Taxis..... your experience.

gerrycollins

Am seriously thinking of doing Taxi in Galway City as its home for me and I know it well and Im unemploued bored out of my head at home with more reject letters comming in that applications going out.

Only issue is I dont know what the industry is like in Galway hopefully someone could offer some advice or their experience as a punter in Galway.

Ps I would be the one doing offers and discounts without any T&C attached but its hard to advertise it on the cab but Facebook and Twitter might help me? good idea or bad?

Clemon

You will have to compete with half of nigeria

Bobeagleburger

Rarely use them.

They are a rip off. Bike and walk everywhere. I'm lucky to be living not too far from the city though.

There's a lot of competition. You'll have to work alot of hours to make it worthwhile.

martyboy48

Yep, there's a lot around, and hard to make a living out of it now. Heard that a lot of people doing in just on weekends to top up their regular wage... If you do decide to do it make sure you have all your paperwork in order as the gaaardaiii do make occasional checkpoints to specifically(sp) check out taxi drivers...
Good luck with whatever you decide to do...

snubbleste

but your location id states Dublin 24

gerrycollins

"You will have to compete with half of nigeria"

Heard that alright only found out today that you can pick any taxi you want in the rank. always thought it was the fella at the top but thats only a gentlemanly thing with the drivers

"make sure you have all your paperwork in order as the gaaardaiii do make occasional checkpoints to specifically(sp) check out taxi drivers... "

Ah ya I'd keep it in order too messy anyother way

"but your location id states Dublin 24 "

since i moved 2 years ago updating my profile never crossed my mind

biko

Have you tried asking in some taxi forum?
Many Nigerians that have the right to stay have taken up taxi work and the taxi market in Galway is saturated imo, which is great from the customers point of view.
Whereas before I could be standing in the rain 20 mins at some rank waiting, that never happens now.

Madame Razz

I'd say you might make more money in the more outlying areas like Oranmore and Clarinbridge OP. There's less competition and a lot of the town taxi drivers; especially the non-national ones; have no interest in going out there. The ones that do go out there often charge outrageously. If you could over a reliable well priced service there you could make a living; though I believe the associated costs of running a cab make things very difficult.

gerrycollins

Spagellian wrote: »

I'd say you might make more money in the more outlying areas like Oranmore and Clarinbridge OP. There's less competition and a lot of the town taxi drivers; especially the non-national ones; have no interest in going out there. The ones that do go out there often charge outrageously. If you could over a reliable well priced service there you could make a living; though I believe the associated costs of running a cab make things very difficult.

I honestly dont know how some taxi drivers dont operate a fixed price for a destination like oranmore and such from city center but thats another argument.

im into marketing so working with some pubs & clubs as well as facebook and twitter along with some existing contacts within the city just to get my name out there but might go with a base for a while till im established

Tomebagel

martyboy48 wrote: »

Yep, there's a lot around, and hard to make a living out of it now. Heard that a lot of people doing in just on weekends to top up their regular wage... If you do decide to do it make sure you have all your paperwork in order as the gaaardaiii do make occasional checkpoints to specifically(sp) check out taxi drivers...
Good luck with whatever you decide to do...

They dont do them half as much as they should,last time they did it all the nigerians left the rank and went home for the night,i wonder why:rolleyes:

martyboy48

Tomebagel wrote: »

They dont do them half as much as they should,last time they did it all the nigerians left the rank and went home for the night,i wonder why:rolleyes:

True, and a lot of taxi drivers I have spoken to would agree also...

dec25532

Have you investigated the possibility of aligning yourself to one of the taxi companies like Galway Taxis or Big O etc. Don't know what is involved but it could guarantee you a certain amount of fares.

gerrycollins

dec25532 wrote: »

Have you investigated the possibility of aligning yourself to one of the taxi companies like Galway Taxis or Big O etc. Don't know what is involved but it could guarantee you a certain amount of fares.

exactly might do it for 6 months but again a cost involved so need to factor it in.

celtictiger

Before you do have a good listen to this which aired last week:

http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2010/pc/pod-v-08071053m38slivelinetaxis.mp3

Galway is no different. Do yourself a favour - put the idea out of your head....you will not make money and your sanity will suffer. Just take a walk around the ranks of Galway and have a good look.

