As Manchester continues to grow as an important business and leisure destination, one of the key beneficiaries is the city's car hire companies.
Whether based at the airport, the city's Piccadilly Train Station or dotted around the city itself, Manchester's car hire centres are reaping the rewards as tens thousands of people pour into the city each day.
If flying into Manchester Airport is your preferred method of getting here then there are plenty of options on offer if you fancy driving yourself around the region instead of relying on public transport or taxis.
Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National Car Rental and Sixt all have rental yards based there, while Hertz and Avis also have branches near Piccadilly.
Away from the airport and train station, two of the city's major road tributaries, Chester Road and Oldham Road, are also home to a number of car hire companies.
Manchester Car Hire Articles
Leaders united against pirate cabbies
The campaign to clamp down on pirate private hire cabbies has won political support right across Greater Manchester.
Leading councillors from across the region agree it is vital to make private cabs safer for passengers and are calling for a united front to tackle the problem.
Manchester city council has planned a crackdown on private hire cabs to stamp out bogus cabbies and end attacks on passengers. One plan is to paint cabs in a distinctive way so they can be easily identified.
Now prominent councillors from across the county have thrown their weight behind the scheme - which has been highlighted by the Manchester Evening News.
Manchester city council leader Richard Leese called for distinctive paintwork to make cabs stand out from ordinary cars to help passengers and the police spot the rogues.
He said: "If vehicles are painted a certain way they can be identified on CCTV cameras, the public will be much more aware of the type of vehicle they are getting into and the cost would make it less likely for unlicensed drivers to operate."
Safer Travel
He was backed by Bury's leader John Byrne, who said making cabs distinctive like the famous New York yellow taxis would be one way of making travel safer.
David Acton, leader of Trafford council, said: "Any measures that improve safety for people using private hire cabs are a good idea, but the painting scheme would have to run throughout Greater Manchester to be effective. Also, there would have to be an official way of implementing the scheme to make sure nobody could copy the paint."
He also called for changes in the licensing laws to prevent the late night rush for cabs.
In Wigan, council leader Peter Smith said measures to curb rogue drivers were long overdue.
"It is important to get a solution to the problem of rogue drivers and we need a co-ordinated approach across Greater Manchester," he said.
"Many people from Wigan and other towns go into Manchester city centre at night and it is important they can get home safely.
"I welcome any measures to make taxis safer and think painting them a distinctive colour is one way to make them instantly recognisable, both to passengers and the police.
"It would also make sense to stagger closing times by relaxing licensing laws so the demand for taxis is more spread out."
Backing
Roy Oldham, leader of Tameside council, also backed the painting scheme and the leader of Salford council, Bill Hinds, said: "I would welcome any suitable measures which would help the public to travel in a safer manner.
"However, we are talking about a very complex industry and I would like to examine any suggestions in greater detail."
Oldham's chairman of licensing Jim McArdle said: "We are acutely aware of the problems. This is why Oldham council has a policy where it is mandatory for private hire owners to have clear door signs on their vehciles to ensure the public know who they are. The council is determined to safeguard the public from unscrupulous operators."
Coun Guy Harkin, Bolton's deputy council leader, who is an influential figure at the Passenger Transport Authority, is maintaining a keen interest in developments and is expected to make a statement on his town hall's policy later.
Coun Peter Roberts, leader of Rochdale council, said: "I am strongly in favour of strengthening the colour coding of cabs and we need to have a uniform system across Greater Manchester. It is no good having a scheme in Manchester and not expanding that across the other authorities."
He also backed a relaxation of the "archaic and completely outdated" licensing laws.
Coun Paul Porgess, of Stockport council, said: "I would support anything that would make taxi travel safer for passengers. I would be concerned about painting the cars a certain colour as a lot of them are used privately as well, but in principle I agree with the idea."
Mike grows with Speedy Hire
Kevin Feddy
Lawyer Mike McGrath has completed Speedy Hire's latest acquisition - he's signed for the company himself.
The corporate finance partner at Manchester firm Pinsent Masons will become an executive director at Speedy in the spring.
He has acted for Speedy, based in Newton-le-Willows, since 1993, advising on 37 acquisitions.
Since 2001, Mike has been company secretary on a part-time basis. From April, he will take charge of all legal, secretarial and corporate governance matters for Speedy.
Mike said: "The new post is an exciting challenge and I am looking forward to it."
Since 1993, Speedy has grown from a company with around 10 depots into Britain's biggest tool hire firm with more than 300 outlets, 3,500 staff and a market capitalisation of £360m.
Chief executive Steve Corcoran said: "Mike's skills and his wealth of experience ensure that we are positioned to continue our growth and expansion plans."
