With only three weeks to go until Brexit, I wonder what the effect will be? The news on TV is already showing queues of trucks building up at the ports. This is just as French Customs Officials start a ‘work-to-rule’. There are other Brexit related rumblings. A few weeks ago we attended an exhibition in London. The owner of a large private hire company in the capital was expressing his concern.

It wasn’t just the effect on his customers he was worried about. It was the effect on his drivers too. His unease focussed on the fact, many of his 450 staff were foreign nationals. He explained how they would come to the UK and work as drivers. What the individual’s earned would pay for their accommodation and the rest would support their families abroad. It appears this is quite the norm in the big cities these days.

Nervousness was building because of exchange rate fluctuations. The foreign drivers had fears the pound would dip. This would mean their money was worth less outside the UK . A fear existed that drivers would leave the UK and trigger a shortage of manpower. You could see by the owner’s body language and voice, this was a real concern for him. It was an issue many people in the room had overlooked.

Gladly, the issue facing large private hire companies is not one which affects DrivenByQ. Instead, the queues at ports and EuroStar in Paris could present us an opportunity. This is why our fleet policy is with an A rated British underwriter. It is also why we recently purchased new Mercedes vehicles with manufacturer’s warranty and full-European breakdown cover. I suppose we will just have to wait and see how things pan out?