Taxi or car drivers take people and their luggage to their destination. They may be hired for individual journeys or provide regular services to the same client or customer. They may also be called chauffeurs or minicab drivers.
The taxi trade is split into two types of vehicle: licensed hackney carriages (black cabs) which are able to pick people up in the street or from taxi ranks; and licensed private hire vehicles, or PHVs (known as minicabs), which are not allowed to pick people up in the street, but have to be booked though the firm's office.
Other car drivers or chauffeurs are engaged to transport clients to and from particular functions, or work for large organisations or private individuals.
You could be:
The figures below are only a guide. Actual pay rates may vary, depending on:
You can start off earning around £15,000 a year. More experienced drivers earn an average of around £25,000 a year, with some earning considerably more.
Workforce Employment Status
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A good general education is useful. You need a special licence to be a taxi or private hire driver. Each local authority has its own criteria you must meet to be approved, so you would have to check specific requirements. The most common criteria are listed below.
You might work for a taxi firm, a car hire firm or agency, a large private or public organisation, a funeral director or a private household.
Workforce Education Levels (UK)
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Employment
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You need to be:
You need to have:
Couresty of Transport for London
The following organisations may be able to provide further information.
British Chauffeurs Guild
Tel: 020 8641 1740
E-mail:
info@britishchauffeursguild.co.uk
Website:
http://www.britishchauffeursguild.co.uk
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
Tel: 0300 200 1122
Website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency
The DVSA's aim is to promote road safety through improving driving standards, testing drivers, motorcyclists and driving instructors, maintaining the registers of Approved Driving Instructors and Large Goods Vehicle Instructors and supervising training for learner motorcyclists.