The pros and cons of being a taxi driver

After a few weeks in my new cleaning job, I have a greater perspective on the pros and cons of being a taxi driver.  I worked on Saturday (day shift) and made very little money, doing small fares from the National Gallery of Australia and probably spent more money on coffee and cigarettes than the commission I actually made during the day.  Earlier in the day I spent some time at the Airport chatting to other drivers and all they did was whinge about how bad things are.  I have little time for these whingers - they could save up their money, get a truck licence or a security licence and earn more money but they still expect to make millions from taxi driving.  You never make millions from taxi driving - you only make enough to survive.  You learn to shop at Kmart and Costco and grab $1 coffees at 7-Eleven and to bring your own lunch.

I'll start with the cons of taxi driving and end with the pros.

The cons of taxi driving

Some drivers expect when they first start that they are going to make $20-$25 an hour and then they get a shock when it is closer to $14 an hour unless you work a Friday or Saturday night.  Obviously the first con is the remuneration and conditions.  You only make half of what the taxi makes during a shift - on a Saturday day shift that can be as little as $6 an hour.  And there is no such thing as sick pay and holiday pay, let alone an allowance for superannuation.  If you do a day that is half cash, then that is good because you can take your commission from that.  But if all your payment are EFTPOS then you have to collect your commission from your taxi owner at a later date.  Some operators are good and pay you weekly while some pay every three weeks if it all.  You see drivers at the airport waiting for owners to turn up so they can collect their part of the commission, and then the owners see them, U-turn and piss off out of the airport.

Passengers/customers can be a real con too.  Some do runners or worse, throw up in your cab.  A great number whinge about the fare or if you are not from Australia, direct racial abuse at you.  A run of bad customers can really destroy your shift.

The pros of taxi driving

A run of good passengers can really make your shift.  Interesting people who tell you about your lives, people that tip well, people who really appreciate what you do for them.  When you have a shift of these kind of people you forget about the shit money you are making and just enjoy it.  You get to meet people - a great number of taxi drivers I know have met their girlfriends or just plain old fuck buddies from driving a cab.

The freedom is fantastic too.  You get to choose where you want to go, you get to choose when you want your break.  And above all, the longer you spend on the streets, the wiser you get and the more money you make.  Even though, as an old timer said to me "Taxi driving is 10% class, 90% ass".