By Isle of Wight Observer
A young Isle of Wight couple inspired on their honeymoon by vintage Tuk Tuks used as taxis in an Italian town have imported their own Tuk Tuk and are offering tours and taxi services on the Island.
Scout and Kayleigh Gregory saw fleets of the little low-emission vehicles in Apulia which set them thinking about whether they would work as a tourist attraction on the Island. After working hard to secure permission, licences and funding they were finally ready to set up in business once their Piaggio Ape Calessino 200 arrived on the Island. The eye-catching little vehicle runs on standard petrol and advertises an impressive fuel consumption of 84 miles per gallon.
Scout’s dream is to have a fleet of Tuk Tuks, enabling tourists to leave their cars on the mainland, cut emissions and offer employment for other young people on the Island. Their unique venture is already taking off. Scout said: “After months of hard work, my wife Kayleigh and I launched our business, The Isle Of Wight Tuk Tuk Co. on Christmas Eve.
“We have been overwhelmed with the amount of positive responses that we have received since we first started taking bookings; we were fully booked for New Year’s Eve and have been extremely busy since. We were lucky enough to have been contacted by the BBC who then came over and put together a film about us which featured on BBC South Today. Our plan is to have a fleet of Tuk Tuk’s on the island, and just maybe that will happen sooner than we expected.”
As well as guided tours and a taxi service they also cater for weddings and events. You can find out more at theiowtuktuk.co.uk or call (01983) 329241.
