This is how I calculate...
None of the income is 'mine' until all of my expenses for the shift are collected. This used to take a lot less than six hours or so. It now can easily take much longer than that. They only days I 'lost money' due to notable circumtances beyond my control were the two days and nights after 9/11.
The question before the Transportation Committee is to decide if a fare increase to $2.75 flag pull, $2.25 per mile, $1.00 all extra passengers, $0.25 per 36-second 'wait time' is 'just and reasonable'.
It is NOT to decide how much we SHOULD make. This is an arbitrary number that will vary greatly from person to person.
A fare increase is 'justified' simply by noting the significant increase in the price of gasoline since our last fare increase almost three years ago!
The regular cost of living has also gone up significantly.
I can easily spend more than $40 in gas per shift. Let's quit 'rounding numbers off' to make the argument easier to understand at the risk of misreporting the truth.
The best way to 'calculate' how much you are making per hour is to note the time you leave the house, the time you return, how much you have netted, and divide accordingly.
The point isn't 'how much we make', it's how much longer we must now work to get there.
We each have a different level of experience and skill which affects this total.
We each have different personal needs which affects when we decide when we have 'enough'.
Right now, all the City seems to care about is that enough of us 'break even' to keep us coming out onto the streets.
What's really happening is the cabdrivers are being 'broken' by being overworked more and more.
It is a dangerous situation. A significant fare increase is the safest route to take.
25% is no longer 'too much'.
-Mike Foulks, President, Chicago Cabdriver Organization (CCO)
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Replying to:
This is how I calculate taxi expenses per hour.
If there is any mistake please feel free to add.
My daily lease rate is : 93$
My use average 40$ gas per day.
This brings my total cost to 133$ per day.
Let us add 3 $ and round it up to 136$ per day. (this 3 dollar could very well cover traffic tickets, the tip to the cashiers at the lease office etc.)
Every employee is usually expected to work 8 hours.
that means total expenses of 136 divided by 8
= 17$.
Every hour of the eight work hours, the first 17$ is not yours.
An average cashier at the gas station make $8 an hour, with no risk of getting a traffic ticket, accident(no deductibles), no customer running away with out paying the fare.
In your experience, How many hours in 8 hour work day, do you make more than 25$ per hour.
If you take an ohare fare and come back empty, you get $40 and takes 2 hours. your hourly collection is 20$.
If you go to ohare and stay there for 2 hours and come back to either downtown or who knows lincolnpark,
you may get $40 and $30/40 to a total of 70 to 80 dollars and spent 4 hours. that again comes to 20$ per hour collection.
If the average collection per hour is $20 and your average expense per hour is 17$(assuming 8 hour workday), you make $3 per hour for first 8 hours.
I am intersted to hear how others feel about this.
hi mike,
thanks for the feed back.
in the chicago dispatcher article, the commissioner was saying average driver works 12 hours shift and based on some log for 2 weeks.
I agree with all you have written.
The point I was trying to highlight is that,
we should only refer to how much we net on an eight hour shift, as any normal employee is supposed to work and justify that fair increase is needed.
we should keep hammering on the point of eight hour
shift calculation.
this is as opposed to my vague memory(I might not have read carefully the article) of what the dispatcher article mentioned as the commissioner used based on the 12 hour shift.
any extra hours over 8 hours the driver put in, is his bonus and should not be considered in the rejection of "fare increase" justifcation by the commissioner.
I think you and I agree.
thanks
Mr. Anonymous,
I do agree with much of your contribution...
What does get lost sometimes is the fact that cabdrivers must work longer than 8 hours, traditionally 12 hours, and now, sometimes much, much longer than 12 hours to make any net income which could properly reward them for their hard work.
Thank you for pointing this fact out. Let's never forget to mention it when we are discussing how much 'per hour' a cabdriver is making.
Keep the positive contributions coming!
-Mike Foulks, President, Chicago Cabdriver Organization (CCO)
P.S. You can send me your e-mail address privately so that I can keep you informed about the CCO activities. Maybe you can join us, when you feel comfortable enough, Mr. Anonymous!
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Replying to:
hi mike,
thanks for the feed back.
in the chicago dispatcher article, the commissioner was saying average driver works 12 hours shift and based on some log for 2 weeks.
I agree with all you have written.
The point I was trying to highlight is that,
we should only refer to how much we net on an eight hour shift, as any normal employee is supposed to work and justify that fair increase is needed.
we should keep hammering on the point of eight hour
shift calculation.
this is as opposed to my vague memory(I might not have read carefully the article) of what the dispatcher article mentioned as the commissioner used based on the 12 hour shift.
any extra hours over 8 hours the driver put in, is his bonus and should not be considered in the rejection of "fare increase" justifcation by the commissioner.
I think you and I agree.
thanks