telepylus

I think the galway taxi market is saturated to be honest. I have never been anywhere where there is that many taxis on a regular basis in not only the main taxi rank, but all along bridge street and the entire city! Although saying that, once I find a certain taxi company and they dont rip me off regularly I tend to stick with them. From taxi companies back home, and even here in galway, I recognize there is such a divergence in taxi rates. getting charged between 5 and 10 euros for the exact same journey is pretty bad (and before anyone says, yes it was same hours and number of people in the taxi). I personally would not like the job of trying to establish a 1 man taxi service, but if you have good contacts and get your card/name out there, and you are known for soundness and good prices, you might do ok

There are too many taxis in Galway and not enough Taxi ranks. In my experience a lot of taxi drivers can be ignorant; holding up traffic at the bottom of Eyre Square (near Foxes) because they can't get into the rank down there, parking on the pedestrian crossing at the top of Eyre Square.

kraggy

gerrycollins wrote: »

I honestly dont know how some taxi drivers dont operate a fixed price for a destination like oranmore and such from city center but thats another argument.

im into marketing so working with some pubs & clubs as well as facebook and twitter along with some existing contacts within the city just to get my name out there but might go with a base for a while till im established

Do you actually know the costs involved? You would be mad to do it. I drove a couple of years ago and it could actually cause mental illness it's so bad these days.

You can't just try it for a few months as the plate is 6k alone. Your car has to pass a taxi NCT and your license fee annually is 250 euro. Add to this high cost of insurance, having to buy a meter, printer etc. It all adds up to crazy money.

And you can't just decide to "go with a base". Galway Taxis and Big O taxis are co-ops. I.e. you have to have a share in the company to have a car with them. A share in either costs thousands. And I mean many thousands.

One option would be to get your Psv License and go drive for one of these shareholders in their car. You keep a percentage of the takings and have no bills. To start up in your car and buy your own plate now would be madness.

Driving for someone else? You could try it. But be prepared for earning 30 euro for 8 hours work on a Tuesday night.

The horror stories that you hear on the radio told by taxi drivers are not made up. It really is that bad.

gerrycollins

kraggy wrote: »

Do you actually know the costs involved? You would be mad to do it. I drove a couple of years ago and it could actually cause mental illness it's so bad these days.

You can't just try it for a few months as the plate is 6k alone. Your car has to pass a taxi NCT and your license fee annually is 250 euro. Add to this high cost of insurance, having to buy a meter, printer etc. It all adds up to crazy money.

And you can't just decide to "go with a base". Galway Taxis and Big O taxis are co-ops. I.e. you have to have a share in the company to have a car with them. A share in either costs thousands. And I mean many thousands.

One option would be to get your Psv License and go drive for one of these shareholders in their car. You keep a percentage of the takings and have no bills. To start up in your car and buy your own plate now would be madness.

Driving for someone else? You could try it. But be prepared for earning 30 euro for 8 hours work on a Tuesday night.

The horror stories that you hear on the radio told by taxi drivers are not made up. It really is that bad.

i have done my research thank you very much.

Was thinking the best way would be to rent a taxi on a 6 months lease to feel my way after that well we shall see. I see the €250 cost as an investment of sorts. Taxis to rent inc insurance are going for average of €100 per week no mention of percentages. the responsibility to maintain the car is that of its owner obviously a large safety deposit of some sorts will be required.

the regulator is not giving out anymore vechicle licences other than those for wheelchair access or limo so I wouldnt bother trying to get one anyways.

as for buying a plate they are currently going for €4k/6k avg but then you have to have a car less than 3 years old with it even if you bought a package(car and plate) only an existing plate can be renewed by its owner on a car less than 9 years old. confusion eh?

As for go with a base idea this can be a cost of €80 to €100 per week ie €5200 per year probably with a minimum term contact. so again another investment worth investigating.

while I know they say its mad and not worth while etc I know a few drivers in other parts of the country who still dont give it up no matter how bad they cry into their milk and I'm talking about one or two who are serioulsy quailified one has a masters but he doesnt bother trying for anything in his field of expertise where salaries command some serious money.

thanks for your input its guys like you who's stories I'd like to hear ie at the coal face.
cheers

celtictiger

I'm lost for words here Your mind seems to be made up even after listening to the warnings and the horror stories based on a few friends in other parts of the country having qualifications to do something else. Maybe the fact is they can't give up their taxi as there are no other jobs out there - qualified or not and a few euros is better than none?

Please also consider that once your self employed the government will wash their hands of you.

