The Taxi Business Explained......

Have you ever gotten the feeling like you're beating your head against the wall?

As you probably know by now, I run an independently owned taxi service. Not only have I been driving around the Charlottesville area (for a living, mind you) about 13 years, I have been in the taxi business for about 6 years, so I should think I would know it pretty well.

The first three years I was in this business, I charged the same rates everyone else did, and guess what. I went out of business THREE times. Every time it was the same problem, no money to fix the car when it broke down. I wound up leasing a cab from a local 'MAJOR' company. Some things I already knew, but I found out several more things pretty quickly....

Read CAREFULLY, because THIS is what people should think about when they are taking a taxi, and before they start accusing the driver of cheating them. You know who you are.

First, most taxi drivers for 'MAJOR' companies are not paid employees. They pay a certain amount each day to the company for leasing the car. They must buy their own fuel, and there is no guarantee that they will get thirty fares or three fares. Average lease on a taxicab in the Charlottesville area is $60-$80 per day. Most 'MAJOR' companies do as little as possible to maintain the vehicle, so most get between 8-12 miles per gallon.

As an aside for those who say we should use vehicles that are more fuel-efficient, it does not matter. 90% of operating conditions for taxi cabs are idling and stop-and-go traffic. I had a 3.1L V6 Chevrolet Lumina that averaged worse on fuel than my current 4.6L V8 Grand Marquis, on numerous occasions.... and the Mercury is much more comfortable (something desirable for customers, I would think.) Drum roll please....

Lumina - Low : 12 Average: 15 High: 19
Marquis- Low : 13 Average: 17 High: 18

The reason for this? No, the Lumina was not running anywhere near out of the ordinary. On the contrary, it ran perfectly the whole time I had it. The simple reason is that smaller engines work harder in stop-and-go traffic. They only reduce fuel consumption on the highway. Forget what the EPA estimates are. No suitable motor vehicle is EVER going to get over 15-17 miles per gallon as a taxi. Larger engines (within reason) actually do better in stop-and-go traffic because they don't work as hard. Next!.......

Secondly, 'MAJOR' companies make their money from leasing the car to the driver, therefore they could care less if the driver makes money. So, in order to keep customers calling, they keep the rates dirt cheap. So then the driver is fooled into thinking they are making money because they are busy all the time, right? Let's look at that a second.

With an average workday of 200 miles, you'll burn an average of 20 gallons of fuel. At current local fuel prices, that is approximately $34.00 in fuel. So, the driver basically starts out their day as much as $115.00 in the hole. Dividing $115.00 over 200 miles works out to roughly 58 cents per mile. Factoring in the average of 2-3 unpaid miles for each paid mile, true cost of a 'paid' mile can be as high as $2.30, so I ask you, how can the driver possibly make money at the 'average' fare rate of $2.40-$2.70 in this area? Simple. THEY DON'T! The company only stays in business because they make money from leasing the cars to the drivers!

The reason I know this is because I had to work 16 hours every day when I worked for one of the 'major' companies. Working from 3 pm - 11 pm simply paid for the fuel and lease on the car. I had to continue to work from 11 pm to 7 am to ensure that I had something for my time.

Add to that the fact that when the car needed a repair made in order to not endanger my life or my passengers, I had to return the car to the company 7 times because it was not repaired. Once I caught on to this, I bought another car and started my own company again.

I don't mind working 16 hours a day, but I will be damned if I'll do it for $20.00. And that's exactly what I brought home after a 16 hour day with a 'MAJOR' company. I had to construct a spreadsheet and keep detailed logs and meter readings from my cab and a friend's, to evaluate my true cost to realize this. I have real-world data backing up why my rates are what they are.

Other drivers, as well as customers, whine and complain, without even listening to the explanation. If you don't believe me, email me at anomaly.va@gmail.com and I will be happy to email you a copy of the spreadsheet I created to analyze my expenses, as well as sample meter readings from my shifts! Word to the wise -- don't complain about what's charged for a job you wouldn't want to do.

To further illustrate, my current cost is similar, about 41 cents per mile. Factoring in the unpaid mileage, my true cost per paid mile is $1.64. At my current rate of $3.90 per mile, I only make about $2.26 per mile. This may seem high, but consider that on a 12-16 hour day, I will get perhaps 4 fares from the airport, generally totalling around 35 paid miles. Which works out to just under $80.00 after expenses (if I'm lucky)

One customer actually bitched about a $4.00 difference from another company's rate -- on a 10-mile fare! What the hell, lady?! It's 40 cents a mile! Mind you, this was after a 10% discount I am currently giving for most metered fares between $25.00 and $100.00.

Which I don't have to do. I am only doing it because fuel is not $4.25 a gallon like it was when I set my rates. I might add that customer attitude strongly influences any discounts offered, as well as service given. I made sure she got her change back, since she obviously needed it more than I do.

Two people I took to two different local hotels complained about what I charge when they did not ask about it before they got in the car, even though the rates are posted on the window. One of them actually said they felt cheated.

