Driving taxi is like doing business, which you have your overhead. For driving taxi, your overhead will be cost of hiring a taxi and the fuel. In general most taxi driver will drive 300 - 400 km per day. Not to be greedy to take the cheaper taxi, as all new hirer will take the cheapest taxi and the condition will be very bad. You will need to pump more petrol / diesel.
In general, for diesel taxi, one kilometer $0.10, while for petrol taxi, one kilometer will cost $0.15 to $0.17. Looking at if you travel 400km per day. 400 x $0.05 that will give $20. The rental difference between petrol and diesel is about $20. If you travel more than 400km, then it will be advisable to take diesel.
Another factor to consider will be whether the taxi company has their own diesel pump, I am currently driving Trans-cab, which is selling diesel to taxi driver at $0.82 per litre, while outside SPC / Shell is sell at $1.33 per litre, while the pump price for petrol is $2.06.
Driving petrol, your petrol pump is around the whole island, but you pay more. For those people that are driving diesel, some stay far away, you got no choice but to pump outside. I go to Defu lane to pump every evening. which I feel a little bit troublesome, but I think the effort is worth it, as I save $10 each day as compare if I were to pump at outside petrol station (even if I stretch all the way to get 20% discount for the diesel).
a) You are using Petrol which can be use for motor bike, touch-wood your taxi don't break down. Your taxi will be left to the mercy of the mechanic who turn the air-con to maximum which will use more of your petrol.
b) The petrol in the taxi is the same fuel for motor bike, who will know what happens when you leave the taxi to the mechanic, they may suck your petrol and pump it to their motor bike.
c) What else, the petrol in the taxi may be suck and pump onto those spare taxi which will be out of fuel. As the company does not has any petrol pump.
If you are driving diesel, the fuel is not for any vehicle, some more it is cheaper. I have the experience when early in the morning the taxi breakdown, I have three-quarter tank when the taxi got tow in. One week later, when I collect the taxi, only left with one quarter tank. As the workshop supervisor what happens, his reply was he does not know. What type of attitude is this? If he reply he will check, then I know he is not part of the petrol stealing gang.
d) Petrol engine easy get into high fuel consumption because, the hirer will save cost by pumping the cheapest petrol that is grade 92. In the long run the engine will spoil and consume more fuel.
Valuable information for new hirer to consider whether they want to drive petrol taxi
Drive before petrol taxi as relief. Prius consumption was good. But hirer seems particular want pump only esso or shell 95. I preferred spc 95 as I used for my own transport n convenient for me. Plus discount for everyday card is more.