You must not be envisioning the whole picture. Let me paint you a picture:

It's a lovely Friday evening at around 7pm and you decide to head out in your taxi to earn a few bob. You decide to hit the rank in lets say in Eyre Sq. You start off outside the Púcan trying to get on the rank with other cars blasting their horns at you as your blocking them off. You try to ignore them and stay out of their way. You get on the rank finally and - if it's a good night - in an hour and half to two hours you might be at the top of the rank. You get your first customer of the night. "The Claddagh, please". You start the meter and make your way to Claddagh. You stop the meter - €5 please. The customer hands you a fiver and heads off. You're now wondering where to head - you really don't fancy heading back up to Eyre Sq. again so you decide to head to the Bridge St. rank. Hmmmm....how do I get onto this rank without causing an obstruction? You can't, so you cause an obstruction until you get legally onto the rank. It's picking up so after and hour or so you get to the top of the rank. A customer hops in...."Cill Ard, please. I know it's not far but I'll get soaked in this rain". You pull off and drop the customer off for another €5. Wow...after three hours you realise you made €10. Seeing as your so close to Eyre Sq you might as well try and get on the rank again and not be wasting diesel driving around. Woah where did all these taxis come from you think to yourself as you see the taxi rank stretching all the way around the corner way past Rabbitts pub. You decide your gonna stick it out on the rank - only another hour and a half and I should be at the top of the rank. You reach the top of the rank in nearly two hours....another customer hops in....how are you gonna handle it when they ask you to bring them to Jurys? Fast forward to 2.30pm it's gonna pick up now. You've got €30 or €40 in your pocket now after only 7.5 hours of work. One of your customers calls you..."can you take me to Oranmore for that set fare you promised me - €12 right?" You wait ten to fifteen minutes for your customer to come out of Supermacs and off you go to Oranmore. You're halfway to Oranmore and you get another call for someone going to Oranmore. :eek: Sorry - I'll be another half hour or so....on your way back from Oranmore you realise you need diesel - crap there goes half my earnings. You finally get back to town and you give the customer a ring...."Sorry I couldn't wait any longer" You drive around and notice that the town is practically empty. All those taxis make short work of getting everyone home. Might as well head home now....lets do a count of the nights takings.....what the...€60??? On a Friday night? Jaysus I still have to make €40 more to cover the rent for my taxi. Hmmm - how am I supposed to pay my ESB bill? My mortgage, my gas/oil bill. What happens if my car breaks down......I better stay on for a few hours more - rank still has plenty of cars on it. Wow there sure are alot of African taxi drivers. If they would only go home I'd be at the top of the rank....

Does this sound like a work of fiction.....do you think this isn't the norm?
If you don't think this is what your in for you are mistaken. I hope I've put you off...for your own good.

whadabouchasir

OP I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet but you need to be aware that some passengers will just do a runner and not pay.I've never done it myself,but i know a few lads who do it regularly.Just something else to bear in mind.

kodute

The last thing Galway needs is more taxi drivers.

kraggy

gerrycollins wrote: »

i have done my research thank you very much.

Was thinking the best way would be to rent a taxi on a 6 months lease to feel my way after that well we shall see. I see the €250 cost as an investment of sorts. Taxis to rent inc insurance are going for average of €100 per week no mention of percentages. the responsibility to maintain the car is that of its owner obviously a large safety deposit of some sorts will be required.

the regulator is not giving out anymore vechicle licences other than those for wheelchair access or limo so I wouldnt bother trying to get one anyways.

as for buying a plate they are currently going for €4k/6k avg but then you have to have a car less than 3 years old with it even if you bought a package(car and plate) only an existing plate can be renewed by its owner on a car less than 9 years old. confusion eh?

As for go with a base idea this can be a cost of €80 to €100 per week ie €5200 per year probably with a minimum term contact. so again another investment worth investigating.

while I know they say its mad and not worth while etc I know a few drivers in other parts of the country who still dont give it up no matter how bad they cry into their milk and I'm talking about one or two who are serioulsy quailified one has a masters but he doesnt bother trying for anything in his field of expertise where salaries command some serious money.

thanks for your input its guys like you who's stories I'd like to hear ie at the coal face.
cheers

As long as you realise that you won't be able to go with either of the 2 biggest companies in Galway with your own car or any car that you rent.

And any of the other companies aren't busy enough to warrant investing money in a taxi.

shaggykev

dont do it man, its totally saturated. Yes i accept if your a white man on a rank, you'll probably get more business( whether that is right or wrong)

getting into galway taxis will cost 10k
they also have discount cards which mean people like me only use them, so indos are badly stuck to compete on an even footing

then all the associated costs, time etc

dont be a fool, dont do it

gerrycollins

celtictiger wrote: »

I'm lost for words here Your mind seems to be made up even after listening to the warnings and the horror stories.

big post thanks for the time and advice your far from lost for words

i still havent made up my mind TBH, but putting another perspective on it a thread here recently spoke of the horrors of been a Aldi manager with the hours and the work load etc. however none were directly from the mouth of an Aldi manager.