Uh, cheapskates? Before you accuse me (or any other taxi driver) of cheating you, think about the fact that I usually work 12-16 hours a day and that my operation costs are higher than what it costs to operate your SUV or minivan.

You said you felt cheated paying over $2.00 a mile for a taxi ride?

Well, I felt cheated paying $2,900.00 a year for liability only insurance on my taxi.

I felt cheated paying $10,000 - $15,000 a year for fuel.

I felt cheated paying $8,000 in one year for maintenance and repairs.

Does my feeling cheated make the insurance company, the gas station, or the mechanic cut ME a break? NO. They have to make a living too, and I respect that, so I don't complain.

The average destination from the airport is between 7-10 miles. Based on the above figures, a 10 mile trip would cost me $16.40.

The 'average' fare charged for a 10-mile trip is $24.00 - $28.00, and an average driver at the airport waits 3-6 hours for this. A 10 mile trip in my taxi runs around $42.00. So, how am I a crook for charging $26.00 for 3-6 hours of my time? IF I get four 10 mile fares from the airport, I'm still only making about $80.00 for a 12 hour shift. Would you do that?

Some may ask how the extra 2-3 miles figure in. That, at the end of the day, is what we drive to respond to an average call. Any driver who tells you different is NOT what I term a REAL cab driver, or just flat does not know what they are talking about. A lot of really STUPID people call four cabs at once, or don't wait for the cab that was called. It wastes money, time, and fuel. So some of you have done it to yourselves -- stop complaining.

Oh, and not to mention EVERYTHING has gone up in Charlottesville in recent years. According to my research on airfares from Washington DC to Charlottesville, it costs around $300-400 to fly to the airport NEAR, not IN, Charlottesville. So let me get this straight, imbeciles. You're griping about $40.00 for a 10-mile cab ride (in a NICE 13-year-old cab, I might add) after paying perhaps $400.00 to fly 90 miles on a puddle-jumper that is perhaps over 20 years old? Hmmm.....

Would you like some cheese to go with your wHine?

More food for thought.......

New York taxi cabs start at $2.50, the same as I do. The only difference is that this charge is for the first 1/5 mile in New York, while it is for the first 1/10 mile in Charlottesville.

They charge $0.40 for each 1/5 mile, or $2.00 per mile. Adding $1.60 for the other 4/5 of the first mile comes to $4.10.

Therefore, 1 mile should cost $4.10 in a New York taxi -- but it doesn't. Allow me to explain why.

The meter also charges $0.40 for every two minutes the car is below 2 mph, including traffic lights. The average cab in New York City is going to spend six minutes in traffic for every mile traveled. Therefore, you add the $1.20 for these charges and get $5.30 for the first mile. There are also charges of $0.40 for night service after 10 pm, and $1.00 for peak traffic hours. So the $5.30 turns into $5.70, $6.30, or $6.70, depending on time of day and conditions.

My rates are comparable. However, I have to make my money on mileage, because I do not spend six minutes in traffic for every mile.

I charge $0.60 for each 1/6 mile, or $3.60 a mile, until the meter reaches $8.50, which takes about a mile and a half without traffic. After that, Rate 2 automatically switches over at $3.90 per mile.

So, $2.50 for the first 1/10 (Charlottesville ordinance) and then adding $3.00 for the next 5/6 mile (since the meter technically doesn't reach the last 1/6) makes $5.50. So, as you can see, my rates are indeed comparable.

And, unlike some other drivers, I don't pad the bill with extras. I have seen one driver charge as much as $7.00 in extras. Bottom line.....

Leasing drivers cannot tell the company what they will pay them.
No one can tell insurance companies what they will pay them.
No one can tell gas stations what they will pay them for fuel.
No one can tell mechanics what they will pay them.
No one can tell landlords what they will pay them.
No one can tell banks what they will pay for their mortgage.
No one can tell grocery stores what they will pay for food.

These businesses won't let you tell them what their time's worth, nor will I. I am in this business to make money. Get over yourselves, realize everyone's time is worth something, and stop telling me I'm a crook for making a living. Just because you let someone else tell you what your time is worth doesn't mean I will let you tell me what mine is worth.

AND........

I have heard rumors recently that the governor of the great Communist state of Virginia has formed a commission to create a statewide mandate to regulate all for-hire vehicles. This mandate is rumored to include age restrictions and rate limits. Message to the galactically stupid, especially bureaucrats.... Until you can regulate my expenses, you have NO DAMNED BUSINESS regulating my prices!

The economy is bad enough without small business owners like myself being out of work because of cheapskate customers that are too stupid to realize that everyone needs to make a living, and bureaucrats that are more interested in the rich man's vote and campaign contributions than the little guy's ability to survive.

It's typical of the stupidity of modern society, blame the low guy on the totem pole who can't control the way things are. To bastardize an Eddie Murphy joke -- No Coke, no smile, just shut the fuck up. Put a cap on fuel prices, insurance premiums and repair shop labor before you start telling me what I can charge, morons.