Business & Technology
Potholes cost Oxford taxi firm more than £240,000 a year
001 Taxis, which is in St Aldate’s in Oxford city centre has told this newspaper it has spent thousands of pounds on fixing pothole damage for its 500-vehicle fleet, of which 90 are company cars.
In April alone, the business forked out £25,000 on car repairs.
Manager Jay Akhtar says these figures have increased dramatically in the last couple of years due to the state of Oxfordshire’s roads.
Suspension related issues cost a minimum of £15,000 a month, including replacing or fixing shock absorbers, control arms, bushes, and track rod ends.
These figures don’t include its annual £65,000 bill it spends on replacing 1,200 tyres and its £120 MOT charge per car – and that’s if there are no faults.
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Oxfordshire County Council revealed that between February 20 and April 19, a total of 13,760 potholes were fixed by repair teams with the rest being dragon patcher repairs.
In total, it said 24,330 repairs have been completed while 4,725 are still waiting attention.
But RAC research found Oxfordshire County Council had 488 claims made against it in 2021 and 1,941 in 2024, a 297 per cent increase in three years.
Mr Akhtar says he is being “deprived” of good roads which is doubling his business costs.
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He said: “In my 55 years of life I’ve seen what the roads were like and what they’re like now and I’m not angry, I’m furious because it’s costing the business money and I can’t change the taxi fare prices.”
Mr Akhtar says he feels “ripped off”, estimating he spends approximately £30,000 a year on taxing his vehicles and £4,000 a year on taxi plate registration.
“The only reason why the suspension gets his so hard is purely because of potholes”, he said.
“For example, on my 1995 car, I only had to change the shocks and springs four years ago.”
He refers to roads he has driven on, comparing them to the current state here.
Mr Akhtar said: “I’ve driven on roads near Italy which were sweet as dust. I didn’t hit a pothole for nearly 12 miles.
“Up until now the roads were fine and being built properly as money was being invested into them.
“Now, it makes me sad to say but what’s so great about Great Britain because the people are being deprived.”
He added: “We are struggling but if we don’t do what we need to do, the drivers and passengers will be in dangerous cars.”
Oxfordshire County Council has been contacted for a comment.
The council previously announced declared plans to resurface more than one million square metres of road by late June 2026.
The council has utilised special repair teams, dragon patcher repairs and bobcat patching machines to fix the counties potholes.
John Lewis & Partners has closed its Blakelands centre as it focuses on its £800m digital and automation investment at its Magna Park 3 facility, also in Milton Keynes.
The site, which has been part of the network for more than 40 years, has supported its wider UK logistic operations across the retailers department stores and Waitrose supermarkets.
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Sarah Payne, head of operations, said it was a “bittersweet day” for the business when confirming the closure on LinkedIn.
This includes improving how customers discover, browse and buy products across channels, such as AI platforms like Google Gemini and ChatGPT.
As part of this, it also launched a 90-day pilot on TikTok Shop this year, focusing on beauty and gifting products.
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue has confirmed they rushed to the Harwell Morrisons at Curie Avenue today (Tuesday, May 26) amid reports of a fire at around midday.
Crews from Didcot, Abingdon and Wantage attended with the blaze focused on a storage building next to the supermarket.
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They used hose reel jets to extinguish the fire and fans to ventilate the smoke, with an investigation into the cause having started.
As spokesperson said: “Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called today at 11:57am, sending fire engines from Didcot, Abingdon and Wantage fire stations to Morrisons supermarket, Curie Avenue, Harwell.
“Crews used hose reel jets to extinguish a fire in a storage building next to the supermarket.
“They also used fans to ventilate the building of smoke.
“The cause of the fire is being investigated.”
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A spokesperson for Morrisons supermarket also confirmed that the fire had happened and that the supermarket had “temporarily shut”.
They said: “The store is temporarily closed, whilst the fire brigade complete the necessary checks.”
This comes as temperatures are due to reach 32 degrees Celsius in the hottest part of the day, in an unprecedented May heatwave which is breaking records in Oxfordshire.
Modella Capital bought and rebranded WHSmith’s high street arm to TG Jones last year.
Now, it wants to save Flying Tiger Copenhagen in a deal which would add around 900 stores, including 80 in the UK, to the firm’s growing retail empire, according to The Times.
Flying Tiger, which has a branch in Oxford’s Magdalen Street, sells affordable Scandi‑style homeware, stationery, toys and quirky gifts.
The company reported a turnover of more than £600m in 2024 but it underwent a restructure in 2025, injecting £160m.
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Its thought the deal will expand Modella’s already established reach in 30 European markets, with franchise partners in Israel, Philippines, and Vietnam.
It would mark the latest retail saving acquisition, adding to its string of high street stores, including Claire’s Hobbycraft, and The Original Factory Shop.
However, the private equity firm has been under scrutiny after Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop fell into administration, leading to job loses.
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This comes as there are now fears that as many as 60 Post Offices within TG Jones stores could be closed, including the Oxford store in Cornmarket Street.
However, the firm says these changes restructuring changes are needed to save the high street businesses.
Flying Tiger was founded in the 19080s when its founders began selling umbrellas at a flea market.
Its first retail store opened in Copenhagen in 1995.
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