Key facts
How do you work out whether a taxi business will make money?
Do it per car per week, with your own numbers: revenue is paid hours times average fare per paid hour; subtract every cost the car carries; what is left is that car's contribution to the office, marketing and your own pay.
| Line | How to estimate it |
|---|---|
| Paid hours (A) | Hours with a passenger or a paid booking, not hours on shift |
| Fare per paid hour (B) | Your average fare divided by the trip's time, from your bookings |
| Revenue | A × B |
| Fuel or charging | Total miles (paid and empty) × cost per mile |
| Vehicle | Weekly finance, lease or rent, or depreciation over the years the council will license it |
| Insurance | Weekly share of hire and reward cover |
| Licences and tests | Annual council fees ÷ 52 |
| Servicing, tyres, cleaning | From your records or quotes |
| Driver | Wages, or the driver's share if you run on commission |
| Dispatch, phone, card fees | Software per driver; card fees per payment, e.g. Stripe's 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards |
| Profit per car | Revenue minus all of the above |
Where does a taxi business lose margin?
In unpaid time and unpaid miles: cars driving empty to pickups, drivers on shift with no jobs, no-shows and cancellations, and account invoices paid late or not at all. Each can be measured from booking records and reduced with better dispatch, fixed minimums and cancellation charges where your council's table allows them (Edinburgh's, for example, includes a £3.00 cancellation fee for pre-booked taxis).[3]
See how to measure dead mileage and the dead mileage calculator.
Is the taxi market growing?
In England, private hire is growing and taxis are shrinking: on 1 April 2026 there were 290,000 licensed private hire vehicles (up 13% on 2024), 52,300 taxis (down 7%) and 417,300 driver licences (up 9%), according to the Department for Transport.[1]
Owner-driver or fleet: which earns more?
They earn differently. An owner-driver keeps the whole fare but is the only person earning, and every hour off the road is income lost. A fleet earns a little from many cars and drivers, but adds an office, dispatch, recruitment and the risk of cars standing idle. Run the worksheet for both before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
How much do taxi business owners make?
No official source publishes owners' profits. Use the worksheet above with your own fares and costs; it shows what each car contributes per week.
Does the DfT publish taxi earnings?
No. The Department for Transport's taxi statistics count licensed vehicles and drivers and record councils' licensing policies; they do not cover earnings.
Sources
Fees and rules change. Each source is the official page we read, with the date we read it; check it before you apply or pay.
- [1] Department for Transport: Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics, England: 2026 (published 13 August 2026) (read 2 Nov 2026)
- [2] Stripe: UK pricing (read 2 Nov 2026)
- [3] City of Edinburgh Council: Taxi fare table from 25 July 2026 (read 2 Nov 2026)