Koru Cabs is a Māori owned taxi company in Auckland, and in its eight years of operation co-owner Clinton Murphy has clearly set out to do business differently.

In the driver’s seat, the Te Rarawa man says: “If we do the same as everyone else, we’ll get the same result. We wanted to do it our way, and get a different result, hopefully a better one.”

Where a stream of white taxi cabs line up at the Auckland Airport, Koru Cabs black and silver vans stand out. Most taxi companies are made up of owner-operators, while Koru Cabs own all vehicles in the fleet, and engages drivers.

“We own the cabs. We then engage drivers to operate those cabs. It has its own headaches, but this is offset by the benefits of having greater control over our products and the consistency of service we provide to the customer. We can make quick decisions, above the other cumbersome owner-operator or franchise models.”

In 2010, Koru won a multi-million dollar contract with Air New Zealand to transport cabin crew for three years. Clinton says the contract recognises the company’s business model which has also attracted keen interest from other large corporate customers.

A distinctly Māori approach to customer service is evident when meeting your driver: from the ‘Kia Ora’ greeting before the flag falls, and a ‘Ka Kite’ on arrival at your destination.

Clinton says there are ‘large aspirations’ for the company to build and extend their products and services to the tourism sector.

“At Koru Cabs, we have an obligation to manaaki anyone who uses our taxi company through good customer service. And as tangata whenua, manaaki is particularly important to us.”

Support from the Māori Business Facilitation Service has helped Clinton’s business to develop and succeed. “MBFS have enabled us to go after contracts like Air New Zealand. When we put our foot forward, it was the best foot.”

Clinton says he now has the “headache” of balancing a rapidly growing business where no opportunities are missed: “On one hand, there is plenty of prospect for growth and demand for our services; on the other hand, we could struggle to meet and fund the growth due to the current constraints of the economy. But what a nice headache to have.”