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History
and Activities
ACROPOLIS VASSOS TAXI CO.LTD
Acropolis
Vassos Taxi was set up in 1941 by Mr. Vassos
Papadopoulos in Famagusta,
Cyprus. With a small number
of taxis (three five seaters),its main activity was
transportation of passengers
within the town of Famagusta
(Urban Taxi transport).
In 1953,
the business expanded its services to include interbun
taxi transport whereby passengers
were carried to and from Famagusta and Nicosia (the
capital town of Cyprus).For this purpose three more
taxis were purchased and a new office was opened in
Nicosia. The decision to expand was taken after the
rail route linking Famagusta and Nicosia was suspended
, so there was a high level of passenger movement to
and from the Capital.
The
business continued to expand and whilst services remained
the same , the total number of taxis increased to thirty
in 1973, the year prior to the Turkish invasion (1974).1974
was a very difficult year as Mr. Papadopoulos and his
family were forced to leave Famagusta and settle in
Limassol (The Turkish invasion left 37% of Cyprus under
Turkish occupation and resulted in 200,000 refugees).
After
1974, a new chapter in the company's history began.
The company's founder retired and his three sons (Antonakis,Tetis
and Varnavas Papadopoulos) took over, forming a partnership.
In the first years after the Turkish invasion , the
three partners faced immense difficulties in their efforts
to revive the business. Among the initial difficulties
was the fact that the business did not have any buildings
to host its operations,and many of the cars (twelve
in total) were trapped in the occupied part of Cyprus.
However,
the three partners managed to gather together the remaining
cars and by setting up temporary offices in Limassol
and Larnaca alongside the existing office in Nicosia,they
managed to start operating again in 1975. The growth
in the interban taxi market from 1975-1990, as well
as the increase in the number of tourists visiting Cyprus,
enabled the company to gradually expand.
The
business finally turned into "Company Ltd" in 1991 and
is the leader in the tourist transport services.
Taken
from Papadopoulos V. (1998) ACROPOLIS
VASSOS TAXI CO. LTD: A RELATIONSHIP MARKETING STRATEGY
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