Do you want to start a taxi / cab business but want to go niche and be unique? If YES, here are 30 best taxi related business ideas / opportunities. This business involves a taxi moving passengers and goods between locations of their choice.
The taxi business is unlike any other mode of public transport where the service provider determines the pick-up and drop-off locations. A taxi business can be started small with a few cars and drivers, and as time goes on, it can be expanded gradually as you begin to profit.
What Does It Take to Start a Taxi Business Successfully?
But you need to understand and research this industry to be able to know the various competition and needs of the public before investing your funds. Indeed no business is ever easy to start; only a focused individual with a hunger for success can start this business and achieve success.
This industry in the united states is very competitive. The United States taxi industry includes about 7000 establishments with about $6 billion in combined annual revenue. No major companies dominate the industry, which gives you equal opportunity and an open market. The taxi industry is labour-intensive: annual revenue per employee is about $70,000.
Starting and running a taxi business is not easy, it requires thorough research and consideration penned down as a business plan, not just for keeps but as a reminder of what the business is all about, the goals laid down and the set procedures to achieve them within a particular period.
You should start your taxi business plan by stating explicitly the objective of the taxi company, its missions and achievements, highlights of the taxi company, its business description and a detailed strategy of achieving the company’s goal.
Note that your business plan should be able to describe the service you intend to give and set the criteria and priorities right.
Your business plan should also be able to carefully explain your financial plan, cash flows and the projected profits or losses in other to work accordingly and strive to make more of profits. Business plans for a new taxi business must be kept simple and within an achievable time frame. Here are 30 taxi Related Business Ideas you should consider starting in the United States:
Best Taxi Business ideas
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Off-road taxi
Off-road tours have become a very popular day excursion for a lot vacationers, and it is a reasonably priced vacation activity that can be enjoyed by every member of the family. These tours are generally offered in half-day or all-day packages to clients and are currently priced from $50 to $100 per person.
Have it in mind that advertising and promoting off-road or backwood tours is relatively simple and is best accomplished by designing and distributing promotional material about the activity to all local restaurants, hotels, and travel agents.
Indeed this type of taxi business can be very lucrative, even if the business associates or partners receive a 10 or 20 percent commission for referring clients to the business.
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Bicycle rental
Bicycles help move people from one location to another, and is a thriving business in certain areas. The two key environments where renting bikes is very profitable are in recreational tourism areas and cities. In tourism areas, you might look to set up near a large hotel or resort where extended vacations stays create ready customers.
In this type of business, you’re going to need a storefront as well as a space to store all your rental bikes. Another possibility for bicycle rentals is a bicycle-sharing approach. Bicycle stands around the city allow riders to rent a bicycle in one place, ride to their location, and drop the bicycle at a stand near their destination.
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Taxi cab publication
It’s important to state that it will take some clever negotiation skills to accomplish, but just like any new business, the effort is generally rewarded financially for the determined entrepreneur that takes the initiative. Note that a taxi cab publication is a daily or weekly two-page paper that is distributed free of charge for taxi customers to enjoy during their ride.
The paper can feature information about the local community, as well as trivia and games. Your business will earn by selling display-advertising space in the paper to local business owners and professionals. Also note that the business could be formed as a joint venture with an established printer who can produce the newspaper, while you focus on the marketing and sales aspects of the business.
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Taxi painting service
Painting of vehicles is not only a proven and stable industry, but can also be a very lucrative business to consider. Starting a taxi painting services has one main requirement to make the business successful; you or an employee must have the skills and experience required to complete bodywork and paint cars.
The equipment for running this business are huge, which is why the business is best left to professional automotive painters. You can also consider a joint venture with an existing automotive repair shop that doesn’t provide clients with painting services. You can also take advantage of the repair shop clientele base for marketing purposes.
Unlike other taxi related business ideas, the biggest threat to overcome when planning to start an airport taxi is to get an operator’s license. This license can be hard to get and very expensive if you plan to purchase one from an existing taxi business. But, it’s certainly not impossible to obtain an operator’s license for an airport taxi, and it can be well worth the effort.
Have it in mind that an airport taxi can be a very lucrative business to own and operate. Marketing this business is best accomplished by establishing alliances and partnerships with companies and local businesses that can supply you with customers, such as hotels, tour operators, travel agents, and large corporations.
You can also choose to provide limo service to celebrities or to regular people. You need to understand the importance of a clean reputation in this business. But in the case of the personal limo service, you’ll be driving a group of people who aren’t paying attention to where you’re going or how you’re driving but are enjoying the ride.
The driver needs to be supremely trustworthy, and the vehicle needs to be safe and well -maintained. Also note that you can provide all the services yourself, from scheduling to driving.
