The state of the Taxi Industry in Canberra

 

It’s been almost 6 years since I drove a taxi. A number of things have changed within the industry since that time.  First and foremost, there are now three taxi companies operating within the region.  Aerial Capital Group, the former majority player in the industry, which operates Canberra Elite and Sliver Service, is still operating but is no longer the major player.  The major player is ACTCABS, which started operating 8 years ago, has approximately 45% of taxis operating in the region.  EZYCABS, another new player, has around 25% of the taxis on the road.  There are also a small number of independent taxis (around 10) which are not linked to a network.  Cabexpress, which was a small company operating up until recent years, has folded.

How is business? Not as bad as I was expecting.  I thought UBER would have totally killed the point to point transport market for taxis but there a number of passengers who have told me they hate UBER not only because profits go out of the country, but also because they don’t like price surging and that UBER drivers don’t have the same regulatory requirements that taxis have to comply with.

Also relevant is the fact that 90% of fares are either been paid by the government or company, not by the passenger themselves.  And if they are paying, they can claim the fare on tax.  I have also noticed that there has been an expansion of the Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS) , whereby the government pays 50% or 75% of the fare for the elderly or disabled.  When I was driving 6 years ago, I would did around  2 TSS fares a week, but now I do 2 TSS fares, on average, per shift.  

Another thing I have noticed, is the increase in fares from the Canberra Hospital and the North Canberra Hospital.  I have been out to Yass Hospital from the Canberra Hospital, transporting an elderly gentleman.  Another driver has been down to Bega from the Canberra Hospital, a fare that is over $600.  It seems that  hospital management have decided that it is cheaper to transport passengers home and between hospitals, rather than by  ambulance patient transport.

Uber vs Taxi

Many have asked the question whether it is better to be an Uber driver or a taxi driver in Canberra.  I have also done a bit of research to analyse whether you are better off taking an Uber or a taxi.

Drivers - Uber or Taxi?

I would say it is pretty much even stevens.  You make around the same amount of money in the taxi as you would as an Uber driver, working 60 hours a week.  Uber offers greater flexibilty around hours, a higher gross income, but on the flipside, the ATO knows your income so you have to declare it, you have to pay for fuel, insurance, your repayments on the vehicle, maintenance and tyres, and you have to pay income tax and GST.  Most full time Uber drivers I speak to claim an average gross income of $1000 a week, but when you subtract $150 for fuel, $100 for servicing, tyres etc., $50 in insurances, the gross income is $750, all of which has to be declared to the ATO.

While gumtree ads claims that taxi drivers make $800 to $1100 in Canberra for a sixty hour week, the closer figure is a gross of $700-$750 (that's 50% of the gross fares).  You don't have to pay for fuel or maintenance on the vehicle and the ATO doesn't know what you are earning as it is all cash.  You choose to declare how much you earn, and most drivers declare $500 a week, even though they are earning more than that.  You may say that's dishonest, but when you are earning below minimum wage, without super or holiday pay, you feel more justified, and the ATO tends to turn a blind eye given the low incomes of taxi drivers.  Most driver pay around $3300 dollars in tax per year, based on a $26,000 declared income.

Like many of the hybrid vehicles they drive, many drivers are also hybrid drivers, working in both taxis and for Uber.  For example, some of the night driver do Monday to Thursday in the taxi and Friday and Saturday nights for Uber.  This is a great way to maximise your income as taxi drivers make more money on Monday to Thursday nights, and Uber takes the lion's share of the taxi/rideshare business on Friday and Saturday nights.

Customers - Uber or Taxi?

At most times of the day, Uber offers the cheapest and most efficient way of travelling, given their low rate per km, and their low call out fee.  Uber is generally 20-30% cheaper than taxis. However, I've found that at 5am on a school day and wanting to catch an Uber to the airport, there aren't that many Uber drivers on the road.  The fare may also be surcharged, let alone having to wait for a Uber driver to come from 15kms away.  You are far better off booking a taxi for early morning flights.

The other time that you may be subject to a surge price is between 6pm and 8pm on a Saturday night, and 10pm Saturday, and 2am, Sunday morning.  At these times, you will find taxis cheaper.

Job names

Like any industry, taxi drivers have terms for jobs that we do.  We talk a language that may seem foreign to others and love to give each other nicknames.  From "Tony Motherfucker" (cause he always says 'motherfucker') to "Jonny the robot" (my nickname because of the way I walk which is a little robotic due to the medication I take for schizophrenia), once you have a nickname you come off the rookie list into the realms of a fully fledged taxi driver.

