CABS STILL FARE GO

TOWNSVILLE Taxis has a massive 32 job vacancies, a rare sight for Townsville’s jobstrapped market.

Townsville Taxis general manager Angela Rheeders said a self- employed taxi driver could make a good living.

“It’s what you put into it,” Ms Rheeders said.

“They can determine how much money they make, because it’s just like any sales; the more effort they put into it the more they’ll make money.”

While there are upfront costs to consider, additional expenses such as on- road costs are minimal compared with ride- share companies like Uber.

Townsville Taxis compliance officer Brett Hoban said the longest part of starting the career path was obtaining a driving authority. “It’s the same for taxi drivers as it is

for limo drivers and ride- share Hoban said.

While Uber’s strongest demand remained on Friday and Saturday nights and now has 100 drivers in Townsville, Ms Rheeders said few drivers had made the switch from taxis to the ride- share company.

She said Uber brought a much- needed shake- up to Townsville, that has only improved Townsville Taxis.

“We do over 2000 jobs a day, and that hasn’t gone down,” she said.

“It’s a good thing for us be- drivers,” Mr cause people in Townsville are still choosing Townsville Taxis.”

Mr Hoban agreed customer service was a major focus.

“The ride- share deregulation in our industry has probably raised the bar, and we’ve had to meet it,” he said.

Even with Townsville residents crying out for employment, the jobs are still vacant.

Townsville’s unemployment rate has decreased, dipping to 9.3 per cent in July, but remains one of the highest in the state.

“It could be the fact that it’s a taxi driver, there’s a stigma attached to it,” Ms Rheeders said.

“Give it a try, it’s better to work than not to work.”

Mr Hoban said it’s a personable job for personable people and an opportunity to build a relationship with customers.

“If you like communicating with people, it’s a job you’re going to love,” he said.

“I drove for over seven years, and there wasn’t a day I didn’t want to go to work.”