How much can a student earn per hour as a taxi driver in Australia?
It is important for me to get this information specifically in the city of Brisbane. it is also of significance that how much I can earn if I just work during the weekends (Saturday and Sunday). This is when a student is not a citizen of Australia.
Other - Cars & Transportation - 3 Answers
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1 :
You can't be a taxi driver if you are a student. Taxi plates are very expensive to buy (hundreds of thousands), and taxi companies employ drivers who own their own plates. Companies who employ drivers usually hire older drivers because they are reliable and can drive at night, when it's not exactly the safest job in town.
2 :
[edit - the girl above me is wrong. there are many student taxi drivers in brisbane - i started when i had just turned 20. the only requirement is an open driver's licence, which you could have as early as 20 years old. the cab companies DO NOT exclusively hire drivers who own plates - there's very few of those. i never had a major problem driving nights, but i'm a big, young guy. the thugs usually TARGET the older drivers.] i'm a former brisbane taxi driver. the work is more seasonal than you would expect. january/february is terrible, nobody goes out because money is still tight from christmas. i quit in january a few years back because it just died after december. anyway, about the money... i used to aim for $600 on the meter, which is $300 for the driver. plus tips. the most i ever made was $1000, and i pulled in over $600 for myself, but that was a biggg shift and you can't predict when you'll get lucky like that. another reason i quit is because the system is rigged... the computer rates jobs on how much they're worth, and dispatches good jobs to cars that are owned by board members. it's called being "fed", some cars are fed good work, others have to do the hard yards themselves while being stuffed around with all the small jobs left over. they'll tell you it doesn't happen, but trust me, it does, it's a fact. it's less of a problem later in the night when you rely on hails rather than the computer, then it's just pot luck. if you're prepared to drive friday and saturday night, and put up with the drunk idiots, you should make at least $500 for yourself, once you get the hang of it. it will take a while though.
3 :
tnuc_den has it pretty right. I would suggest that you ensure the following if you want to drive an Australian taxi: 1. Be legally allowed to work. I know this is an issue with illegal drivers in Melbourne and Sydney, and Brisbane too, I suspect. 2. Learn your way around. This causes headaches fro passengers a lot, especially visitors: you are expected to get around without assistance. 3. Know the ettiquette: if a customer is dissatisfied with a taxi service it is usually because the taxi (and yes, sometimes the driver) is dirty, or they don't know where they are going, or they are rude. You do not have to put up with idiot passengers and passengers do not have to put up with poor service: it is a two way thing. 4. As a student you can drive, just be sure you get paid officially, not under the counter. Taxes must be paid and recirds kept if you are to be legally covered as a driver. 5. Know the road rules. I know this stuff is pretty basic and might sound rather condescending, but taxis in out bigger cities have afairly poor reputation, and, sorry to say, especially those driven by recent immigrants and foreign students. Make sure you can do the job properly and you will find it easier.
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