Here are a few names for jobs:

Shit airport job - a job from the airport to Barton or the City that would total less than $25.

Good airport job - a job from the airport to Woden, Jerrabomberra, close suburbs of Belconnen or Weston Creek, usually totalling about $40.  

Excellent airport job - a job to deep Tuggeranong, Gunghalin or west Belconnen coming to a total greater than $50.

Club job - a job from one of the clubs that house pokies (Ainslie Football Club, Dickson Tradies or Southern Cross Club etc.) that goes to the surrounding suburbs usually coming to less than $15.

Maccas run - a job that usually occurs after 10.30pm when a person needs to get some food but needs to be in a car to get it because Maccas has closed it front doors.   

Missing in action

It has been about 18 months since I last legally drove a taxi, and I'm missing it.  From cruising the streets late at night, hunting for a fare, to smoking cigarettes and talking shit at the casino rank at 2am in the morning; I miss it all.  I would even clean ten soiled taxis just to get my licence back, but my psychiatrist won't let me.

One of the questions I ask customers to get the conversation going in the taxi is when was the best day in your life.  And what I've noticed is that there is a subtle difference between the sexes in the response.  Most females will say it was the day they met their partner or the birth of their child; whereas, males will generally say it was the day they achieved something in the sporting arena or a career achievement.

Barney Rubble

John, aka Barney Rubble, is a real character of the Canberra taxi industry.  He owns a couple of Sydney taxi plates, which he leases out for $700 a week each.  He could live off that income but I reckon he truly likes taxi driving so he continues to work.

John also has a law degree and he knows all the rules and regulations surrounding the taxi industry.  His great love is to get fellow taxi drivers off parking and speeding fines, and he is very good at doing it. We were told that we couldn't leave our taxis unattended  after we had passed the boom gates at the Airport.  One fellow got a fine for leaving his taxi unattended but John got him off, because he knew the rules.  The Airport tried to say it was a security requirement, but John said that it needed to be directly within legislation or the fine wouldn't stand.  John won, and as you can tell by these next stories, he always wins.

One night John picked up these four indigenous fellows from the Kingston bottlo.  They loaded four cases of VB and three bottles of Jim Beam into the back of the Ford Falcon station wagon.  They asked to be driven to Queanbeyan but John's suspicions grew when they wouldn't give him a direct address.  "We'll direct you brother." One of the indigenous said.  John drove out to Queanbeyan and the indigenous asked him to pull over on a side street near the Railway station.  John pulled over and the four indigenous blokes bolted.  "Hang on," John thought, "They've left their grog behind." John looked over his shoulder and sure enough, there were four cases of VB and three bottles of Jim Beam in the back.  John looked around, the indigenous were nowhere to be seen.  John didn't drink so he sat there for a moment wondering what he was going to do with the grog.  He remembered that the manager of the Kingston bottlo had helped him load the grog in the back.  He thought if he went back there and explained the situation, he could resell it to him.  John drove back to the Kingston bottlo and explained the situation to the manager.  John initially asked for the full value of the grog, $250, but the manager was having none of that.  After a bit of haggling, they settled on $200.  John was happy: $200 for a fare from Kingston to Queanbeyan.  A win to John.

Another night John picked up a young fellow from the city who asked to be driven to Deakin.  John didn't like the look of him so he asked for money up front.  The young fellow reluctantly gave John a $100 note and they drove to Deakin.  When they got to Deakin the young fellow bolted, leaving behind his $100 note.  Another win to John.

Uber impact

Uber has been operating legally in Canberra for just under five months.  The announcement of Uber placed fear in many taxi drivers.  Many thought they would be out of a job, while others thought that their income would be virtually zero.  Uber has had an impact on taxi drivers bank accounts and the days of working for three months then going back home to India, Vietnam or Pakistan for a month are well and truly over.

Uber's biggest impact has been Saturday nights.  I regularly took $500 on a Saturday night but now it's down to $330.  Roughly a 35% cut.  I really didn't like Saturday nights in any case, despite the money.  The age cohort, 18-25 year olds, are obnoxious, rude and just generally lack respect.  And, yes, the odd one will also vomit in your cab.  The Uber drivers can have them.  I noticed last Saturday night that my passengers tendered to be older if I stayed away from the city and this is what I plan to do in the future.  I like doing the $15 to $25 jobs, sacrificing them for the one big $50-$70 job.  I can do two or three of them in the same time as the waiting period for a $50-70 job.  Time moves faster, I'm conversing with more people, and I'm not sitting on a rank for an hour.