Carl Garvie, the joint managing partner of Pinsent Masons' Manchester office, said: "We are sorry to lose Mike but he is stepping into a senior role in a listed company and that is a testament to the commercial focus and business acumen of our lawyers."
Rent a car for just £3.95!
Neal Snowdon
Car clubs where vehicles are hired for as little as £3.95 an hour could soon be helping make Manchester a greener city.
And they will make life easier for people living in the bustling centre of town - where parking is at a premium - who may not own a car yet may want one to pop to the shops or visit friends.
The city council is talking to a number of companies about creating a system for people to rent cars by the mile or by the hour in the city centre early next year.
It is hoped the scheme would cut problems such as pollution, parking and congestion because fewer vehicles would be in use and fewer parking spaces would be needed.
Similar schemes are running in Leeds, Edinburgh, London and Brighton. Manchester city council believes this is the ideal place for such an idea to be successful, because of the strong economy and the growing numbers of people in central apartments.
Use
Coun Neil Swannick said: "People living in the city centre who work nearby may not need a car all the time, yet may need one when taking an elderly relative out or when going shopping for bulky items. This would be a way to give them the use of a car without them having to have one all the time."
The council would provide parking bays for car club vehicles, which are usually small, economical hatchbacks. In Leeds, the company WhizzGo uses Citroen C3 diesel cars, with an average 67 miles to the gallon. Manchester city council has met six car club companies and city centre developers, who are keen for some form of new transport to be available for flat dwellers. Under the WhizzGo scheme in Leeds, drivers pay £25 for a smartcard and £125 for insurance, refundable when membership ends. They pay £3.95 an hour while using the car.
People book cars by phone or online. They use their smartcard and personal pin number to get into and drive the car left by a previous user in a designated bay. Longer journeys can be done but the scheme is really designed for shorter ones.
With car parking spaces at a multi-storey in Manchester ranging from £890 to £2,112 a year and private parking spaces going for £20,000, the council believes car clubs could be the best way forward.
Research shows that 10 vehicles are taken off congested roads for every one person who signs up to a car club.
Sky-high costs for city drivers
Manchester motorists pay the highest car insurance premiums in the UK - an average of over £1,143, or almost 60 per cent above the national average.
Premiums for Mancunian drivers of family cars soared by 3.08 per cent in May and June in contrast to the national average rise of just 0.3 per cent, according to confused.com, the car insurance search site.
The average cost of insurance for performance cars grew by 22.1 per cent, to an average £2,728.50.
A slight plus was the fact that economy car cover for Manchester drivers fell by an average of 8.2 per cent to £730. Confused.com's newly-launched insurance price index processed more than 2,500 risk categories, collating over 27,500 quotes to allow comparisons of insurance between 34 cities and major towns across the UK.
Its findings show that the national average price for car insurance is now £716 - way below the Manchester average.
However, according to Kate Armstrong, managing director of confused.com, site monitors were able to find a "cheapest" quote for Manchester drivers at just £507.
And things may be on the turn for motorists.
Kate says: "Over the past quarter we have seen less of an acceleration of car insurance and in the last month the increase in rates has virtually stagnated.
"We expect to see the trend continue and believe that in the next quarter, we could start to see the price of insurance actually come down."
This means that the number of insurance bargains for drivers are likely to increase.
Star Hire's event safety drive
By Cathy Steel, Manchester Chamber of Commerce
A company in Manchester is taking centre stage in the drive to improve safety standards at major spectator events.
Staff from Star Hire, a national supplier of mobile stages, are being called on by those regulating the events and entertainment industry to advise on safety issues.
The company, based in Bedford with an administrative office in Princess Street, is drawing on its 25 years' experience providing specialist services to indoor and outdoor events to help the industry shake off its "cowboy" image.
It has helped performers such as Aerosmith, Stereophonics and classical singer Andrea Bocelli take to the stage.
The company also provides VerTech stages and structures for World Wrestling Federation bouts and has worked on the Top of the Pops Awards. Internationally, Star Hire mounted a huge cinema screen in Madrid for the European launch of the Hollywood blockbuster Armageddon.
The company is also well-known for its product development and innovation. Technical director Roger Barrett developed the first purpose-built mobile stage - known as the StarStage.
Sales and projects manager Peter Holdich said: "We have been involved in the business a long time and in recent years have been pushing forward on health and safety as well as training initiatives. We sit on various committees offering guidance, and are active members of the major industry body, the Production Services Association. We have also recently received Investors in People accreditation. We want to get rid of the cowboys and make sure events are as safe as they can be."
