Info On Being Self Employed Taxi Driver Please help

sr17_2

Hi everyone i recently got made redundant an lookin to be self employed, be my own boss in maybe taxi drivin, so would love some of your experience an help on this subject please

1. like were to start ?
2. insurance ?
3. type of car ?
4. how many seats ?
5. normal taxi or hackney ?
6. any grants towards help purcase of car or anyting else ?
7. then line rental on cb radios and firms prices ?

and any other help would be brill thanks everyone:T

malcindebt

Hi,

I know what you mean about being your own boss and it is something I have looked at though not in enough detail to be able to answer all your questions.

I asked a local taxi driver some questions similar to yours after I got a taxi from the shops home.

He says he'd rather be private hire rather than Hackney as he has done both, but I would presume it is personal preference, but he said the drawbacks are to make money you basically have to have no social life, working Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun nights to get the best money and tips, but then again it could enbd up a messy night if somebody blows chunks in your car.

Car, he said he always had Toyota's, Avensis etc.

Insurence is a killer, as is deisel

radio hire differs from firm to firm,he pays £20 a day. so his first £20 of every shift is worth nothing, and it could take 3 hours to make £20 on a bad day.

paulwf

sr17 wrote: »

like were to start ?

Make a list of your local major taxi firms and go into their offices and ask some of the questions you have here. Simples!

As for type of car hang around a couple of taxi ranks you'll soon see what the local drivers are using. Some areas tend to favour one type of car, perhaps there is a local garage that deals mainly with taxi drivers (that's pure speculation).

Taxi drivers tend to work long and unsociable hours. It doesn't have to be late nights though, some I speak to prefer the early shifts to catch people on the way to work. It certainly isn't a 9-5 job though.

dmbaxt

Hi sr17.

Your Local Council is the first place to go for information as you get licensed through them not the cab firm you work for. Every Council works differently so you do really need to speak to them first. They'll be able to advise on how much it's all going to cost, any grants or easy payment plans and if they have any specifications on seats / vehicles, etc.

If your Council has a website have a look on there - they may have some basic info on there you could have a read of.

Nearly all Private Hire / Hackney drivers work on a self employed basis - some drivers rent the vehicle and radio from the taxi firm and pay a weekly rate to them for this. Some firms have a fleet insurance covering their drivers whereas others you have to find your own insurance.

The main thing is Private Hire have to be pre-booked - you can't ply for hire (basically pick up off the street or in taxi ranks). With a Hackney you can either pick up anywhere or do pre-bookings but these have meters which you have to use and charge what the meter says.

Hope this helps a bit

sr17_2

dmbaxt wrote: »

Hi sr17.

Your Local Council is the first place to go for information as you get licensed through them not the cab firm you work for. Every Council works differently so you do really need to speak to them first. They'll be able to advise on how much it's all going to cost, any grants or easy payment plans and if they have any specifications on seats / vehicles, etc.

If your Council has a website have a look on there - they may have some basic info on there you could have a read of.

Nearly all Private Hire / Hackney drivers work on a self employed basis - some drivers rent the vehicle and radio from the taxi firm and pay a weekly rate to them for this. Some firms have a fleet insurance covering their drivers whereas others you have to find your own insurance.

The main thing is Private Hire have to be pre-booked - you can't ply for hire (basically pick up off the street or in taxi ranks). With a Hackney you can either pick up anywhere or do pre-bookings but these have meters which you have to use and charge what the meter says.

Hope this helps a bit

Thanks donna great proper advice rather than the obvious fromother people

2boysmum

My hubby is a private hire driver and has started to look for another job, it is very quiet this time of year. First thing to do as already suggested is to contact your local council with regard to getting a license, our local council took 6 weeks to issue one so the quicker you get this part done the better. Think this cost around £100 for our council. Hubby then went to the busiest private hire company in our area, rented a car from them which cost him £250 a week, this includes insurance and radio. We then scraped up enough money to buy his own car, £100 for radio only from the taxi company, he then has insurance on top of this and diesel.
You can buy a book from ebay for keeping a note of all your expenses as you have a lot. Hope this helps you a bit, any other questions just ask

Cool_Username

sr17 wrote: »

Thanks donna great proper advice rather than the obvious fromother people

You charmer! :rotfl:

dmbaxt

thanks sr17!

LaDiva_2

Our local council issues the licences for around £165.00. Locals have to go through a discrimination awareness course as well as a local places of interest test (I'm sure they have a posher name for it). You pay for them-around £60.00.
Then there's the medical check up you need (our GP charges £60.00) plus CRB check.
Insurance prices vary as far as I know-can't give you any suggestions but if you need one I can ask around.
Radio rental around our end ranges from £65-£85 depending on how busy the firm are and how many contracts they have locally. I know part time taxi drivers pay less rent.
As for cars-I must admit I've noticed many toyotas, saabs and vauxells as private hire taxis. Zafiras are quite popular, my uncle drives on and hes a happy chappy as he charges more based on the fact its a larger motor with more seats.
Like other posters have mentioned first point of call will be your local council. Maybe they have the info on their website (ours do although prices on their for licences is out of date). Plus CRBs can sometimes take time to come through if there's a big backlog at processing centre.

HTH and Good Luck.

sr17_2

Thanks very much everyone all this help is amazing, an i appreciate all your time an information.........thanks again !!!!!!!!!!

sr17_2

anymore help would be gratefull guys cheers