Taxi Driver Online

No offence, Eddie, but in my experience those who moan most about discounting are those who discount themselves. The problem with them seems to be people who are offering a bigger discount. All very 'do as I say, not as I do'.

And as regards the size of the discounts, it all depends on the local market and numerous other factors which I'm sure you're aware of yourself so I won't bother with the details.

But simple economics dictate that the further the journey the bigger discount drivers tend to offer. I don't do discounts on short journies, but I'd be daft not to offer them on longer runs, since every other driver does it, so if I stick to the meter then chances are someone else will do it cheaper.

And the size of the discount must depend on where the meter is in the first place. It stands to reason that if the meters in area A are set 20% above those in area B then discounts in area A will be bigger.

Note also that Sussex didn't say what others would do the journey for, he just said that it was 40% below the meter. I mean, I doubt if many drivers anywhere in the country are quoting £2.20/mile on a 65 mile journey, not even in Brighton.

The bottom line is that drivers tend to offer discounts so increase their earnings, not decrease them, but of course they may miscalculate things. I'm sure we've all done that from time to time, but that's just business - it's not unusual to even see items in Tesco that have obviously been mispriced, probably simply due to human error.

There is a golden rule with this sort of job, you look at the day, you look at how much fuel, and if it works out that after fuel you had a good day you go for it, a meter is a non discretional scale, if you can earn £200 clear for a drive out of limits, that is what you go for, the flip is why drive 5 hours for £5 ph, and locally that's what they do just to stop the likes of me having it.

I guess at the end of the day it's a case of 'needs must'. If you need the money and there is no alternative you must do the job. Personally I'm looking for a clear profit of between £10 - £15 per hour, not always achieveable but most of the time it is. I've changed quite a few things to help me obtain what I want, but, again it's a case of 'needs must' and at least I'm doing a job I enjoy

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Far to much info get a room LOL

Dusty, none taken.

I just wonder how many Drivers, here, have any idea of the Cost per, earning, Mile of their Cab.

I do, which is why I don't indulge in Competitive Discounting.

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Don't dream it ~ Be it.

Round here, the alternative would be working in a factory, repetitive mind numbing work, for £5.93 an hour or whatever the minimum wage is these days. When you look at it like that, it doesn't seem so bad.

A decent Saturday night sees me earning around £10 per hour.. The flip side is a dead tuesday night (such as last night) sees earnings around the £3 an hour mark! I tend not to look at things on an hourly basis, and as long as I can earn enough money over the course of the week to pay my bills then I'm happy.

Sorry to be blunt but do you realise that you are working all the hours god sends to get by and the person that you have the car from gets the same for doing nothing. You must be mad.

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Grandad,

No offence, but you must be mad!
Ive been out of the game for 2 yrs, but when I was driving/controlling I would have quoted that job £160, plus parking and waiting time.

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stressed controller!!!

Around here, you'd struggle to get anyone to do it for much under £200.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

.....and therein is why so many do so much for so little

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

So to sum up the answers to my original question, some drivers think £1.20 a mile is too cheap, some think it's far too cheap, some think on occasions it has a value, and others think it's the norm.

I suppose as I'm not paying anyone else's bills it's unfair for me to criticize, so I wont. But this particular driver will never do a job for £1.20 a mile.

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IDFIMH

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Grandad,

Yes I do realise that, but as I've stated previously the cheapeast insurance quote that I've had has been in the region of £3000, plus I do not have a large amount of money available to buy a car, plate it, etc.

As for being mad, if you can think of any alternatives then I'd be interested to hear them. I expect that you'd be the first to moan if I was sat on my arse claiming benefits.

Alright, here is the alternative. You are supposed to be self employed, which means that you are your own boss. Don't accept jobs that are quoted to low. Don't work shifts that are going to earn £3.00 per hour. Get some business cards printed and give them to punters, do more to get your own customers. If the person that you are "renting" the car from tells you that you can't do it because you work for him then tell him to pay you the minimum wage. I have drivers who rent cars from me and the first thing I tell them is what I have just put to you and I certainly do not expect them to pay me half their money.

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Grandad,