Often, the best types of businesses let you
begin small and then scale the business, and this is very true of operating a
taxicab service. Whether you intend to drive for a ride-sharing service,
utilizing your own vehicle or a rental, or you plan to launch a taxi business
of your own, it's important to understand what you should expect.
It's important that you have a high-quality
vehicle, a good attitude, and the ability to work the long hours that will be
required as you get your business started.
Starting
as a Ride-Share Driver
In the past, there was only one way to
operate a cab company. However, ride-sharing services such as Lyft
and Uber have changed the market
entirely, making it easy to earn money by shuttling individual customers from
place to place, without the need to start your own taxicab stand. The best
thing about working as a driver for these companies is that you work for
yourself without the need to pay start-up costs. You will find, however, that
you may not make as much money as you would just doing your own thing.
To begin as a ride-share driver, it's
important that you have a valid license and insurance, as well as a vehicle
that's clean and in good condition. You'll have to go through an application
process and be approved, as if you are working for an employer. However, once
you've gotten started you'll primarily be allowed to choose the areas you want
to work in and to set your own schedule.
Get
Started with One Taxicab
The best thing about starting this type of
business in the modern era is that you don't have to own a yellow car with a
large sign on the roof. You can purchase partitions, taximeters, and a roof light to put
on almost any type of vehicle, if you want them. You can also obtain a
ride-sharing decal to help reassure potential passengers that you are working
with the ride-share service.
If you're planning to purchase a vehicle,
you'll need to plan on spending between £10,000 and £15,000 for this part of
starting a business. This doesn't include any other equipment you may have to
purchase. You'll also need insurance and a business license so that you can
meet your state and municipality's guidelines for taxi drivers. If you're a
single-car operation, you'll be able to avoid the expense of an office and
equipment, however, as you can work from your home.
Adding
More Vehicles
If you prefer to have more vehicles, you'll
be branching out into the cost of getting started with and managing a fleet.
This means buying and equipping the vehicles, as well as keeping insurance on
all of them, as well as hiring appropriate drivers and paying them. This will
also mean drug screens and background screens so that you can protect your
business against potential liability that can occur if you hire the wrong
individual.
After you've hired numerous drivers, you'll
need a way to keep track of it all. Luckily, there is now software available
that can help you keep track of things without you needing to keep an entire
team on staff to take calls and dispatch drivers. Instead, customers can
request their rides through an app, and drivers can take the calls themselves,
then give the ride to the customer without needing a dispatcher to handle it
all. If you'd like to have a staff member taking phone calls, you can hire them
to use these apps to keep track of drivers.
Staying
Competitive
Now, many big cities have only one of these
types of transit providers taking care of the entire area. You'll be dealing
with competition not only from ride-share services, as well as local cab
companies. One thing that can help is making sure that your cars are available
to contact at hotels and airports locally. Additionally, make sure to shop
around for insurance for your cars – especially important with a fleet – look
here to compare
taxi insurance for better value.
After you've lined up all of the marketing,
it's important to be sure that customers are pleased when the car actually
arrives. It's important to insist that your drivers are safe, professional, and
polite, and to keep high standards of cleanliness for all of the vehicles in
your fleet. Be sure to consider each customer complaint seriously, so that you
can catch problems with unsafe drivers fast and avoid endangering passengers.