Case Studies
Issue No. 17 - June/July 2004
Yellow Corporation
Cab Charge
Yellow Cabs have been driving passengers in Adelaide since 1924. For most of its 80 years the firm carried on taxi business as usual, but during the last decade it has changed out of sight, if not out of colour.
Today the Yellow Cab Group includes Yellow Cabs, Yellow Couriers and Taxi Trucks, Aussiefast Couriers and Taxi Trucks and Adelaide Fleet Maintenance. The fleet totals more than 600 vehicles making Yellow one of the largest privately owned transport companies in South Australia.
In January of 2000 the Group set up a new head office at 20 Rosslyn St, Mile End South.
The architect of much of this change, Ron Barton, joined Yellow Cabs in 1983 as a motor mechanic. At the time the firm operated 50 taxis from its base in a modified service station on Main North Road. Its only involvement in courier work was a casual partnership with a courier firm.
“I took an opportunity to come out of the workshop and manage the installation of the first electronic meters and our first electronic dispatch system,” Ron says.
By 1986 he was State manager for Yellow Cabs, which was beginning to diversify into other transport-related lines of business. He became CEO in the late 1980s and in the early 1990s bought into the business, taking up the managing director role.
“Through my tenure the company grew into the courier and road freight business,” Ron says — the idea of diversifying was always attractive.
“We are always looking for opportunities within and without the transport business and very quickly became a major player.”
Ron believes the Yellow Group is about four times bigger than its nearest SA competitor in courier and cab work, though not close to major players such as Scott Transport in the road freight area.
A benefit of position is that Yellow is now the only game in town for some kinds of work.
The secret to success in Yellow’s line of work is no secret at all, Ron says. It depends o...
