Every company has the responsibility to ensure their staff are working in a safe environment but do you know if your preferred taxi company are cutting corners and costs and therefore taking unnecessary risks with their clients?
In times of austerity taxi prices have become lower and lower whilst quality tyres, servicing, insurance and fuel have rocketed. Drivers were making a better profit on airport transfers 10 years ago than they are today, why?
Well 10 years ago price from Hook to Heathrow Terminal 3 was on average £35, and running costs were more than 50% cheaper.
Today you can easily go from Hook to Heathrow Terminal 1 for £46, but should you risk it? Here are the figures:
- Driver pays 20% commission to the hiring company £9.20
- Fuel for 76 miles round trip in an average car is £13.18
- Driver wages, in rush hour 1 3/4 hours at 7.50 per hour £13.12
- Tax & National Insurance contributions as self employed approx £2.64
- License fees to Hart Council £400 per year so approx £0.30 per job
- Running costs excluding fuel £5
Total cost to driver minimum £43.74
So all that is left for vehicle maintenance and your personal safety is £2.34.
At these rates the only ones making money is the hiring company, as the driver and owner of the vehicle struggles to break even When a driver is struggling to make a living he will start to cut costs. i.e budget tyres can be £20 each instead of £90 for quality tyres like Continental or Michelin maybe even cutting back on the number of services per year. It is an industry known fact that taxi and private hire drivers, on average have increased their working week by as much as 30 hours to earn the same as 10 years ago. So what is a “safe” amount?
Hart taxis will never jeopardise safety by offering clients a price that is uneconomic for the driver to sustain a living and more importantly the safety of the vehicle.
So what is your most important factor when booking a taxi, Staff Safety or reducing transport costs? Realistically you should be paying a minimum of £54 to ensure you are getting true value for money and safety for your staff.
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