How to start a taxi business- Part Two

by Startacus Admin

Reckon that you could really go places with your very own business? Then it could be the right time to get your dream moving by setting up your very own taxi firm.

A few weeks ago we brought you the first in this 2 part series looking at some of the details you’d need to consider when starting your own taxi firm. To recap, here are some of the things that were put under the Startacus microscope;

The different types of taxi firms/hire car businesses that you could start including private hire vehicles and hackney style cabs

The market research that you will need to undertake, including many of the questions that you need to be asking

The rules and regulations associated with running a taxi firm and the allocation of trading licences

Now it’s time to wrap things up by taking a further look at some of the more general aspects of setting up a taxi business including many of the things that you need to be thinking about during the various stages of the process.

Planning and Development

• As with any business, big, small or medium, the planning and development stage of the business will help to shape the future of the venture and decide whether it is a success or goes down like a balloon in a thumbtack factory. Some of the things that you should be considering for your taxi firm include:

• Have you written a business plan? If you haven’t, is there anyone who could help you with this? It might be worth speaking to someone who already runs a taxi firm (though obviously not a competitor, as that could end quite badly!)

• Have you decided what sort of taxi office you will run? There are two choices; a) an office where you will not have any walk-in customers but will take calls and give out jobs OR b) one that is in a position for ‘walk in customers’ i.e. within easy access of a public space

• Have you found a premises which will be a suitable base for you taxi office? Remember that private hire services must have a registered base-this can be your home if necessary.

• Does the location fit your requirements? Will there be a need for any renovations? Will you be able to have on street signage to encourage passers by?

• It is important that you consider the location very carefully as a number of factors will impact upon the range of the radio communication system that you use. You will ideally want to have an office which is not located in a dip or surrounded by tall buildings - in extreme cases this could reduce the range of your communication system just a couple of miles.

• Do you plan on working for the firm full-time from the get go? Will you need to hire anyone else? How much will you pay them and how will they be recruited?

• How many vehicles do you plan on starting out with? Where will you get them and do you have an idea of how much they will cost? Do not forget to factor in insurance and tax costs.

• If you will be relying upon walk-ins or picking fares up on the street consider how the footfall of the area changes throughout the year. Are there any reasons why the area may be very quiet during certain times - for example a high student population? How is this likely to affect your business?

• Start thinking about the days and hours on which your taxi service will operate. This could include some trial and error in the beginning, but are you aware of any times that the local area is particularly busy/quiet?

• What will you call your taxi firm? You will probably want to pick something which is catchy and easy to remember so that people will remember it off hand when decided to call for a tax i- For example our taxi firm would be called ‘StartaCabs’ or ‘StartaTaxi’.

• Start thinking about where you will advertise your new taxi service. Are there any local businesses with whom you could develop a relationship of mutual recommendation? Are there any local papers or journals that you could write for about your experiences of setting up a taxi firm? The Startacus team would be very happy to hear from you.

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Published on: 31st March 2014