He added: "Our core business is music orientated, but we also get involved in other promotional and even religious events."
The company's links to the music world made Manchester the first choice for its admin base, established three years ago. "Manchester is such a prime centre for the music industry, it made sense to set up an office here. There is also a large number of music industry freelance workers in the area whose expertise we can draw on," Peter explained.
He is also hoping their location will enable Star Hire to play a role in the events surrounding the Commonwealth Games. "We set up the stage for the launch ceremony in Manchester, so we're hopeful we may be involved with the games themselves."
Thorns' start role
By Karen Sibson, Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Catering hire company Thorns is reaching for the stars - literally - after building an enviable reputation in the world of showbiz since the company arrived in Manchester four years ago.
Television companies and sporting giants are among the Salford company's high profile clients.
Last weekend Thorns supplied scores of cutlery, crockery and glassware for corporate hospitality guests at Old Trafford enjoying the nailbiting World Cup qualifier between England and Greece.
In recent months it has supplied the wedding cake stand and knife, as well as table linen, at Sarah Lancashire's marriage to BBC Executive Peter Salmon at Langar Hall in Nottingham.
Thorns is also in demand by television production companies with requests for champagne glasses for the marriage of Adam, played by James Nesbitt, and Helen Baxendale's character Rachel in ITV's Cold Feet.
And the company regularly provides a host of catering equipment for corporate guests at Lancashire County Cricket Club and superstar concerts which have recently includes U2 and Robbie Williams. Now the company has been lined up to provide linen for the forthcoming remake of the 60s drama series Forsythe Saga.
Thorns' sales director Hilary Gough says she's thrilled the company is associated with such high profile events.
She said: "It's so fulfilling when you've supplied equipment to an event such as Sarah Lancashire's wedding and everything goes extremely well.
"It's great working in Manchester because things are really happening here and I like to be in the know so Thorns has a chance of being involved."
The company's association with Coronation St has also been built up over its four years in the city. It supplied equipment for Mike and Linda Baldwin's extravagant wedding last year.
Hilary added: "Whether for lavish on-screen celebrations or quiet family weddings, it seems that Coronation Street and its stars are repeatedly calling on Thorns. We pride ourselves on being a one stop shop."
Unrest in the ranks at cabs for hire free-for-all
Ian Craig
Plans to scrap restrictions on the number of black cabs in Manchester - and other cities - and allow a free-for-all came under fire from MPs today.
Manchester has around 850 hackney cabs and the council issues only 20 new licences a year.
But the Office of Fair Trading says there should be no limit on numbers and that councils should be stripped of control.
But the Commons Transport Committee said the proposals - being considered by the government - were "sloppy" and should be thrown out.
It believed that increasing black cabs would reduce the number of private-hire vehicles as drivers grabbed new plates.
If that happened, said Manchester MP Graham Stringer, a committee member, many people, including night workers, would be hit hard because they relied on private hire.
He gave as an example people in Hulme or Fallowfield who could not flag down black cabs. Cleaners working early hours would often club together and order a private-hire car.
"The proposals would damage the access of the poorest people in Manchester to private hire and would seriously damage the hackney carriage trade," said Mr Stringer.
"Our committee has concluded that the OFT was driven by ideological free market considerations, not by evidence on the needs of the travelling public.
"The committee said they liked the system of controlled increases in the number of taxi cabs which operates in Manchester."
Evidence
The committee said today: "We would need strong arguments before we were convinced that local authorities' powers should be over-ridden.
"Our investigation has convinced us that the OFT study is partial, doctrinaire, sloppily conducted and does not provide sufficient evidence."
Mr Stringer said that OFT officials who gave evidence to the committee were given a rough ride. "I've rarely seen professional witnesses so poor and unable to justify their case to a committee. They were humiliated," he said.
The OFT says scrapping curbs on the number of cabs would reduce waiting times for taxis, there would be more taxis per head and consumers would have a bigger choice.
Witnesses from both Manchester and Liverpool said the reduction in private hire vehicles was one of the strongest reasons for opposing deregulation.
The move is also opposed by the North Western Taxi Association, which includes the GMB and TGWU unions.
The Office of Fair Trading is recommending that the government lift the restrictions on the numbers of taxis in towns and cities, and remove from local authorities their powers to put the lid on the numbers.
But it accepts that driver and vehicle standards have to be regulated, usually by the local authority.
The M.E.N. reported recently that hundreds of nightclubbers were having difficulty finding taxis in the early hours.
The Oldham Street area plays host to up to 240,000 revellers at the weekends and many have to trawl the streets to get a taxi home. Some bogus cabbies prey on clubbers to rip them off, rob or attack them.
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