Taxi Driver Online

Fancy £50k a year to be a cabbie? Stoke-on-Trent in top three for most lucrative areas to work as a taxi driver

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... ke-3244446

City drivers dispute the findings of a study which aims to find the nation's best paid cabbies

City taxi drivers are disputing research which shows Stoke-on-Trent is the third most lucrative area in the country to work as a cabbie.

A study, which has estimated the gross amount of pay earned by drivers across the country, concluded only cabbies in Coventry and Nottingham make more money than those working in Stoke-on-Trent.

The research, by taxi printer specialists Able Systems, uses data which includes the average fare paid per journey and how often a taxi is used, as well as the amount of taxis in each area, to estimate the average salaries for UK cabbies.

According to estimates made from the research, drivers in Stoke-on-Trent make an average gross salary of £50,406 per year, while passengers across the city spend almost £72 million a year on taxis and private hire vehicles.

That works out as the equivalent of about £266 per year spent on taxis by each of Stoke-on-Trent’s 270,000 residents.

Only cabbies in Coventry – who gross an average £64,788 per year – and in Nottingham (who earn £53,324) are better off than taxi drivers in the city, researchers claim.

However, Potteries cabbies reckon they are being short-changed.

Taxi driver Abdul Rauf, aged 53, of Shelton said: “I think I need the phone number of the people who have done this research, because I’m missing out – maybe they can give me some tips.

“On the taxi ranks, all the drivers I talk to are struggling very badly. Very often they are just keeping their heads above water. After paying their expenses there is not a lot left.

“I have been working as a taxi driver for over 30 years and it used to be quite lucrative in the late 80s, people used to have plenty of money to go out almost every day. But now most of the night life has gone.

“People travel less and less and they spend less on taxis.”

Zahir Ahmed, manager at Longton-based Lucky Seven Taxis, said: “It’s nowhere near that amount.

“I have got drivers earning between £6,000 and £10,000.

“We have got some of the lowest fairs, starting off at £2. In other areas it is more expensive.

“We’ve also got a lot of other expenses, like petrol, road tax, and MOT, which takes a lot off the amount people take home.”

He added: “We have got 500 drivers and none of them are earning anything like that.”

Taxi driver John Scarlett set up his own private hire firm, JMS Top Gear Travel, after becoming disillusioned with his former day job working in a warehouse.

John, of Sneyd Green, said: “I have only been going since October, but £50,000 is way off. But I’m expanding slowly.”

Despite increased competition brought about by the rise of Uber, Able Systems believes driving a cab is worth considering for anyone looking for a change in career.

The company said it commissioned the study – which excluded London – to highlight the best places for cabbies to ply their trade.

Able Systems commercial manager Mike Houghton said: "This is promising for the industry, there is a lot of talk about how taxi drivers are struggling for business with increased pressure and competition.

"But with people becoming more environmentally conscious and seeking public transport as a greener alternative, cabbies can look to embrace the public’s change in travel habits.

"It’s really interesting to see the locations in the UK that have ranked at the top of the table. Coventry, Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent aren’t perhaps what you would first assume to be the most lucrative locations, you might think of the bigger cities instead.

"The research really puts into perspective just how valuable taxi drivers are to the economy and how much they are needed by the public.

"I think there will always be a place for taxi drivers, no matter how things change in the future. Taxis are an institution and are always there when you need them, it’s clear how in demand they continue to be by just looking at how much is spent on them each year."

Where to start with this nonsense?

For a start, does gross mean before expenses, in which case the figures are meaningless?

And self-employed people don't earn 'salaries'.

What a load of old bollocks?

As I also don't know where to start I will just refer anyone to the words above.

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IDFIMH

I bet the Taxman is massaging his manstick at the thought of visiting Stoke on Trent?

I think we've had a few news stories from Coventry recently that would suggest otherwise

I'm pretty sure this is guestimated turnover not earnings. I also think this is a publicity stunt which is going to reinforce Joe Publics view that we are rolling in it and can afford to work for much less

By the way the inland revenue have better info from this from TAX RETURNS so doubt they will be rushing to Coventry or Stoke as they know the real situation

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Even if it was a turnover amount not a net amount, it would mean drivers are taking (50 weeks a year) £1,300 a week every single week of the year.

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IDFIMH

double manned cars ?

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Not sure what Able Systems hopes to achieve with this - they sell specialist printers to the trade, yet I can't really see *anyone* in the trade being impressed by this, even assuming there is a grain of truth in it all

And can't find any other mention of it in other news sources, which is maybe a bit odd, because you'd think the press would pounce on this kind of thing, so maybe Able have had second thoughts.

And can't find any trace of the study itself, or even any mention of it on the Able Systems website, so difficult to evaluate it without any further information.

But I suspect it could be assuming double-shifted cars, or something like that, as you suggest. So divide it between drivers, take off office fees and other running costs, and divide it by maybe 100 hours on the road per week, and the bottom line won't look so good.

Suspect too that the assumptions about how much of the day the cab actually has a passenger onboard is unrealistic - that's maybe the real 'how long is a piece of string' question that they've answered unrealistically

And I wonder who undertook this study that Able Systems 'commissioned' - even if it was undertaken with any degree of professionalism it would have been quite expensive, and to that extent it just doesn't ring true for a company like this

Well who'd have thunk it?


Coventry cabbies rubbish claims they earn £65,000 a year

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/ ... s-16864948

City taxi drivers say they are earning progressively less

Claims that Coventry cabbies are reckoned to be the wealthiest in the country have been rubbished by irate drivers - who say it couldn’t be further from the truth.