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Chuck wagon business
The very first step of starting this business, after researching, is to purchase an enclosed trailer or delivery step van that can be converted into a chuck wagon. Chuck wagons, or mobile food concessions, are everywhere and initiating this type of business will definitely bring in profits.
Your business will be moving a mobile restaurant from one place to another for the benefit of your customers. As mentioned, you can purchase an enclosed trailer or step van and convert it into a food concession on wheels by equipping it with commercial restaurant equipment such as fryers and grills.
Or you can purchase a mobile concession truck that has been professionally constructed. The typical chuck wagon menu includes French fries, hamburgers and hot dogs.
One of the best aspects about starting this business is that it offers flexibility in terms of operating hours and location. Good locations include outdoor auction sales, parades, beaches, fairs, parks, sporting events or any other busy community event.
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Bicycle courier business
The very first step in starting your own bicycle courier business is to see if a courier license is needed for your vicinity. If a license is not required, or you can secure one easily, the second step is to begin marketing your new bicycle courier business.
In this business, you can charge similar rates for envelopes and small parcels as motorized couriers charge, with the benefit being that your overhead will be a fraction of theirs. You can start and easily operate a bicycle courier business with a cellular phone for incoming delivery inquiries. Also note that this business can be expanded to include multiple bike couriers with a central dispatch system.
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Kids taxi service
In this age, kids have schedules just about as hectic as their parents–school, soccer practice, Little League, ballet lessons, orthodontist appointments, after-school care–it can leave working parents with no time to work in between all these drop-off and pick-up assignments.
So if you love kids and enjoy bring on the go, you can save the day with a kids’ taxi service. Your job will be to transport Babs and Junior to wherever they need to be, leaving parents free to win the bread.
With nearly 16 million families with children under age 18 and both parents in the workforce, this is a business with plenty of potential. The benefit of starting this business is that you’ll forge a happy relationship with the kids you drive on a routine basis, and you get the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping your clients’ lives run more smoothly.
To run this business successfully, you need nerves of steel; you can’t be distracted by giggling or minor wars in the back of the van or by imminent car sickness up front. But you’ll need to love kids and understand their need to be treated as people rather than parcels.
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Medical Taxi
Medical taxis or non-emergency medical transportation services provide rides to those who are physically unable to drive themselves. Medical taxis are most often used by older people in nursing homes or under home care. All vehicles need to have wheelchair accessibility, and drivers will need to understand the basics of First Aid.
This business is ideal for those who have experience in both the medical and transportation industry. Owners should have experience in providing fast and efficient pick-ups and drop-offs, regardless of the community of people they serve. Medical taxi owners may perform the following jobs on a daily basis:
- Developing relationships with nursing homes/hospices/doctors’ offices
- Coordinating driver’s schedules
- Driving between medical facilities
- Vehicle maintenance
- Solving transportation logistics
Indeed starting and running a small moving business is relatively easy. You need to keep in mind that you’ll likely be competing with college students who use a rented box truck. But your Competitive Advantage will be that you’ll set up and conduct your business professionally, perhaps offering add-on services such as space for temporary, in-between moves storage.
Note that start up costs in this business include purchasing one or more trucks in a range of sizes that will accommodate the type of moving you plan to do.
And, of course, you’ll need a place to park them. Also note that you will need at least one employee — you can’t lift that sofa alone! And you’ll need to train that employee for packing, moving procedures, customer interactions, how to behave appropriately in a client’s home, etc.
Vehicles and even taxis break down, are left stranded and are illegally parked every day. Your job will be to tow taxis to repair shops, impound lots and other locations as directed. Some tow truck businesses also offer emergency roadside assistance.
This line of business is best suited to anyone who is mechanically inclined. Towing vehicles is usually straightforward. Sometimes, however, hooking a damaged car up to a tow truck or extricating a car from a tight place can be challenging.
A mechanically inclined mind can help in these situations. Note that you will spend most of your day driving to broken-down, stranded and improperly parked taxis, hooking them up to the tow truck, transporting them to another location, and unhooking them from the tow truck.
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Community delivery services
With just a cell phone to take care of incoming and outgoing customer calls, coupled with reliable transportation, you can offer clients in your community fast and convenient delivery and/or pickup services for dry cleaning, spirits, fast foods, medications, event tickets, groceries, pet foods, flowers or just about anything else imaginable.
It’s also very necessary to state that this business can be easily expanded by just putting your marketing and management skills to work.
Focus on promoting your services and securing new customers, while hiring subcontracted drivers with their own automobiles to handle the pickups and deliveries on a revenue-split basis. Our can achieve maximum efficiency by installing two-way radios in each vehicle linked to a central dispatcher, thereby limiting downtime and non-productive travel time.
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Pedicab business
First, a pedicab is a small pedal-driven vehicle operated by a driver. Customers hire pedicabs to take them to a desired destination; however, pedicabs are better suited for short trips, as the cab’s fuel is limited by the strength and endurance of the driver.
