The Fantastic £85 Deal

The holiday market has a lot of competition for airport transfers at fantastic prices. Last year the recession forced many people out of full-time employment and some decided to have a crack at taxi driving or working a private hire office. The number of self-employed drivers at town centre offices increased. At the same time, the number of customers decreased.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that increased competition in a decreasing market means less money to go around! It’s just like more people trying to eat a smaller cake. Some established private hire drivers looked at new markets to sustain their regular turnover and one of the most obvious places was airport transfer – some drivers have a list of clients that take holidays so it makes sense to offer them the service at a competitive price.

Some drivers offer trips to Manchester Airport for just £85 return from our local area in Wrexham. That is a great deal for the customer! For the driver though, I'm not so sure?  There are costs which most people don’t calculate but I will share them. Let us assume you have a vehicle for which you paid £9,000 and you expect to cover 180,000 miles with it over three years. That will roughly give you: Vehicle depreciation of 5p per mile; Servicing and repairs of 3p per mile; Insurance costs of 2p per mile; Licences and car tax of 1p per mile and tyres of 5p per mile Therefore, the basic running costs are 16p per mile (as long as you don’t need any major repairs like a clutch at £1,000 a pop).

In an efficient car, such as a diesel (returning 44mpg or more, the cost of fuel would be at least £25 and the return journey would cover nearly 200 miles at the said 16p per mile (or £32). This leaves the driver with £28. Subtract £5.30 for the car park at Manchester Airport and we now have £22.70 for the best part of five hours work (which includes a 4am pick-up sometimes). Oh, and don’t forget to factor in tax and national insurance contributions and unpaid holidays.

Last year we stopped promoting cheap deals. We kept our prices where they needed to be and focussed on the corporate market. This year we are still in business, our volume has increased and more airport trips link-up. Our drivers are making a profit and they have plenty of regular sleep too! Wonder how long the driver with the £85 deal will be doing it for? Maybe they should spend money on advertising as well?