taxis normally due to the cost, so they are not direct competitors, she claimed.

Easy Take has plans to expand, with Montpellier and Nîmes imminent and franchises expected in other parts of France later on.