Taxi driver breaks down maximum amount of money a cabbie can earn in one year
A taxi driver has revealed the maximum amount you're able to earn as a cabbie on the streets of London.
Black cabs are almost as recognisable as red buses when it comes to the iconic vehicles spotted on the streets of the UK's capital city. Admittedly less popular in recent years due to the rising availability of companies such as Uber and Bolt, the familiar hackney carriage never fails to crop up in films and TV shows which depict our nation's biggest city.
But how much can you make ferrying people around the many streets of London?
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Explaining how he makes money in a recent YouTube video is driver and content creator Tom the Taxi Driver, who has managed to build a following by busting myths on how many streets of the city you need to know and how to deal with customers who bolt before paying.
How much can cab drivers earn?
In a recent video titled 'How Much Money COULD a London Taxi Driver Earn?', Tom answered the internet's burning questions on all things taxi driving and money.
Naturally the first question on anyone's mind when it comes to jobs is how much money you can make and the answer is... a little more complicated then you'd expect.
Tom said it's hard to gauge how much a cabbie in London earns every year as it varies from person to person. Explaining why the figures differ so dramatically, he said that 'circumstances differ greatly' between drivers, including the number of days worked as well as whether or not you own the cab.
However there are several ways to work out how much a driver could earn - as well as the ideal earnings ceiling.
Crunching the numbers
Using the hypothetical example of two drivers - one who owns their cab and one who doesn't - Tom explained how the former could make up to £272 a week through owning his car (before tax).
Drivers can also top up their earnings if they offer their services as a tour guide as well as a taxi driver, with around £250 on offer for a four-hour tour.
Should a driver be able to do two of these tours per day across five days, they could earn around £2,500 a week, which is a pretty nice sum of money.
"But it does give you a good idea of what a London cab driver could earn," he added.
However Tom did caution that the sky isn't always the limit when it comes to making money as a cabbie, with drivers who earn over the VAT threshold of £85,000 liable to pay more tax. Unlike builders or plumbers, cabbies are unable to offset the charge by charging VAT to customers either, as they have to follow a standardised fare.
So while it may be difficult to estimate how much your average taxi driver does earn, it would appear that close to but not over £85,000 is the ideal figure.
Brenna Cooper