The benefit of this business is that it provides a clean, quiet, alternative form of short distance transportation. They help ease traffic congestion during well-attended community events for both tourists and residents. This business is advisable for conservationists who want to help reduce carbon emissions. Active people who enjoy working outdoors and interacting with customers are particularly well-suited for it.
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Auto performance Centre
With over 7000 taxi establishments in the United States, you can’t go wrong with starting an auto performance centre that specializes in selling the latest and hottest taxi accessories. You can stock and sell items like mag rims and tires, wheel covers, engine performance parts, audio equipment and alarms, spoilers and body kits, and sport driving lamps.
Note that this kind of retail business is very expensive to start so planning and research will be your greatest priority. You also have to ensure that you locate the business in a building that will enable you to carry out installations of these accessories.
Also note that the installation aspect of the business can be partnered with a mechanic; you sell the products and they install the products at your location. With service and installation space you’ll also be able to provide customers with additional services like detailing, interior cleaning, and window tinting.
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Computer delivery and assembly service
You can start a business that picks up computer accessories, deliver them and also install them. This business is very easy to start if you already have the needed computer expertise. The best way to market the service is to create joint ventures with retailers of new and second hand computer systems and equipment.
Also another method of earning additional income for the business is by marketing additional products and services along with the delivery and assembly service. These additional products and services can include retailing computer security items, offering clients a computer cleaning service, as well as offering clients a software installation and explanation service etc.
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Helicopter tour
You job in this business will be to take customers on short flights so they can view their city from a bird’s-eye view. This is typically marketed as a more expensive service for a more adventurous clientele, and it adds a touch of excitement into any community.
Note that this business is best suited for those already licensed to fly a helicopter, as it needs significant investment of time and money needed to acquire a license. It is also a good business for a retired military personnel.
Aside from a knowledge of helicopters, one of the best qualities for this business is to be a “people person,” as you must be able to charm customers before, during, and after flight. Your time will ideally be spent flying customers around predetermined routes within your city.
Otherwise, your time is chiefly taken up with helicopter maintenance, advertising, accounting, and general customer service.
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Car maintenance courses
You can put your car repair skills into good use by starting a business that teaches your customers, which might include taxi drivers, how to do general maintenance on their cars and trucks.
These courses could be conducted in association with a community or educational facility, such as a community college, or on an independent basis by leasing a small work and training space. Course instruction can include how to change your oil, change a flat tire, and carry out regular brake and steering checks, as well as any other small automotive related maintenance tasks.
If you can secure ten paying clients per week for a three-hour car maintenance class and charge the students $50 each, this great part-time business would generate sales in excess of $2,000 per month.
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Taxi storage business
This business is very huge, especially in the northern climate areas of the United States. The first step to starting a taxi storage business is to secure low-cost indoor storage space, such as a vacant warehouse or manufacturing building.
After that, you simply market the business, and this is best accomplished by joining automotive clubs and associations and attending the clubs’ meetings and social functions to network for business. Always ensure that your storage spaces are heated and in good repair, as this will be very crucial to the success of the business. And, of course, be sure to obtain insurance for the business, as it will be a necessity, and a great marketing tool.
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Bus tour business
A bus tour business provides tours for tourists as well as locals. Tours of scenic and historical areas and other sites of interest are a valuable community service.
Bus tours connect people with others for a shared experience. They also educate people about historical landmarks, local history, geography and other important aspects of your city and the surrounding area. This business is very good and interesting if you are looking to give people the opportunity to learn more about a locale while enjoying the company of others.
Bus tours also enhance understanding and respect for cities, towns, landmarks and special sites. Bus tour customers gain a new appreciation for the area in which the tour is conducted.
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Specialty transportation
This is a kind of unusual transportation — very huge items such as airplane parts, or modular houses, or refrigerated perishables, blood, or human organs — can provide a healthy income. Indeed you will have fewer clients but can charge higher fees for the expertise you have or gain from specializing.
Depending on where you’re located (for example, a medical transport business in downtown Boston where there are numerous large medical facilities opposed to a small town in southern Indiana) will dictate whether you can do this business yourself or need employees.
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Water taxi business
Starting this business might prove hard, but once achieved can make you very rich. The requirements for a water taxi business are very straightforward. You must have a suitable boat and have a certificate that allows you to operate the charter boat.
Have it in mind there are many types of water taxi businesses that can be started, like dive charters, sightseeing, business functions, weddings, whale watching and fishing charters.
Note that a boat charter will include catering, an itinerary, and often some form of entertainment or social activity. Generally, boat charter rates are calculated and charged on a per person basis, and the rate will vary depending on the type of boat charter business you’re operating and the services or activities that are included.
