Taxi companies have had it hard in the past few years. First there was the increase of private contractors taking away customers, then it was the pandemic. Now that everything is opening back up again and the likes of Uber are no longer significantly cheaper than traditional taxi options, it’s once again time to reign supreme. Even with this new stage, however, there are still things that taxi drivers must do to start saving money. Operating costs are increasing across the board and while you can of course increase fare costs, these must be in line with what everyone else is doing, otherwise you will lose out on business simply because they found something cheaper.
1. Buy Used
When it comes to getting your first cab, next cab, or another cab, one of the best ways to save money is to shop used. When you buy a used taxi you save on that sudden drop in value that all vehicles suffer from when you drive them off the lot.
Buying used doesn’t mean buying poor quality, either. There are many reasons why a taxi may be put up for sale – even purpose-built taxis. Just by buying used you can save immensely and put those savings towards your bottom line. For even greater savings, choose a model that is fuel-economical or even electric.
2. Upgrading Your Cab to a Hybrid or Electric
Moving away from fuel-heavy vehicles to hybrid or electric models is a great way to immediately help you save money. This is true for all types of cab companies, from those that hire drivers for their fleet to those who work on their own as an individual. When you cut down on your operating costs, you increase your profit margins. Just like in the previous tip – know you can save on a purpose-built hybrid by buying used.
3. Building Your Own App
While in the beginning your drivers will still need to wait at taxi stands or sign up for an app like Free Now that allows you to accept bookings for a small fee, ultimately you will want to have your own app. This is particularly important for taxi companies, since it allows you to build a list of returning customers. The good news is that you don’t need to actually develop your own app – there are multiple solutions out there that let you use their features to give customers the ability to book you directly.
Give customers the ability to quickly schedule trips and even set their preferences. Let them save their preferences in a file. Let them select which driver they want to pick them up. These small differences can make your cab company feel like a luxury service.
Since there are only so many hours in a day you eventually won’t need to send your drivers up to take non-customer passengers, and can instead operate exclusively on your own app.
This increases value and decreases cost. You won’t need to pay a middleman to work, and can instead bring in your own customers and your own income.