Anecdotally, I've heard Uber divers aren't making as much as they were when they first started.  The market has been saturated. What Uber doesn't tell people is that sure you make $25-$30 an hour for a couple of hours but the rest of the time you only make $15 an hour and that doesn't subtract your expenses such as fuel, insurance and maintenance.  Uber drivers and taxi drivers, I've been told, are making the same money.  The only advantage with Uber is you can work when you want.  However, you still have to pay for your own fuel and your own maintenance expenses, something that you don't have to worry about if you drive a taxi.

Nightshift Prejudice

Parliament was sitting on Wednesday night so I anticipated a busy shift.  However, it was not to be.  I only did one job between 3pm and 5pm; I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Things did pick up for me as the night wore on.

Around about 9pm, I got a radio job from David Street in O'Connor.  I arrived at the address and the house there in front of me was an old 1950s brick home with hedges that needed trimming, and grass that needed mowing.  I wondered what kind of ice addict would emerge from the house.  Low and behold, a stunning blonde emerged, and she sat in the front seat.  Clearly, she hadn't heard how sleazy most taxi drivers could be.

She asked to be driven to Fitzroy Street, and I had a vague idea where it was.  "Near Telopea Park High School?" I asked.    
"Yes," she replied in an accent, "But why don't you use your GPS."
"A GPS is for Indians and Pakistanis.  I've lived here 37 years, I know my way round."
"Are you a racist?"
"No," I replied, "But an Indian couldn't get you to Parliament House from here without a GPS.  There's a difference between racial stereotyping and being a racist."
"I believe they're one and the same thing."
"So call me a racist, but you're not from here are you?"
"No, I'm from Sweden, I've been out here, teaching the new IKEA employees, the IKEA way."
"Interesting, yes, I've been out to IKEA a few times, there's some good stuff out there."  We chat for a while about IKEA and the basis for its success here in Australia and abroad.  I can tell she is very bright but she tells me she never went to University; she just did an IKEA defacto Diploma.  I drop her off and I tell her she is not only one of the most beautiful women I've ever had in my cab, but also one of the smartest.  I hope she invites me up for a drink but she meekly smiles and says thankyou.  I've told about twenty women that they are the most beautiful woman I've ever had in the cab.  All of them believe me; however, none has asked for my number or invited me up for a drink.  It's a one in a million chance, I know, but I'm willing to take it.

I few fares later, I arrive at Casino Rank and there are four taxis in front of me.  It's going to be a long wait for a job.  The usual suspects are there: Polish Chris, Fat Bluey and Burmese Ming.  A notable absence is Old Bobbie - he has been battling cancer and we surmise that he is probably sick in bed.  After an hour and a half, I finally get a job.  I am really pissed off when I find out it is just up the road to the Space Apartments on Northbourne  The lottery of taxi driving.

After dropping him off I get a radio job to North Lyneham.  I arrive at the Government Housing house.   Out come two knockabout blokes in their early twenties.  I think about charging them up front but when they tell me it's just down to Dickson servo for some cigarettes, I decide not to.  After arriving at the servo, they grab some cigarettes, chocolate milk and chips, they get back in the cab and ask to be driven to Maccas.  While we are waiting for the food to be made we enter into a little heated conversation.
"Is this going to be your last fare of the night?" one of them asks.
"If you pay me it will be." I reply.  And this sets one of them off.
"Oh, fuck you cunt, we'll pay you.  How do you know we are not going to pay you?"
"People from that street have ran off from me before."
"Oh fuck you, you can't tar everyone with the same brush." At that stage the meter was $24.60.  I try and diffuse the situation and say, "Well, if you pay me now, I will only charge you $25."
"Ok asshole, you're on."  And he hands over the $25.  We have a bit of a laugh about how much a taxi costs and the situation is cooled.  I drop them off and wish them all the best.

I start heading back to the Casino Rank and get another radio job.  And wouldn't you know it, the pickup is Maccas.  I was thinking it was going to be another Maccas run: someone has arrived at Maccas drive thru hoping to be served and they are told they need to be in a vehicle so they call a taxi.  They just get in and then after they pickup the order they get out.  They can be quite lucrative as they usually order big and Maccas usually takes twenty minutes to make the food.

I arrive at the Maccas and there is this hobo/muso looking bloke with two Aldi shopping bags.  He gets in and asks to be driven to Lyneham.  
"What's in the shopping bags?" I ask.
"Shopping." He replies.  By this stage it is 2.30am.  
"But Woolies closes at 11.00am, What have you been doing for three and a half hours."
"Just downloading youtube videos.  I had to wait for the money to go into my bank account before I could get a taxi."
Strange man.