Taxi's to supplememnt wages

bestforbargain

Any idea is there a profit to be made from doing some part time taxi'ing along with the 9-5 you already have?

KoolKid

2 Friends of mine do weekends, Fridays & Saturdays they make around €400- €500.
Although the full timers will blatently deny this is possible.

DubTony

bestforbargain wrote: »

Any idea is there a profit to be made from doing some part time taxi'ing along with the 9-5 you already have?

I hate to be rude but, have you been on another planet?
Taxi drivers are working 70 and 80 hours a week to pull in what they were making 5 years ago. I know 2 full timers who can barely make a living.

koolkid, I'd say your mates are lying. Might have something to do with saving face.

blahblah06

best thing to do is go and buy the plate and go out and see how you do. 100% guaranteed to clear 1000 for one nights work

2qk4u

Here we go again..... :mad:

bestforbargain

DubTony wrote: »

I hate to be rude but, have you been on another planet?
Taxi drivers are working 70 and 80 hours a week to pull in what they were making 5 years ago. I know 2 full timers who can barely make a living.

koolkid, I'd say your mates are lying. Might have something to do with saving face.

Fair play, wouldn't expect that would be possible any reasonable ball park figure on what you could do?

KoolKid

DubTony wrote: »

I hate to be rude but, have you been on another planet?
Taxi drivers are working 70 and 80 hours a week to pull in what they were making 5 years ago. I know 2 full timers who can barely make a living.

koolkid, I'd say your mates are lying. Might have something to do with saving face.

Told ya they'd deny it.
My friends have no reason to lie, but the full timers do.

DubTony

I'll find out what sort of turnover they've got soon and post the figure. Friday and Saturday nights are nothing like what they used to be. From what I can gather, it's the taxis that queue for customers these days. The recession hasn't helped, but certainly the number of cabs on the streets on a Saturday night is unreal.

KoolKid

DubTony wrote: »

it's the taxis that queue for customers these days.

And rightly so. It was the other way round for long enough. And as I recall the taxi drivers back then still had something to moan about.

DubTony

koolkid wrote: »

Told ya they'd deny it.
My friends have no reason to lie, but the full timers do.

Seriously, if I'd just gone and spent 5 or 6k on a plate after having half a dozen people tell me it was madness, do you think I'd come back and tell them they were right? How many hours do your friends claim to be working?

bestforbargain

DubTony wrote: »

I'll find out what sort of turnover they've got soon and post the figure. Friday and Saturday nights are nothing like what they used to be. From what I can gather, it's the taxis that queue for customers these days. The recession hasn't helped, but certainly the number of cabs on the streets on a Saturday night is unreal.

Ya i'd agree with ya there at times, think it'd be hard to make a living out of but if start up costs i.e. the licence and insurance weren't massive it could be a handy bit on the side and keep you out of the pub maybe
more saved!!

KoolKid

DubTony wrote: »

Seriously, if I'd just gone and spent 5 or 6k on a plate after having half a dozen people tell me it was madness, do you think I'd come back and tell them they were right? How many hours do your friends claim to be working?

First off they are 2 longtime & very good friends who have no reason to lie.
Regardless whether you believe me on not , they are the facts. They work
8-10 hours each night.
This has been hammered out in numerous threads already, but no doubt the non beliveing full timers, who feel they have the right to restrict competition in the industry, will come on again & insist everyone except them are liars.

DubTony

bestforbargain wrote: »

Ya i'd agree with ya there at times, think it'd be hard to make a living out of but if start up costs i.e. the licence and insurance weren't massive it could be a handy bit on the side and keep you out of the pub maybe
more saved!!

Well I believe it's 5000 for a plate on an ordinary saloon car. Last I heard was insurance at about 70 a week. Diesel will depend on how much you drive obviously. Step onto a city street on any weekend and count how many taxis are on the ranks. No money being made sitting on the side of the road. And if the ranks are full you've not option but to drive around in circles wasting fuel.

KoolKid

If thats the case why are people still investing in plates???

pipsss

DubTony wrote: »

Well I believe it's 5000 for a plate on an ordinary saloon car. Last I heard was insurance at about 70 a week. Diesel will depend on how much you drive obviously. Step onto a city street on any weekend and count how many taxis are on the ranks. No money being made sitting on the side of the road. And if the ranks are full you've not option but to drive around in circles wasting fuel.

ok lets say im a self-employed person running a business which through no fault of my own runs into trouble and goes bust ,and i have no visible means or other way of making a living, and also not entitled to any social welfare but i do have enough money to buy a plate and car ,and therefore make some kind of income instead of none !
would this not be better than simply doing nothing and see my family suffer and maybe lose my house?

KoolKid

According to the taxi drivers there is none of then making a profit.
That means there is over 30,000 self employed business men that havn't the first clue about how to run a business.

