Ace Taxis is a family business run by Steve and Denise McDowell. Steve and Denise fell in love with Torbay over 20 years ago and moved from Manchester to Brixham to improve their quality of life and raise their young family.
Steve’s working life spans 10 years in the Army followed by various sales and marketing mangement positions in multi-national companies including BUPA. Embarking on a new challenge in Torbay, he bought a London cab and worked all of the ranks in the area on a regular basis giving him a good knowledge of the local geography and of the taxi business.
Denise’s career is also founded in sales and marketing. She started out in direct sales of double glazing and kitchens and worked her way up to a sales management position with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Denise is currently the Chairperson of the Brixham Chamber of Commerce and a board member of both The Torbay Development Agency and Brixham 21.
Team Work
In 2007, an opportunity arose to buy a small taxi firm in Brixham and, following 24 years of marriage, Steve and Denise began a new chapter together.
Over the last five years they have worked tirelessly to build the business. They have doubled the amount of cars and tripled the staff as Ace Taxis has grown into the biggest taxi company in Brixham. With a team of 20 people, Ace Taxis is also one of the largest employers in the town.
Joe McDowell bought Ace Taxis in 2015 from his parents having worked with them for five years. He is a taxi driver himself as well as being the Operator of Ace Taxis. His parents have remained local and provide support when required. They have 23 years experience between them working with Torbay Licensing Authority. Joe has recently made a large investment in both the telephone systems and radio communications in order to give the best service possible to Brixham and the surrounding villages. In addition to this a large expansion is planned for 2017 as extra work and contracts comes in.
I am immensely proud of our achievements and believe that it is due to the great, close-knit team I have working with me.
I ensure our staff are trained to relevant standards and hold regular meetings with our operators and drivers as they are on the front line and can give valuable feedback on ways in which we can continue to improve our service.
While the tourist business in the area is important to us, we never forget that we are grounded in the community and it is by providing a consistent, quality service to locals and local businesses all year round that the business has been able to grow.
