Transport services form part of the larger hospitality industry, tied together with other sectors such as hotel industry and golf resorts, tour business and convention as well as business administration. Running a taxi business is like operating a mobile office with you or your employees as full time attendants. It’s a demanding yet very lucrative and a rewarding business for those who are patient.

With US Bureau of labor statistics predicting that employment for taxi drivers and chauffeurs will rise to 20% by 2020, then starting your own taxi company is a great idea. The most important thing that you need from the outset is the right approach. To make sure that you get things right and consequently succeed in your taxi business, here are some of the things that you need to put into considerations.

Acquiring vehicles

Indeed, acquiring taxi cabs should be the first step towards starting your taxi business. You need to do a bit of research to establish whether there are specific types of cars required for taxi business in your city. Your insurance agencies should be able to advise you on these details.

Buying cars for taxi business is the single greatest startup cost, even where one would want to start with only one car. To cut the cost, you may want to start with used cars. This may help cut down the startup cost, especially where you want to begin with a fleet of cars.

Brand your cars

You’ll need to have the right trade mark for your taxi business. This may involve having your cars painted where you may have to include your personalized choices such as business name or attaching of logo, top lights for easier identification and so on. Remember to check with your licensing agency for what is allowed or not.

Meters and Electronic Dispatchers

Your car or fleet will have to be installed with meters. Apart from the cost of buying the meter, you’ll also need to have a professional approved by weights and measure department install them in each of your cabs. Other important equipments include communication gadgets such as cell phone or radio communication system.

Business Licensing

Depending on your county, city or town’s regulatory agencies, you may need to pay for business operating license. Some cities allow a limited number of companies to operate, where licenses are issued every year. In such a case you’ll have to apply and wait for consideration or alternatively, if you have enough cash and you don’t want to wait you can buy an existing medallion.

Insurance

Apart from the regular car insurance, there’s a special insurance for all cars involved in taxi business. In most cases the premium is higher than that of regular car insurance. Find out the premium required with your insurance professional or local taxi service licensing agencies.

Hiring Drivers and Dispatchers

If you have more than one cab or plan to have someone else operate tour taxi during the night then you’ll need to hire. You also need to hire experienced dispatchers to take care of your clients’ needs. You may want to conduct interviews and inquire about their conduct through reference from their previous employers.