covid: chauffeurs unlikely until Q4. And that means chauffeur companies that rely on two or three big events a year for a big payday might be in serious trouble. Mike Bell, CEO of Driven Worldwide, admits his company is “in a holding pattern” for the time being. “We have 100 drivers on our books, but only a handful are actually working,” he says. The company has been slimmed down, and has exited the executive chauffeuring point-to-point market, which it entered five years ago. “The business had reached a decent level but this year has fallen away to less than 50 jobs a day, and cutting the business has reduced costs to allow the company get through the next 12 months, focusing on its core chauffeuring work.” Bell agrees that events are unlikely to return before September 2021; meanwhile the company is using the enforced quiet to upgrade its systems and possibly relocate to a smaller office. Driven Woldwide has managed to maintain its global network, including affiliates in New York and Hong Kong. “We’re staying in touch with our affiliates for when we need them,” Bell says.
[from left] John Dow and Mike Bell
Going forward, companies will not go down the road of employed drivers again – just look at the devastating outcomes for Club Class and Pryors – and the bulk of chauffeuring will be through selfemployed sub-contractors. “We’ve changed our business model to work with other operators,” Choudhury says. Reliance has interests in both the mail and packet delivery and chauffeuring sectors, and is in the process of rebranding its chauffeuring operations as Hyryde, which will launch
in mid-2021 as an executive chauffeuring ride-hailing app, open to other operators. Meanwhile the mail and packet service has provided a steady income stream, delivering “anything that needs to be moved from point to point”. This also uses a technology-based system to harness small delivery fleets to deliver packages and goods including stationery and subscription magazines. “If it wasn’t for the courier work, it would be a different ball game for us,” he admits.
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