What does it cost to be a taxi driver in 2016?

October 24th, 2016

37% of you think that day-to-day expenses are the biggest risk to your profession.

Our sister brand, InsureTAXI, recently asked over a thousand taxi drivers across the UK a range of questions, as part of their annual survey. The results below show the real cost of being a cabbie, and how you think that affects your future…

istock_000022027011_large-copy

Average fares per week
The region taking the smallest amount of fares each week on average is the South East with about 75 and the highest number of fares is the East Midlands with about 110. This is interesting to look at since the South East are taking the smallest amount of fares throughout the country however they are doing the highest number of miles.

Fuel costs
The average cost for fuel every week is very similar to our 2013 survey. Taxi drivers are still spending around about the £100 mark on fuel every week.  All the regions in England are spending over £100 on fuel each week whilst in Wales, they are spending about £85 a week.

Monthly maintenance costs
On average, drivers are spending £50 – £100 to maintain their vehicle each month, with a very small portion of drivers spending over £250 each month. If you’re looking to cut down your costs each month, read our tips and tricks for the seasonal season blog on the link below.

Average working hours
Taxi drivers are working longer hours than the average 9am-5pm job, which is about 35 hours including a one hour lunch break. London drivers work the lowest number of hours on average at 39 hours a week, and Scotland work the highest number of hours at 46 on average.

Income before Tax
The high earners in the UK is the South East (£440 on average) followed by East Anglia (£430 on average). The lowest earners is the East Midlands bring home £300 every week.

Tips per fare

Almost 40% of taxi drivers usually receive a tip to the value of 0p-50p. The best tippers according to our taxi drivers are: professional men, men out with their friends and men who are out on the date.

The biggest threat to your profession?

From our results we have found out that biggest threat to a taxi driver profession at 37% is the costs of being a taxi driver. So this includes insurance, maintenance to their vehicle, fuel, servicing etc. This was followed by competition – general taxi competition at 21% and Uber at 16.75%.

Recent Posts