Anastacio wrote:
Anyone made the transition and found it worth the extra costs?
Personally four people are enough for me, particularly if you're talking about the late-night drunks market, but if you're doing mainly aiport runs then perhaps screaming kids leaping about in the back are a bit more bareable
I've known a few guys who've thought a big vehicle would be a good idea but have had second thoughts a year or two later.
Apart from more people - thus more grief - they're more difficult to manouevre (which might not seem such a big issue until you've been doing the job a while) and if it's an HC then people may walk past you on the rank to get into a saloon. And the short runs can be a pain if you have to get out every time to open/close the doors, put the seats down, or whatever, depending on the type of vehicle. If you're working for a small office then you may get leant on to do jobs that the others can't do, for example being obliged to stay out later/come out earlier, or being hiked huge distances to do crappy little jobs.
On the plus side there's a lot more room for your own personal belongings and equipment - another issue that becomes more apparent when doing the job - and of course you can generally charge higher fares and do get more long-distance stuff.
And if you're an HC then the people who walk past you for a saloon tend not to be going very far anyway