The claims were made following a study by taxi printer specialist Able Systems, which said that Coventry cabbies were the highest paid in the UK outside London.

Able Systems claimed drivers in Coventry gross almost £65,000 annually.

Several Hackney Carriage drivers in Coventry contacted CoventryLive to say that was absolutely not the case.

Not only that but they are earning progressively less thanks to the rise of Uber and rising driver licence fees in the city.

And if that were not enough they say they are set to be further punished by tough new emissions regulations which are set to come into effect in January next year.


Image: Coventry Telegraph

Major Singh Gill, a driver who is also the Unite union Coventry taxi branch chairman, said he and other drivers were astonished by the pay claim which he said was simply not true.

Able Systems’ research was pulled together using data that includes the average fare paid per journey and how often a taxi is used, as well as the amount of taxis in a given area, to estimate the average salaries for cabbies.

Mr Singh Gill said: “Right now the majority of drivers are taking £40-£50 a shift, which doesn’t leave much at all after you have taken your fuel out.”

He said the rise of Uber - even though Uber drivers are not licensed in Coventry - is also hitting Coventry black cab drivers hard.

Uber drivers currently register with other authorities but work in Coventry.

“The truth is it’s Uber doing most of the work in the city,” he said.

“Drivers can be waiting an hour-and-a-half for a job.”

The difficulties taxi drivers in Coventry face were echoed by Jaz Singh, who said if he was earning what the recent study had claimed he would have bought one of the new London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) electric taxis being made in the city.

He said: “If we were all earning more than £60,000 a year I would have bought an electric taxi months ago.”

And rubbishing the findings of the recent survey he added: “None of us were ever approached to ask how much we earn.”

Another driver, Yusuf Bismillah, said Coventry cabbies had many overheads in the shape of fuel, radio rental from one of the city’s taxi firms and driver licence fees - which recently rose by 39%.

He said: “I would say the maximum we make is £25,000 per year - and that’s working an 11-hour shift each day minimum.”

Mohammad Amjad highlighted just how difficult it was by pointing to how much he had taken on a weekday this week.

“Today I have come out at 6am, it is just gone 2pm and I have taken £40 - that is before fuel or any other costs are deducted,” he said.

Mr Amjad said even the rise of online shopping was affecting taxi drivers but that Uber had made the biggest impact.

“Uber are taking about 60% of our takings,” he said.

“They are pouring into the city uncontrollably.”

Uber concerns

Another driver Gurdish Shima highlighted drivers’ concerns over Uber.

He said: “There are probably more Uber vehicles operating in the city than Hackney Carriage and private hire.

“If you look at the Uber licence plates operating in the region the numbers were in the 3000s after they launched and they’re now in the 10,000s.”

As has been highlighted previously, many Uber vehicles operating in Coventry are actually licensed by Wolverhampton City Council - they are not licensed by Coventry City Council.

Mr Shima added: “They don’t have to go through the same checks we do.”

And as regards the supposed £65,000 salary, he said: “If we were earning £65,000 we would be driving nice electric taxis - we wouldn’t be here talking to you.”

Mr Singh Gill said drivers were being hit in many ways and of particular concern was the 39% per cent rise in their driver licence fees paid to the council.

There is also concern over the new emissions regulations which will cause some drivers to call it a day.

From January, only vehicles with Euro 4 engines will have licences renewed, while new applicants must all have engines with zero emission capability.

Drivers' fears

Drivers fear the move ‘could cut the trade in half’ and say it could cost between £60,000 to £70,000 for vehicles to be upgraded, with the council offering just £2,591 to the first 60 vehicles to help cover the cost.

Mr Singh Gill said: “There’s the 39% increase in fees to the council and the emissions rules they are bringing out means some drivers will only have four months left, then they risk losing their livelihoods.

“When drivers are having to cope with all that for them to then be told they are earning £65,000 a year when they most clearly aren’t is a real kick in the teeth.”

10,000+ Ubers doesn't ring true in city of 350,000 or so

Had a look at the DfT stats from around 18 months ago.

It gives a figure of 859 HCs, which doesn't seem unreasonable for a population of 350,000.

However, the PHV figure is only 211, which sounds total nonsense. At least ten times that, I would have thought, and I wouldn't disbelieve 4-5,000, or even more.

So the gap is presumably filled by cross-border cars, but even then if 90%+ of PHVs working in Coventry are licensed elsewhere that seems off the scale.

And 10,000+ Ubers alone also seems ludicrous.

However, note that in the first sentence the driver mentions "the city" [of Coventry], but when he cites the 10,000+ Ubers he uses the word "region".

So maybe by the 'region' he means the whole of the West Midlands, thus including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Solihull, as well as Coventry.

So about 3.5million people, thus maybe 10 times the population of Coventry alone, in which case the figure of 10,000+ Ubers seems a lot more credible.

So, in essence:

1 The survey of drivers' earnings is rubbish, but then we knew that anyway.

2 The DfT stats are misleading enough to be meaningless, but no great revelation there either.

3 The driver is countering the meaningless drivers' earnings figures with his own misleading stats. So nothing new there either, then.

maybe Coventry has become a base for all the Wolverhampton plated Ubers working the airport

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By now I would think all cites and major towns are over run with poober.They aimed to take over and they have.trouble is for the poober drivers things can only get worse,more drivers means less work and cheaper work.

Almost certainly.

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IDFIMH

And they still lose $5 Billion.

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IDFIMH