Becoming a PHV/Uber driver

Tram_14

Hello all,

I'm thinking about becoming an independent taxi driver (either by purchasing my own car or renting/leasing a Private Hire Vehicle) in London and am interested in finding out what the realistic costs of running a car will be. It would be helpful if any current or past drivers out there could share their experiences and answer the following questions (plus any more that you think would be useful to know).

An estimate for the weekly/monthly running costs -: rental, fuel, insurance, maintenance, breakdown, taxes, PCO licence and any others?

Your car model/specifications (including whether it is petrol, diesel, hybrid or other) and whether you own, rent or lease it. Which would you recommend?

How many miles do you cover per week?

Thank you.

motorguy

Tram_14 wrote: »

Hello all,

I'm thinking about becoming an independent taxi driver (either by purchasing my own car or renting/leasing a Private Hire Vehicle) in London and am interested in finding out what the realistic costs of running a car will be. It would be helpful if any current or past drivers out there could share their experiences and answer the following questions (plus any more that you think would be useful to know).

An estimate for the weekly/monthly running costs -: rental, fuel, insurance, maintenance, breakdown, taxes, PCO licence and any others?

Your car model/specifications (including whether it is petrol, diesel, hybrid or other) and whether you own, rent or lease it. Which would you recommend?

How many miles do you cover per week?

Thank you.

Whilst you might get lucky and an uber driver on here might comment, you might be best to check out some of the uber driver dedicated forums and pose those questions there (also i think they have "stickies" of general Q&As)

I googled "uber drivers forum uk" and there seem to be a good number of them.

Tram_14

Thank you for the suggestion motorguy.
.

motorguy

Tram_14 wrote: »

Thank you for the suggestion motorguy.
.

No probs. And good luck

[Deleted User]

Don't know about London, but round here the money is made at the weekend but you have to put up with drunken kids that can't control their bodily fluids on the back seats of your car.

Through the week it's just pensioners on £3 shopper specials to the local supermarket and back.

Mercdriver

Deleted_User wrote: »

Don't know about London, but round here the money is made at the weekend but you have to put up with drunken kids that can't control their bodily fluids on the back seats of your car.

Through the week it's just pensioners on £3 shopper specials to the local supermarket and back.

London it is mainly sitting in traffic. The rates go up in peak time, but would this cover the extra costs of moving very slowly - even with stop start ticking over is one of the most fuel inefficient thing you can do in a car. Check very carefully what percentage Uber want, make sure you have proper insurance including public liability, and do a proper cost of doing business to check how many hours you will have to work before you make any money.

interstellaflyer

Deleted_User wrote: »

Don't know about London, but round here the money is made at the weekend but you have to put up with drunken kids that can't control their bodily fluids on the back seats of your car.

Through the week it's just pensioners on £3 shopper specials to the local supermarket and back.

£3, when did you last use a taxi, round here it’s £5.60 before you even set off.

As an ex taxi driver though I pretty much agree, when I was doing it, bulk of the daytime weekday businesss was pensioners with there concession rates and paying with bus tokens, I worked for a taxi company and fortunately used to do a lot of contract stuff like propping off and picking up from Heathrow and Gatwick airports so was lucky enough to avoid the drunks most of the time.

Nasqueron

interstellaflyer wrote: »

£3, when did you last use a taxi, round here it’s £5.60 before you even set off.

As an ex taxi driver though I pretty much agree, when I was doing it, bulk of the daytime weekday businesss was pensioners with there concession rates and paying with bus tokens, I worked for a taxi company and fortunately used to do a lot of contract stuff like propping off and picking up from Heathrow and Gatwick airports so was lucky enough to avoid the drunks most of the time.

Private car not black cab - certainly this is some years back but I used to get the cab back from the supermarket where I worked as a student, 3m or so and it was usually around £3. Even black cabs here have a minimum fare of much less than £5.60

interstellaflyer

Nasqueron wrote: »

Private car not black cab - certainly this is some years back but I used to get the cab back from the supermarket where I worked as a student, 3m or so and it was usually around £3. Even black cabs here have a minimum fare of much less than £5.60

The taxis round our way are licensed as taxis however they tend to be either Toyota Prius or Merc E Class, I my day they were Peugeot 505 saloons and estates, Seiras or Granada!!!8217;s, all diesel.

CKhalvashi

Running around on £1/mile isn!!!8217;t a fun exercise, and you!!!8217;ll struggle to make any money on such rates.

Budget minimum £250/month for insurance, however much for car rental, or if you go down the lines of ownership, £300/month for repair and maintenance bills plus depreciation.

Also, 20p/mile on fuel isn!!!8217;t an unexpected budget for a standard car, that is around 30% of your takings after the frankly ridiculous 25%-ish commission Uber charge.

Where are you based? You!!!8217;re likely to be much better off buying a car and operating it outside of the London area, where mileage rates are much better and your fuel bills will be less than in a city!!!8217;s centre (unless you!!!8217;re looking at a Prius, which are hugely overpriced used and too expensive new for this type of work).

Contract work is also much better outside of London, as there isn!!!8217;t one company taking the majority of the work. A £7-8k school contract will cover your car bills, meaning that after the £100-ish you!!!8217;ll pay to the office every week, 80% of your takings are yours.

Speak to local drivers and local operators and check individual licensing requirements within a 10 mile radius outside of London, and remember to ask for proof of any takings before looking at spending anything.

Anything less than about £18/hour gross should set alarm bells ringing very loudly, as it!!!8217;s like likely you!!!8217;ll end up with less than minimum wage at the end of it.

Please note that I am no longer connected to the industry in any way and therefore any opinions given may not be current.