DubTony

koolkid wrote: »

First off they are 2 longtime & very good friends who have no reason to lie.
Regardless whether you believe me on not , they are the facts. They work
8-10 hours each night.
This has been hammered out in numerous threads already, but no doubt the non beliveing full timers, who feel they have the right to restrict competition in the industry, will come on again & insist everyone except them are liars.

Ok, fair enough.

I've never seen a taxi thread on this forum, so it was probably on After Hours (which is probably where this should be)

My friend has just got back to me.

Start-up costs. Plate is €6500, meter is €300 to €400. NCT on any car.

An extra service on a car for a part-timer.
Annual renewal for taxi plate is €120 (with tax clearance)
Diesel for 2 nights * 52 weeks approx. €2000.
Accountant's fees for a taxi approx. €300 per annum.

Up front costs of about €7000
Annual cost is approx. €5000 for a part-timer doing 2 nights a week.
This doesn't include additional expenses that may be incurred, fixing scrapes on the car, pukers costing you a full night's work, etc.

My friend took €110 for 6pm to 6 am for Friday 3rd April and €300 for 6pm to 6am Saturday 4th April. €430 total. His average Fri and Sat night brings in about €320 to €350.
He reckons this is above average these days as the Saturday night seemed to be exceptionally busy. He said there would normally need to be a match on or a big gig in town to do €450 on a Fri & Sat night.

He averages 650 - 800 working 12 to 14 hours a night for Wed - Sun. 60 to 70 hours a week

So if we look at averages, a 2 night weekend takes about €400. That's 20K a year. Costs are about 5K. Profit 15K less up front costs in the first year

€15000 divided by 50 weeks divided by 24 hours is approx €12.50 an hour.

I suppose it depends on what you want. Maybe 12 quid an hour is ok. But it sure looks like an awful lot of heartache to me for a pretty crappy return.

edit: Forgot about insurance. A driver using his own car will pay €2500 to €3000 a year. Knock €50 to €70 off weekly "profit" for that one. If he's renting a car, that hasn't been taken into consideration in the above figures either but he won't get one for less than €100.

KoolKid

But working part time you would be sharing a car etc..

Im the wife of a taxi man, the business has gone down, no matter what your mates tell you. AS Dub Tony said, read the sums, your mate would have to work a hell of a lot harder than he says to earn that kind of cash.

On another note though, the taxi-men are getting way too aggressive,I was at the Tina Turner gig last night. My husband and daughter came to pick me up.
We got the ''Wanker'' symbol from too fat taxi men, who obviously thought I should use their cab rather than my husbands.
Bastards.

KoolKid

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Told ya they would all deny it.
I have read the sums & I know these friends very well, yet again I say they are not lying.
Again I ask the question...
Are all the taxi drivers very bad business people?
Basic rule of business if you cant make a profit get out!
If the industry is as bad as they say then basic economics would state that the number of plates should be falling not rising. Is everyone who are buying these plates losing money?
I don't think so.

koolkid

koolkid wrote: »

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Told ya they would all deny it.
I have read the sums & I know these friends very well, yet again I say they are not lying.
Again I ask the question...
Are all the taxi drivers very bad business people?
Basic rule of business if you cant make a profit get out!
If the industry is as bad as they say then basic economics would state that the number of plates should be falling not rising. Is everyone who are buying these plates losing money?
I don't think so.

well if your mates are making so much money why dont you buy a plate and join the taximen who are making fortunes LOL
Go for it, you'll be loaded come the weekend. LOL

Seriously, if anyone thinks its worth it, then go for it, dont listen to anyone, just trust your own instincts.
Same as plummers, plummers used to make a fortune every week, not the case now,different for everyone now a days.
You'll make a living, and you cant ask for anymore than that.:)

Best of luck to you, I mean that.

KoolKid

Jake1 wrote: »

well if your mates are making so much money why dont you buy a plate and join the taximen who are making fortunes

Very sensible reply well done!!:rolleyes:
If I need more money I will take your advice but for now I am quite content with what I make working 40hours a week.
My question is still if taxi drivers are making no money why the hell are they still at it? Like I said simple business sense.
Are all these people who are buying new plates just doing it for a hobby?
Honestly with the ammount of taxi men out there credit some of them with some business savvy.

Sonnenblumen

The smart money is made by part-timers with nice cars.

I dont think anyone said there was NO money to be made, simply, less money. Can you understand that concept? less money, not no money, ok?

:rolleyes:

DubTony

koolkid wrote: »

But working part time you would be sharing a car etc..

That makes little difference to the costs I mentioned. Some of them will be halved, but if you're buying a shared car, the repayments need to be accounted for.

koolkid wrote: »

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Told ya they would all deny it.
I have read the sums & I know these friends very well, yet again I say they are not lying.
Again I ask the question...
Are all the taxi drivers very bad business people?
Basic rule of business if you cant make a profit get out!
If the industry is as bad as they say then basic economics would state that the number of plates should be falling not rising. Is everyone who are buying these plates losing money?
I don't think so.