I was looking at Aldi for a job(didnt get it) and spoke to 3 managers in 3 different branches and they all said the same that their hours were only 45 per week and the wages and conditions were perfect and they loved their job.

ok 3 out of the rest of the country isnt a good sample to take however it totally contradicted everything been said by people on boards and what I had heard myself.

I appreciate you time and comments and I dont doubt their honesty, i would love to talk to an impartial taxi man(i know they dont exist) too just to hear their side not just the few who call into radio shows etc

markesmith

celtictiger wrote: »

I'm lost for words here Your mind seems to be made up even after listening to the warnings and the horror stories based on a few friends in other parts of the country having qualifications to do something else. Maybe the fact is they can't give up their taxi as there are no other jobs out there - qualified or not and a few euros is better than none?

Please also consider that once your self employed the government will wash their hands of you.

You must not be envisioning the whole picture. Let me paint you a picture:

It's a lovely Friday evening at around 7pm and you decide to head out in your taxi to earn a few bob. You decide to hit the rank in lets say in Eyre Sq. You start off outside the Púcan trying to get on the rank with other cars blasting their horns at you as your blocking them off. You try to ignore them and stay out of their way. You get on the rank finally and - if it's a good night - in an hour and half to two hours you might be at the top of the rank. You get your first customer of the night. "The Claddagh, please". You start the meter and make your way to Claddagh. You stop the meter - €5 please. The customer hands you a fiver and heads off. You're now wondering where to head - you really don't fancy heading back up to Eyre Sq. again so you decide to head to the Bridge St. rank. Hmmmm....how do I get onto this rank without causing an obstruction? You can't, so you cause an obstruction until you get legally onto the rank. It's picking up so after and hour or so you get to the top of the rank. A customer hops in...."Cill Ard, please. I know it's not far but I'll get soaked in this rain". You pull off and drop the customer off for another €5. Wow...after three hours you realise you made €10. Seeing as your so close to Eyre Sq you might as well try and get on the rank again and not be wasting diesel driving around. Woah where did all these taxis come from you think to yourself as you see the taxi rank stretching all the way around the corner way past Rabbitts pub. You decide your gonna stick it out on the rank - only another hour and a half and I should be at the top of the rank. You reach the top of the rank in nearly two hours....another customer hops in....how are you gonna handle it when they ask you to bring them to Jurys? Fast forward to 2.30pm it's gonna pick up now. You've got €30 or €40 in your pocket now after only 7.5 hours of work. One of your customers calls you..."can you take me to Oranmore for that set fare you promised me - €12 right?" You wait ten to fifteen minutes for your customer to come out of Supermacs and off you go to Oranmore. You're halfway to Oranmore and you get another call for someone going to Oranmore. :eek: Sorry - I'll be another half hour or so....on your way back from Oranmore you realise you need diesel - crap there goes half my earnings. You finally get back to town and you give the customer a ring...."Sorry I couldn't wait any longer" You drive around and notice that the town is practically empty. All those taxis make short work of getting everyone home. Might as well head home now....lets do a count of the nights takings.....what the...€60??? On a Friday night? Jaysus I still have to make €40 more to cover the rent for my taxi. Hmmm - how am I supposed to pay my ESB bill? My mortgage, my gas/oil bill. What happens if my car breaks down......I better stay on for a few hours more - rank still has plenty of cars on it. Wow there sure are alot of African taxi drivers. If they would only go home I'd be at the top of the rank....

Does this sound like a work of fiction.....do you think this isn't the norm?
If you don't think this is what your in for you are mistaken. I hope I've put you off...for your own good.

Mate, you've certainly put me off it :pac:

You got a way with words!

Got to say, Gerry, if you do get into the taxi business and then regret it very deeply...you can't say you weren't warned.

celtictiger

gerrycollins wrote: »

I appreciate you time and comments and I dont doubt their honesty, i would love to talk to an impartial taxi man(i know they dont exist) too just to hear their side not just the few who call into radio shows etc

I'm not sure if you realise it but I am a taxi driver :eek: As for being impartial - even if you did decide to join the ranks it wouldn't make a bit of difference to me as it's already saturated beyond anyones wildest dreams. Honestly - save your money and sanity.

