Taxi vs Trucking....

I started in Taxi's a long time ago. I also worked in NYC though, so I had certain advantages that some small town cab companies don't.

For instance we had a TON of available customers, so it was not uncommon to make about $100-150 a night free and clear of expenses. (now that was about 15 years ago, so if adjusted for inflation you could be looking at over $200-300 a night these days)

Nights were better because you didn't have competition from mass-transit, and the roads were clearer. But yeah this exposed you to robbery more, and you had to deal with more drunks. (cabbies get the guys the bartenders are sick of!) Airport work was the best but since it was often credit card or pre-paid (corporate account) you might not see the money for a few weeks, whereas cash was king. Tips helped too. Sometimes you could get inside lines on stock transactions too (Wall St.)

I was going to go back into it, (especially the more upscale black car service) but I didn't want my CDL to go to waste (in NY a Chauffer's licence is specific and I'd have to either/or my CDL-A) so I'm still trucking for now.

Standards in the buisness are VERY lax compaired to trucking, so you can be a complete screw-up and still get in a taxi. Where as a DUI or too many accidents will finish you in a truck.

All I can think of for now, hope this helps.

 

I have driven booth taxis and 18 wheelers OTR in my driving career. And they are very similar, you must work long hours to make a buck. While driving a taxi, I had to lease my cab for $325 per week in suburban Washington, DC. On top of the lease fee, I had to pay for gas, tolls, etc. out of my own pocket. Whatever money you made above your expenses was your profit for the week. I averaged about $200 a day in fares and worked 6 days a week. The best part about driving a cab was the cash in your hand everyday and the flexibility to make your own hours. The downside was there is always a risk of being robbed or assaulted while on duty. During the 9-months that I drove cabs, I was robbed once at gunpoint and I had a couple of guys jump out of the cab and run off without paying me.
If you are looking at driving a taxi cab, you must look at can you deal with the high probability of being robbed at some point, lack of insurance and retirement benefits, and doing your own taxes. You are basically self employed, therefore qualifying for credit will be difficult (apartments, cars, mortgages, etc.) But you will be home can see your family and sleep in your own bed at night.
Trucking on the other hand is going to take you away from your friends/family for extended periods of times. But you will have standard benefits like insurance/retirement, etc.

 

I know this thread is a few months old but just came across the thread.

I originally came to this board wanting to drive trucks and started to drive taxi's about 5 months ago. When I started to drive cabs I had planned to drive temporarily, but after a few months of it now I will be driving for some time. I drive in Houston where a lot of oil companies have offices. I work 12 hours a day from 11:00am - 11:00pm, from 11:00am until about 7:00pm I am taking passengers who are here on business from the office to the airport or hotels. From 7:00pm to 11:00pm I work the nicer restaurants to take the business people back to their hotels. The rates in Houston are set by the city its $1.86 per mile + $2.50 to the fare. When I first started I didn't know the right places to be and the right times to be at those places so it was hard to make a profit in the begining, but after some time I have realised where to be and when. When I first started I would work 16 hours and make $50 profit. Now, on a bad day I will make $200 clear in 12 hours, an average day make $275 clear in 12 hours, and a good day will make $400 clear in 12 hours.

Also what has greatly helped is building a clientele and giving them your number directly so when they need a ride they call you directly. When I first started driving I was on a day lease which ran me $100 a day plus gas. I recently purchased a cab from the cab company that costed me $6500 so now I just pay them $280 a week for dispatch, but am responsible for my own maintenance

dispatch is all electronic now. each cab has a terminal and the city is split into about 100 zones and all cabs are equipped with GPS. so when a call comes in the computer checks to see which zone the address is in. then after it determines which zone it is in it finds the available cabs in that zone, then whichever cab has been waiting the longest in that zone it will send the call to their terminal. When the trip is offered to that driver it only shows the zone it is in and the street name. the driver then has the option to accept or reject the trip. If the driver accepts the trip then the full address and passengers name will be shown after accepting. If the driver rejects the trip it goes to the next driver in line in that zone and the driver that rejected the trip goes to the end of the line.

 

I've never had a load of produce try and stab me in the neck or puke on my seats.

 

thats true there is a possibility of that happening. When I first started driving cabs I worked in some not so pleasant areas, but now I have gotten really selective on which fares I take and which I reject which has really minimized my risks. If you are not selective on which trips you take it will happen for certain.

As for puking I have not had it happen yet (knock on wood) most of the people here on business don't get to #### faced while they are out.