A study of the role of taxis in the large provincial town of Northampton is reported. For a period of a week in mid-1979 the drivers of 40 taxis (about three-quarters of the total number operating in the town) helped to carry out a survey which provided information on the number, age and sex of users and the timing, purpose, means of booking, origin and destination of their journeys. Details relating to almost 5,000hirings were obtained. The data have been used to investigate the market served by taxis and the extent to which it overlapped that of the conventional bus industry. The findings are reported. Some of their implications for the future development of public transport are discussed