Pros and Cons of cab driving for those considering becoming a cab driver

Taxi companies have a vested interest in luring as many people as they can into the industry
so they tend to be less then honest about the working conditions and pay..here are the facts

Before you start driving you will have to pay for

A taxi drivers course @ $350
Tafe english language cert @ $90
Uniforms @ $35 a shirt
Coin dispenser UBD map book Gps etc
Your drivers authority costs $60 per year

look at outlaying around $800

you will also have to spend 48 hours on the job training with an experienced driver {unpaid}

Renumeration

Taxi drivers get payed by way of commission typically 45----%50 there is no retainer paid as is common with most commission jobs

out of this you must pay

%10 G.S.T
Payg Tax @ 10--%15
Taxi innsurance $4 to $5 per shift

so to make $100 for yourself you need to have around $250 on the meter

Your rights at work

Although tecnically Taxi drivers are self employed they answer to two masters...The Taxi booking company and the operator or owner of the cab licence
In effect taxi drivers are treated like employees with none of the benefits

I.E
There is no sick pay
No holiday pay
No Super
No Workcover
No access to unfair dismissal laws
A operater can terminate your employment without any notice
The company can pull your pin tecnically sacking you from the entire fleet for any reason they deem fit as well as imposing fines ...as they are not covered by any legislation they can pretty much do what they want to taxi drivers as there is no legal recourse

How much money do you expect to make ?

During the busy time of the year typically from june to dec you can make between 800----$1000 per week
during the quite months from jan---april you will be luckey to take home $500 per week
income can vary wildly from week to week...contary to what those in the industry tell you it really is a matter of luck how much money you make each shift
Taxi drivers are notorious liers when it comes to thier income if it sounds too good to be true it usually is