If you’re a passenger, using a taxi has become a much easier and cheaper proposition in the last few years. The emergence of online platforms like Uber have given us the convenience of knowing when your car will arrive and even where it is as you wait. The image of hailing a taxi and looking sad as several full ones speed by is now almost a thing of the past. Most of all, you have absolute certainty about the fare you’ll pay.
When it comes to assembling your taxi fleet, you need to think long and hard about what cars are best for the service that you aim to provide.
These are interesting times to be a taxi driver/owner. Whether you are an independent contractor working with a company like Uber, or plying your trade as a self-employed driver, there is a massive customer base out there.
You can’t talk about the taxi industry without mentioning Uber. The California-based company, founded in 2009, has challenged the industry in a way never before seen, squeezing current operators and leaving potential new entrants questioning whether or not they should try to compete.
If you like the idea of being a friendly, reliable face for passengers, ferrying them from A to B across the capital, a career as a taxi driver in London could be tailor-made for you.
And while you won’t always be picking celebrities up from The Ritz, this type of work can be very interesting.
In the age of ride sharing, it begs the question of whether a new business taxi business can come into the market and compete with the Ubers of the world.