- Thread starter Jimmydr
- Start date
Women taxi drivers.
Actually I was actually considering this to put myself through school. Yes they exists. A friend of mine did it and earned a ton. But make sure it's decent hours to mitigate the danger factor. It's a hustle but the rates of insurance and such makes it burdensome. You also need to have a tough exterior. Also depends where they are taxing...what's their "Farm"/area.
Best
Best
Jimmydr said:
I was thinking about this for my girl over there. She would do Airport pick up and drop offs. Do these guys own the taxis or rent them?
Both. It depends how you come on board. You can either be a yellow or gypsy cab.
For the yellow cabs to get "official" the medallion costs about $100K. So for most people going yellow it's a long term commitment....leveraged against the cost of their house or something. This is why you see more south Asians and middle easterns in this area because they handle their money better. In some case a group get's together and goes in with a car and just rotates on hours.
Getting into a gypsy base is easier. First she would need to find a base that will house her (i.e. refer clients to her through phone calls). It is preferrable to buy your own car and work solo rather than rotate hours with a car because people are depending on 1) that you are a good enough driver not to wreck the car and 2) that you are responsible enough to trade -in on time...else you are cutting into someone else's opportunity to make money. You would need to trust the people you go in with.
In either case 1) you need to decide wether to go solo or in a group, and 2) you will have to bear the high cost of insurance (I'm assuming you are in the northeast ie NY/NJ). Insurance for Taxis was aroung $5-6K per year last I heard. The thing is you can also make a lot if you farm right. Don't forget to include the cost of gas. Usually taxis are either 6 or 8 cylinder cars, just gas guzzlers. So this is a considerable sunk cost + tolls.
G'd luck
For the yellow cabs to get "official" the medallion costs about $100K. So for most people going yellow it's a long term commitment....leveraged against the cost of their house or something. This is why you see more south Asians and middle easterns in this area because they handle their money better. In some case a group get's together and goes in with a car and just rotates on hours.
Getting into a gypsy base is easier. First she would need to find a base that will house her (i.e. refer clients to her through phone calls). It is preferrable to buy your own car and work solo rather than rotate hours with a car because people are depending on 1) that you are a good enough driver not to wreck the car and 2) that you are responsible enough to trade -in on time...else you are cutting into someone else's opportunity to make money. You would need to trust the people you go in with.
In either case 1) you need to decide wether to go solo or in a group, and 2) you will have to bear the high cost of insurance (I'm assuming you are in the northeast ie NY/NJ). Insurance for Taxis was aroung $5-6K per year last I heard. The thing is you can also make a lot if you farm right. Don't forget to include the cost of gas. Usually taxis are either 6 or 8 cylinder cars, just gas guzzlers. So this is a considerable sunk cost + tolls.
G'd luck
Jimmydr said:
Jimmydr said:
:laugh: I was just thinking the same thing as I was reading about $100,000 to get going with a "yellow" cab (first thinking he meant tourist cab as they are sort of a yellow colour in the DR) and thinking that there was NO WAY all those cab drivers got started in the DR by paying $100,000!!!
I was thinking about something similar the other day though... I don't think I have ever seen a woman driving a public car or guagua in the DR. Do they exist??
Fiesta Mama said:
I know 10 people traveling there weekly. A taxi would be good for her to drive. She is 27 now.
Jimmydr said:
I think a taxi business in the DR could be very profitable if done properly, especially if she will have the connections you have suggested. BUT does she have a car because it might take a while to retrieve your costs if you have to buy one first?
I also think that doing airport/hotel drop-offs and pick-ups would be relatively safe. As always though, taxi drivers should take care not to carry any large amounts of money, etc. but I think the clientele and location seem perfect (and taxing to and from the airport would prove more lucrative than taxing locals I'm sure).
I have seen one lady driving an Apolo taxi cab. As stated, if your gf has a clientele, that is much better than working on a radio taxi. Less stressing. If her clientele has fixed schedule is a plus too.
She can also see if she can get some contract from a big company, I know some of them (with several plants) commute visitors between their sites. That is a good income too. But you never know when visitors will be on town.
My company moves personnel to several points in the country. I myself have to go to several free zones almost every day and it was a pain in the $ss to try to get one taxi to drive me there on time, they tend to accept services even when they have commited to your service at a certain hour. Finally we have arranged some kind of contract with the owner of a taxi company, there is always one of their cabs waiting for me on time according to my schedule (they have at least 2 time-conscious dominicans).
Driving school kids is a good option too, they have fixed schedule and she can drive for other people in the day... she needs loads of patience tho...
Jess
She can also see if she can get some contract from a big company, I know some of them (with several plants) commute visitors between their sites. That is a good income too. But you never know when visitors will be on town.
My company moves personnel to several points in the country. I myself have to go to several free zones almost every day and it was a pain in the $ss to try to get one taxi to drive me there on time, they tend to accept services even when they have commited to your service at a certain hour. Finally we have arranged some kind of contract with the owner of a taxi company, there is always one of their cabs waiting for me on time according to my schedule (they have at least 2 time-conscious dominicans).
Driving school kids is a good option too, they have fixed schedule and she can drive for other people in the day... she needs loads of patience tho...
Jess
Story
I was taking a taxi one day and a voice that kept crackling over the radio sounding so feminine I just assumed.
I asked the driver if "she was the only women driver they had".
He looked at me funny - probably due to my mangling of the sentence in Spanish - but he spoke enough english for me to better explain the question.
He nearly drove off the road laughing at the ludicrousness of it.
He barked into the radio about my question concerning "the voice" and I was left listening to bursts of laughter and joking on the radio for the rest of the ride.
I'm sure they exist, but likely few and far.
I was taking a taxi one day and a voice that kept crackling over the radio sounding so feminine I just assumed.
I asked the driver if "she was the only women driver they had".
He looked at me funny - probably due to my mangling of the sentence in Spanish - but he spoke enough english for me to better explain the question.
He nearly drove off the road laughing at the ludicrousness of it.
He barked into the radio about my question concerning "the voice" and I was left listening to bursts of laughter and joking on the radio for the rest of the ride.
I'm sure they exist, but likely few and far.
Haha, Jimmy, I need a cab and I will use paypal? Don't think so. The woman would have to have Big Balls to do this in the DR!Jimmydr said:
Escott
Escott said:
Or stick to a clientele and certain areas. I would never go to a "barrio caliente" in this country. That is something difficult to do if you are on a radio taxi, it would be weird to let someone get into your taxi and then say, no sir, sorry, i don't drive that way :cross-eye
Not that I know much about taxis, but...
-All taxis are unionized. You don't mess with transport unions, trust me, I know first hand what happens.
- Not infrequently radio taxi drivers get mugged. A woman is in more danger.
- I don't know how hard they are enforcing it these days, but taxi drivers have to be registered at the DMV. So do their cars. From time to time the enforce it and sometimes they lax.
-All taxis are unionized. You don't mess with transport unions, trust me, I know first hand what happens.
- Not infrequently radio taxi drivers get mugged. A woman is in more danger.
- I don't know how hard they are enforcing it these days, but taxi drivers have to be registered at the DMV. So do their cars. From time to time the enforce it and sometimes they lax.
Pib said:
I am tired of the turist taxi high rip off prices. If we use the public taxis can they do anything?
Jimmydr said:
Yes they Exist. Before we bought our car, we lived in Mira Flores, SD. By Luck we found Fatima, A regular Driver for Mira Flores Taxi. We always called here directly, she gave us the best prices, knew the routes and shortcuts, and was prompt and reliable.