Whop de doo. You're right (sort of)

The number of plates being issued has dropped drastically. Don't forget that a good number of taxi drivers bought a plate before deregulation costing the guts of €100K and don't have the luxury of a 9 to 5.

My advice to the OP is this. Get a part-time job. Doing three days work in 2 nights at the weekend will have a detrimental effect on your family life, your social life and your full time job.

Your best bet is chauffering. Wear suit and tie, get VIP customers.
Dont have to deal with the piss heads as much.

Get a few of them, and you wont need to work 40 hours per week.
Thank God my man has some good customers.

KoolKid

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

The smart money is made by part-timers with nice cars.

I agree

and so it ends...LOL:pac:

koolkid

koolkid wrote: »

According to the taxi drivers there is none of then making a profit.
That means there is over 30,000 self employed business men that havn't the first clue about how to run a business.

Could be a business opportunity here from someone to Educate 30,000 taxi-men LOL;)

DubTony

Just to clarify my position on this, lest any regs on the forum think I've lost the plot, I agree with the deregulation of taxi licenses. I've had several heated debates arguments with taxi drivers through the years about how they had it so good with no competition and limited entry to the market. When deregulation came I felt that it was a good thing. I couldn't stop a competitor opening up a business right next door. And I don't believe I should have the support of a government either, by restricting the number of people in my business. Many taxi drivers made absolute fortunes before deregulation and I've heard all the poor mouth crap from them (especially the guys in the Mercs working 4 DAYS a week).

My opinion re buying a taxi plate is very simple. It's a good idea to get into a business where the customer base is getting bigger and your business can sustain a decent profit and grow in the long term. Getting into a business that is saturated where you have absolutely no edge (except your car may look nicer than the other fellahs') is absolute madness, irrespective of how little entry into that market might cost. In what is a contracting market, as people stay home more due to recession, and entry to the business is cheap and unlimited, investing any amount of money is not a good business decision. The taxi business has a growing number of competitors and a stagnant, at best, number of customers. The possibilities for expansion are non existent, and if you can't work you don't get paid. Buying a taxi plate is like buying a job (a stressful low paying one at that). By the way, very few taxi-drivers are business people, which goes some way to explaining why there are so many of them.

I agree with Dub Tony on the de-reg. Some taxi men want to stop other men being allowed to be taxi men, imagine this was applied to builders, sorry lads, we've enough builders, not enough work, imagine the same applied to any trade, sorry you cant come in because we have enough.
I think that is were the taximen lost the public support.Some of them are becoming way too militant. Its ridiculous, and I believe it coming from the old guys who used to have the business sewn up, with their inflated prices. Its not easy street any more, and they cant deal with it.
Too bad, I say.



My son is an actor, there are loads of them too, but we dont try stopping other people becoming actors.

Sonnenblumen

DubTony wrote: »

By the way, very few taxi-drivers are business people, which goes some way to explaining why there are so many of them.

..........and therein lies the BIG opportunity!

KoolKid

Jake1 wrote: »

Could be a business opportunity here from someone to Educate 30,000 taxi-men LOL;)

Now that would be a full time job

DubTony, well put thats the most sensible comment I have heard on the taxi industry in a long time.

smelltheglove

If the taxi drivers are not making any money then why are they still working for nothing???? Yes years ago there was a lot of money to be made but not quite so much anymore. What I will say though is, I have come across many a taxi driver that has little to complain about, yes their profits are down but they still have their luxuries. One particular taxi driver I know just pail 1400, or so I am told, for a communion suit for his son from Louis Vitton, has a nice house with 3 kids and not worrying about money.......... so are they making nothing as I wouldnt have 140 to spend on a childs suit never mind 1400.

Also, on the nights I have been to town, few and far between, there have been qeues of people waiting for taxis, ok not waiting an hour like in my younger days but still waited around 20 mns the last time.

KoolKid

smelltheglove wrote: »

One particular taxi driver I know just pail 1400, or so I am told, for a communion suit for his son from Louis Vitton, has a nice house with 3 kids and not worrying about money.......... so are they making nothing as I wouldnt have 140 to spend on a childs suit never mind 1400.

Prepare to be called a liar...
None of them are making anything:rolleyes:
Any any who are are lying because they are embarrassed;)
Its amazing the excuses they come out with:D

murphaph

I don'y believe they are in general making the huge money of yesteryear but they are obviously not making a loss (better than many self employed at the minute!) as they'd simply leave the car in the driveway rather than spend more on fuel than they take in fares. It's not like a shop where you have to be open certain hours-a taxi can close up at 11am if it's quiet. Clearly there are porkie pies being told by many in the taxi game.

Anyway, my friend's dad is a taxi man. Long while doing it now (in after the first round of deregulation) and makes enough to get by. He says the guys making no money are the less savvy ones who sit at the ranks and don't know the 'good spots' for picking up off the street.

KoolKid

I'd say your fairly spot on there murphaph