Mike...

Tomebagel wrote: »

They dont do them half as much as they should,last time they did it all the nigerians left the rank and went home for the night,i wonder why:rolleyes:

And the traffic moved freely around town.. pity they don't do them checkpoints more often

sentient_6

brokenlaptop wrote: »

In my experience a lot of taxi drivers can be ignorant; holding up traffic at the bottom of Eyre Square (near Foxes)....

I remember walking one day to the corner of eyre sq where garvey's is, coming down forster st. The taxi queue was back around the corner. Just as i was getting to garveys a car pulls into the queue of taxi's thinking he's in traffic. I tap on the window & say hey mate your in the taxi queue. He goes mental. Twas funny. I've seen gards screaming at taxi drivers to move at the corner to. & there is so many of them there's nowhere for them to go. Galway is definately saturated with taxi's. Along with every other city in Ireland to it has to be said.

thefeatheredcat

OP,

I used a cab company regularly for a few years when I was working for everything from getting to and from work instead of walking in the rain and for nights out. Flat fare based on distance, was a regular and usually got the same drivers, always charged the same low fare before regulations came in. Never had any problems, except the usual waiting time. Now with that same cab office, as time went by, they'd be there straightaway or you could pop to their office and there would be loads of drivers waiting.

as for taxis themselves, I stopped using them after being quite ripped off price wise. I recall when in salthill april 2009 with some friends, they were insistant on getting a taxi instead of walking the short distance back to town in the early evening... I nearly died when I saw the fare as it was such a short distance.

From what I see now, taxis have huge competition and I know for a fact that other drivers from as far as Ennis regularly work in Galway city. There's always a taxi available at every rank. The rank at eyre square is the worst, always jammed. The only time I've ever seen it empty was 9.30 on a sunday night just after a train from Dublin came in...and I only know that cos I was one of the fools that missed the bus because of the train and punctual bus service!

as someone mentioned, there's been plenty of incidents where drivers have been mugged altogether or had their fare run off. I know most companies have particular safeguards and codes over dispatch to combat this.

I'd say either get in with one of the big companies, or seek a joint venture with the Uni or GMIT or even the student villages. I recall years ago that one company made an arrangement with the colleges that when the student was short of cash, for the driver to take the student id card and for the student to come back next day with the fare. I believe that was discontinued. Maybe worth investigating again though?

If you're looking elsewhere like Cork city, avoid the taxi rank at bus eireann station... they have the worst reputation from both a passenger and driver point of view... and that is also from personal experience.

howyanow

i wouldnt go near it if i were you,every taxi rank in galway is full day/night,have a walk around the town at different times and see for yourself,id guess there must be at least 100 in rank betwen salthill,bridge st,eyre sq and back around forster street,plus a few at train station/bus station.also dont forget hackneys.only way to do it would be to build your own customer base using friends word of mouth at their workplace/social events etc.very hard to make a livivng.maybe you could work for a driver which would be a cheap way to find out,youd need the psv licence for that.good luck

tinofapples

gerrycollins wrote: »

i have done my research thank you very much.

Was thinking the best way would be to rent a taxi on a 6 months lease to feel my way after that well we shall see. I see the €250 cost as an investment of sorts. Taxis to rent inc insurance are going for average of €100 per week no mention of percentages. the responsibility to maintain the car is that of its owner obviously a large safety deposit of some sorts will be required.

the regulator is not giving out anymore vechicle licences other than those for wheelchair access or limo so I wouldnt bother trying to get one anyways.

as for buying a plate they are currently going for €4k/6k avg but then you have to have a car less than 3 years old with it even if you bought a package(car and plate) only an existing plate can be renewed by its owner on a car less than 9 years old. confusion eh?

As for go with a base idea this can be a cost of €80 to €100 per week ie €5200 per year probably with a minimum term contact. so again another investment worth investigating.

while I know they say its mad and not worth while etc I know a few drivers in other parts of the country who still dont give it up no matter how bad they cry into their milk and I'm talking about one or two who are serioulsy quailified one has a masters but he doesnt bother trying for anything in his field of expertise where salaries command some serious money.

thanks for your input its guys like you who's stories I'd like to hear ie at the coal face.
cheers

Yeah ....... that's the weekly rent you have to pay but in order to get into the company in the first place you'll have to buy an existing shareholders share. Galway Taxi's are making bout 7/8k Big O maybe 12-15k. Big O's were making in around 40k 2/3 years ago.



Do yourself a favour and take some friendly advice......... don't do it.