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Businessman Dauda Raji's strong commitment to Timmins earns him this Mid-Week Mugging

He believes there are a lot of opportunities in the transportation industry and he intents to provide a comprehensive and total transportation solution for Timmins and the north

Dauda Raji, founder and owner of Northern Taxi is very passionate about the new taxi company he founded, and Timmins itself, as a place to live, work and raise a family.

“Timmins is a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Raji said. “We should be very proud of the community.”

For his passion about the opportunities Timmins provides for business and raising a family, this Mid-Week Mugging goes to Dauda Raji.

“Timmins has a lot of potential, I see it as a hidden treasure, “he said. “Timmins is a city that enables you to be very well situated and it gives great access to the whole of northern Ontario and all of the province.”

For Dauda Raji, the opportunity for starting up his own business came with A1 Taxi.

“The company was struggling at the time, and I stepped into the opportunity,” Raji recalled. “We took it over; we re-branded it; and today we are running a successful business.”

“I see myself as an entrepreneur, and I find it exciting to get involved with a business that gives you the right returns.” Raji explained.

For Raji, turning Northern Taxi into a vital part of Timmins transportation mix revolved around the question of what makes a for a great taxi company?

“At the end of the day, the focus is not on us as the operators of the business – It’s about the customer because they decide how they want to be served,” he said.

“We need to listen to their feedback, and consistently deliver on the customers needs and wants.”

“It’s very simple,” said Raji counting the points that make for a great taxi company.

“Keeping the cars clean, being prompt for a passenger pick up, having a friendly staff to answer a call, a driver to pick up the customer, and provide a safe and welcoming experience.”

Starting a taxi company had a host of challenges, said Raji. 

"In the beginning we only had one taxi on the road,” Raji recalled.

“When we took over we had to deal with the branding issue and the A1 company’s reputation,” he said. “ We met this challenge with a new name - Northern Taxi.

The next challenge was building the trust of its new customers

“A lot of hard work went into the branding and promotion of Northern Taxi,” Raji added. “We did this by listening to our customers and delivering what they want, and today we have developed a brand that has become very well known in Timmins.”

Improving staff morale after the purchase was another challenge.

“When we took over staff morale was low, so we came up with programs to increase staff engagement,” Raji explained. “Today we have a very solid staff.

Northern Taxi’s 45 staff consists of a dispatch centre, that receives requests for a taxi, and a team taxi of drivers.

Northern Taxi currently has 11 taxi licenses.  Recently, they made application to obtain 10 additional licenses beyond the 60 are currently in existence. A decision is still pending.

Taxi service is only one part of the business strategy Raji is implementing through Northern Transport Services Inc.

“Part of the future is diversifying the kind of services we provide,” he said.

“We recently launched the courier aspect of our business – Northern Courier Company- and it has taken off well. So far so good.”

Raji believes there are a lot of opportunities in the transportation industry and he intents to provide a comprehensive and total transportation solution for Timmins and the north.

“We will be offering new services so stay tuned,” said Raji.

Dauda Raji is originally from Ghana and Nigeria in western Africa, and his family has lived in Toronto for the past 25 years. Raji moved to Northern Ontario to work for Walmart. First to manage the store in Kapuskasing, and later moving to Timmins to manage the larger Walmart Store.

One thing you can say about Dauda Raji is he is fiercely supportive and extremely committed to the future of Timmins.

“When you compare doing business in Timmins to other large urban areas, like Toronto, you get more return on investment in Timmins,” he explained.

Raji also finds Timmins is just the perfect size for raising his family.

“I have a very young family, and it’s the right size for having access to everything we need without the distraction of a larger city, ” he said. " The cost of living here is very reasonable and it is closer to the outdoors compared to a larger city.

Raji is also strongly supportive of the recently concluded Stars and Thunder.

“It was very well organized,” said Raji. "Hats off to the Mayor for his vision."

“The event attracted a lot of visitors to the city, and that was very good for us at Northern Taxi, in terms of providing service to the community by helping to bring people to concert site and back safely.”


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Frank Giorno

About the Author: Frank Giorno

Frank Giorno worked as a city hall reporter for the Brandon Sun; freelanced for the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. He is the past editor of www.mininglifeonline.com and the newsletter of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers.
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