Latest news with #taxiIndustry
Sky News
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Sky News
Secrets of a cabbie - from most expensive times to travel to the passenger question he hates most
If you've ever spent your morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each Monday, our Money blog speaks to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like. This week we chat to Mark White, who has been a London cab driver for 33 years... Our salaries have fallen £15,000... Pre-pandemic, a full-time London cabbie could earn around £35,000-£45,000 net. These days, with rising operating costs (weekly lease for an electric taxi alone can exceed £300) and increased competition from app-based private hire vehicles, many are earning significantly less. A driver's take-home can now be closer to £25,000-£30,000 unless they work long hours, and even then it's unpredictable. Uber has... fundamentally changed the industry, not because of innovation, but because it exploited regulatory gaps. Many cabbies see Uber drivers as pawns in a wider system that undercuts standards. It's not personal: most understand that those drivers are trying to earn a living, too. But there's frustration that private hire vehicle drivers can operate with far fewer requirements, while taxi drivers face intense regulation with no enforcement parity. One of the biggest challenges is... running a compliant, electric cab in a city that lacks adequate charging infrastructure. I would like to see proper EV support - charging access, grants, scrappage schemes that actually help. I would also like taxi access to all bus lanes and areas to be restored. To do this job you need... to complete The Knowledge. It's a three to four-year process, covering over 25,000 streets in a six-mile radius of Charing Cross. You're tested regularly in person. It's not just about navigation - it's judgement, memory, and mental resilience. The most important skill? Patience. Both behind the wheel and in life. I used to say I would retire at... 65 but who knows now? With costs rising and pensions shrinking, many of us work well into our seventies. My plan is simple: stay healthy, stay behind the wheel while I can. The most expensive day and time for someone to get a taxi is... anytime we're stuck in traffic - London's the most congested city in the world. But the meter is regulated, so unlike surge-pricing apps, passengers always know what to expect. I love a good natter but... I can tell pretty quickly if someone wants silence. The question I wish people would stop asking? "So, do you use a sat nav?"-I spent four years doing The Knowledge. Of course I don't. I only refuse fares for... legitimate reasons. If the passenger is aggressive, drunk and disorderly. But if I'm working, and they're safe, I'll go anywhere. Some of the best things I've overheard in my cab are... a couple breaking up. Midway through a row, she calmly asked, "Can I get out now?" He said: "Not till you hear me out." They were still arguing when I pulled over. Also overheard a guy rehearsing his marriage proposal. Practised it four times. He tipped well. I have met plenty of famous people over the years... One of the best was Sir Ian McKellen. He was polite, warm, and tipped generously, and Ken Bates - the old Chelsea chairman. The biggest tip I ever got was from a... city gent. He gave me £100 on a £25 fare. He'd just landed a big deal and said I reminded him of his old man. Can't argue with that! I have chased a fare dodger once... I chased him through Soho before realising how ridiculous I looked. These days, you call the police or write it off. It doesn't happen often now with contactless payments, but it still stings when it does. My worst experience with a passenger was... one who threw up in the back and then legged it without paying. And my best was... a young lad going to a job interview. He was nervous, told me his whole story. Six months later, he flagged me down again in the same suit, now working, and wanted to say thanks. I have felt unsafe at work... a few times, especially late at night. Once, a group tried to pile in drunk and rowdy. I locked the doors and drove off. Mostly, you get good instincts - and having a CCTV helps. The best perk of the job is... freedom. You're your own boss. You meet people from all walks of life. And when you help someone get home safely, or pick up an elderly passenger who hasn't been out in weeks, it feels like more than just a job. On a typical day, I work for... eight to 10 hours, depending on trade. Some work split shifts, others nights. You start early, check your cab, hit the ranks or roam, maybe take a break mid-afternoon, then back on for the evening rush. It does make me hate driving in my personal life... a bit. I avoid Central London on my days off. But outside the M25, with no traffic, radio on, it's actually relaxing. The worst habit of British drivers is... lane-hogging. And not signalling. In London, the worst is cyclists jumping red lights and scooter riders weaving without warning. It's chaos sometimes. The most memorable moment on the job was... taking a WWII veteran to the Cenotaph. He told me stories all the way there. I didn't charge him. He cried. So did I, a bit. To save money on cab fares, you should... travel outside peak times. Avoid heavy traffic areas. And always ask if there's a quicker route - that might save a few quid. Also, share a cab if it suits your journey. The meter... works out what to charge people. It's regulated by TfL and based on time and distance. There's no guesswork. What you see is what you pay.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calgary councillor calls for city to consider cap on ride-share drivers
Social Sharing A Calgary city councillor is calling for a limit on the number of ride-share drivers operating around the city to be considered. Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal is bringing a notice of motion to the city's executive committee on Tuesday that calls for administration to analyze a possible fixed or population-based cap on ride-share drivers. While the city's Vehicle-for-Hire bylaw maintains a fixed limit on taxi licences, Calgary does not have a similar cap on ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft. Dhaliwal's notice of motion says city records show there were more than 16,581 active ride-share driver licences last year. Dhaliwal said he's heard concerns about the taxi industry's future ever since he was elected to council four years ago. And he added that ride-share drivers have also said they believe having so many drivers in Calgary is having a negative effect on wages. "This is not at all taxi against ride-sharing," Dhaliwal said, adding that his goal is for drivers in both industries to earn a decent wage. "Some [ride-sharing drivers] are also telling me that with these kinds of licences out in the market, it's hard. It's hard to make a living." Some Calgary Uber drivers joined a strike across Canada last year over dropping wages and working conditions, with an uptick in drivers flooding the market cited as a reason for declining wages. In an emailed statement on Saturday, an Uber spokesperson argued a ride-share cap would make it harder for its workers to earn money, and for Calgarians to get around the city affordably and reliably. "The City of Calgary currently has a 120-page bylaw that regulates ride-sharing. Another study is not an effective use of time or money, especially when the city has larger issues to resolve," Uber spokesperson Keerthana Rang said via email. The motion would direct city administration to prepare a report examining the feasibility, benefits and risks of tools, including a cap, to manage the growth in ride-share drivers. The report would also be expected to analyze the potential effect of a cap on wheelchair-accessible service, market competition, existing contracts with the airport and major event venues, and any risk of unlicenced operations or litigation. The report would be presented to council by the third quarter of 2023. The rules ride-share drivers face in Calgary have been debated since Uber entered the market a decade ago. Associated Cabs president Roger Richard argued in 2015 that ride-share companies should follow the same rules as taxi companies. Calgary wouldn't be the only Canadian city considering a ride-share cap. In 2023, Toronto temporarily capped the number of ride-share licences in its city, but backed off following a legal challenge from Uber. In December, Toronto council revisited the issue, with the city calling for staff to present more information about the effect a cap would have. The problem Dhaliwal points to in past conversations on the ride-share companies' place in Calgary is that drivers didn't feel included. "Engage these people. Listen to them for once, please," Dhaliwal said. "And engagement is not just listening. Engagement is having a two-way conversation and considering their ideas, what they have to recommend and going back to them with some of the answers" Naeem Chaudhry, who worked in the taxi industry for more than 30 years, said he's talked to city councillors and officials on this issue for years. He argued that because apps like Uber and Lyft can have as many vehicles in Calgary as they want, many drivers are left unable to make a living, and the taxi industry's future is in jeopardy. "If we keep moving in the same direction, I think we'll eliminate the taxi industry within the next five years, perhaps 10 years," Chaudhry said.
