Macquarie offloads Lime taxi business
An AAP report says that Macquarie Bank has sold its wheelchair-focussed Lime Taxi business at a multi-million dollar loss.
A brainchild of trucking baron Lindsay Fox, former tourism minister John Brown and former head of Macquarie’s banking division Bill Moss, the aim was to have 250 Lime cabs on the road by June last year, but instead, there are only 50 on Sydney streets, while others sit unused in a warehouse at Erskineville, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Soon after Lime’s launch, dominant Sydney cab service Taxis Combined added 60 wheelchair-accessible vehicles to its fleet, prompting the government to stem the number of disabled registration plates, preventing Lime’s expansion.
Lime’s distinctive vehicles – Mercedes Vito vans – added to business problems because they are unable to transport some types of wheelchairs, while there is an ongoing reluctance by able-bodied passengers to hail disabled vehicles.
Lime was sold to Steve Albin for an undisclosed amount.
Macquarie executive director Steven Halpern told News Ltd the bank was “very proud of the significant improvements to taxis for the access impaired that have been brought about by the introduction of Lime Taxis”.
A Report by The Mole from AAP
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