Running a taxi firm comes with a lot of challenges. Not only do you have to stay competitive but you also need to think about your overheads and the best ways you can keep costs down.
Below are some of the best ways to accomplish this when you run a taxi firm.
Get the right office
Getting the right office is key when you have a taxi firm. You want to pick a premises that’s practical and affordable. A taxi office generally doesn’t need to be that big since it’s mainly used for administrative purposes and to communicate with drivers.
Hire the right drivers
Hiring the right drivers is extremely important if you want to keep costs down. Experience drivers with a good background will be much cheaper to insure on a private hire policy for example.
An example of a good driver is one who –
- Is over 25 – Age is always going to be a big factor that insurance providers consider when calculating the cost of a policy. Drivers who are under 25 cost considerably more to insure since they’re statistically more likely to be involved in accidents.
- Doesn’t have any convictions – Convictions, especially driving convictions, can hike the price of a taxi insurance policy up considerably.
- Has a clean driving licence – Having a licence with no points on it is another thing that makes for a good taxi driver to hire.
- Has experience driving a taxi – Experience driving a taxi for a living is always good when hiring drivers for your firm. The more experience they have, the less they’re likely to cost to insure.
Get the right cover
You may choose to hire owner drivers who have their own insurance but if you opt to insure your own vehicles then you’ll want to get the right taxi insurance.
You can choose exactly what level of cover you want to get when taking out a taxi fleet policy. The cheapest option is to get third party only cover. This will not cover any of your own vehicles though if one of your drivers is involved in a collision and they’re to blame. For more protection you can add fire and theft to a third party policy; or get fully comprehensive cover.
Make security a priority
You should make security a priority both at your office and in your taxis. Making sure that your drivers are safe is very important and installing CCTV in their vehicles is a good way to do this.