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Livestock transportation
You can also start a taxi business that moves and transport livestock. You don’t need any specific licenses for transporting personal horses for customers unless you get into commercial-size vehicles that hold many animals. You will definitely need equine or bovine experience for potential clients to trust your ability to transport their animals, and you need to familiarize yourself with the livestock transport regulations.
Agreeably, the livestock owner will be in charge of getting their animal ready for transport, but you need to know the livestock regulations of any state you’ll be entering. A lot of states in the United States have requirements of certain infectious tests (including a health exam) and/or vaccinations for entering their state.
Keep in mind that if you’re transporting to any distance and need to stay overnight, you’ll need to get the animal on and off the trailer several times.
And not only do you need to know how to deal with things on the road — tricks to get the horse to drink while traveling and help avoid colic, how to treat or bandage a wound if necessary — you also need to know the basics behind driving while towing a live animal.
If you possess good organizational skills and you enjoy being on the road and hope to earn good money, then this might be just the business for you. You’ll contract with dry-cleaning ventures to service your customers’ clothes. Then you’ll pick up the laundries from homes and offices, take them in for cleaning, pick them up after servicing and return them to their rightful owners.
Note that you can arrange regular biweekly stops, picking up fresh dirties as you drop off your last visit’s load of now-clean garments, and you can have customers call for emergency pickups. The benefits of starting and running this business are that you can work from home, and you’re always on the go, so you’re not sitting around waiting for activity.
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Dent removal business
You can start and run a business that uses specialized equipment to remove small dings and dents in taxis caused by hail, minor collisions, and door bumps, all without the need for new paint, and on a mobile basis right at your customer’s location.
Note that running on a mobile basis enables you to get started with limited funds, keep your overhead low, and more importantly it gives you the ability to go to where the business is available, with no geographical limitations.
A lot of distributors and manufacturers of dent removal tools also provide training, which is reasonably priced and requires only a few weeks to complete. Hence, even if you have no previous auto body repair experience, you can still start and operate this business.
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Air taxi
Transport by air, whether plane or helicopter, involves significant start up costs for equipment, licensing (for yourself and/or employees), and insurance. Small plane transport can be of goods or people like hunters or skiers headed to remote territory, delivering goods or mail to islands, or even transporting freight internationally.
Note that you will need to get your ducks in a row using a facility that has excellent cargo handling and inspection equipment (especially for agricultural products and other items that are highly regulated) and customs if you plan to do any international shipping since moving products by air is all about speed.
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Conveyor car wash
These are the washes that put cars on a motorized track and drag them through a tunnel where they are rinsed, soaped up, washed, rinsed again and possibly waxed. The cars emerge clean (and perhaps relatively dry) at the other end.
Also fitting into this conveyor wash category is the full-service car wash, combining the exterior conveyor cleaning with a manual interior cleaning. In addition to offering cleaning cars, many car washes also have gas pumps, maintenance stations and shops where customers can buy anything from snacks to gifts.
Starting and running a business that specializes in used taxi parts is a lucrative business idea to consider, especially if the focus of the business is to supply hard-to-find or rare used parts. This business can be started and managed from a home based garage location, or a small industrial space.
This business can be advertised in traditional media such as trade-specific publications and newspapers, and by word-of-mouth. The profit potential for this business is fantastic, especially if the business specializes in rare or hard-to-find parts. Gross profit margins of 50 percent or more are not uncommon in the industry.
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Furniture delivery and assembly business
Most people will be surprised to see this business idea in the list, but a furniture delivery and assembly service is the perfect new venture for the handy person with a vehicle and basic tools to get rolling. Indeed you can start and run this business from a home based office and the fixed operating overheads are minimal.
It advisable that you start by contacting local furniture and office supply stores in your community to see if they are currently providing their customers with a delivery and assembly options. If not, negotiate a deal to provide their customers with the service and you’re in business. Also note that moving companies are a good source of work, as there is a lot of furniture assembly to be done after a move.
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Senior citizen taxi
With each new day, America is aging at an unbelievable speed. As older citizens give up their driver’s licenses, it creates a profitable opportunity for driving seniors to places they can no longer take themselves. Aside from medical appointments, you could drive seniors to the Grocery Store or to outings at the mall.
If you’re in an area where seniors tend to be low-income, you could consider setting up as a non-profit and getting grant support to help seniors in your region be more mobile. Grant funders, corporate sponsors, and the federal government are often looking to make use of funds for human service programs in helping citizens who really can’t help themselves.
In conclusion, a taxi business is not a business you can just wake up one morning and decide to jump into. This business needs proper research, preparations and enough incentives to be able to flourish. The taxi business is a very important part of the economy in the United States of America.
Most people who go into this business target the normal plying of customers from location to location without considering other niches. The taxi business in this age has gone far beyond the normal taxi calls and services we all accustomed to.
Research and consider the various options available in this industry, so as to achieve success and avoid intense competition.