There’s no real secret to effective taxi fleet management. If you want to run an efficient fleet, all it really takes is to stay on top of all of your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks. And thanks to certain technological innovations, this has never been simpler.
In this post we’ll take a look at the various tasks, activities, and strategies that contribute to good taxi fleet management.
Risk management is an integral part of any fleet management operation. We can help you understand and prepare for all possible risks your fleet might face with our dedicated taxi fleet insurance services. For more information, call our dedicated team on 0208 290 9099, or email CM@AnthonyJones.com.
Daily Tasks Managing a Taxi Fleet
These are the essential day-to-day tasks you’ll need to master to ensure your fleet stays operational, with the flexibility to adapt to unexpected scenarios:
- Basic daily maintenance – Thoroughly clean every vehicle in your fleet as regularly as possible, to keep things pleasant for both your drivers and your passengers. Also be sure to keep every vehicle topped up with sufficient fuel for each day’s work.
- Keep good records – You need to keep detailed records on every vehicle in your fleet, whether you manage a fleet of three cabs, or 300. Keep tabs on every vehicle’s MOT, insurance, and service histories. Also keep detailed servicing records, and you can stay on top of any necessary maintenance and repairs. Good fleet management software can give you automatic reminders of whenever any necessary repairs or renewals are due for each vehicle in your fleet.
- Track your vehicles – Monitoring your vehicle’s movements will help you understand your fleet’s mileage, which will help you understand your risk profile, your fuel usage, and more. At the very least, you need to log every journey that every driver undertakes – by hand, if necessary. But ideally, you’ll have some sophisticated fleet management software to help you track your vehicles in real time, with automated reports on mileage etc.
- Look after your drivers – As an employer, you have a duty of care to every driver in your fleet, along with any staff members who support your daily operations. Your drivers should feel like they can trust you, and that they can approach you with any concerns they might have with their vehicle, their passengers, or with their own physical and mental health. Stay in close communication with your drivers, so that they can tell you about any possible issues before they become problematic.
Monthly Tasks Managing a Taxi Fleet
- Monitor your reports – Keep good records and you’ll eventually get some good data on your monthly mileage, fuel expenses, income, and more. Over time you may start to spot some patterns from the insights you get into your expenditures, and your drivers’ behaviour. Are there any areas where you could make some improvements to boost safety and efficiency?
- Review your feedback – Make a point of continuously gathering feedback from both your drivers and your customers. Review this feedback at least once a month. Look for any room for improvement. But look for the good feedback too! This way, you’ll know to keep doing whatever’s working. You could also look to reward any drivers who receive particularly good reviews from customers. Running a “driver of the month” scheme could improve engagement among your drivers and motivate them to deliver the best possible customer service.
Annual Tasks for Managing a Taxi Fleet
There aren’t strictly the tasks you’ll need to undertake on an annual basis. Think of them as the critical tasks that’ll help you ensure your fleet stays safe, efficient, and profitable for the long-term.
- Vehicle servicing – Taxis rack up a lot of miles, so they’ll probably need servicing at least once a year, or possibly more. Stay on top of each vehicle’s servicing schedule, and there will be less risk that any of your vehicles will be put out of action due to unexpected downtime for repairs.
- Vehicle replacement and acquisition – If you’re leasing your vehicles, you’ll have to renew the leases whenever necessary. At this point, you could consider replacing any old vehicles in your fleet with newer models – which may be safer and more efficient. You’ll also have to think about acquiring new vehicles should you want your fleet, and your business, to grow. And if you’re thinking about electrifying your fleet, you’ll have to determine a long-term EV adoption strategy.
- Driver management – Your drivers will need annual appraisals, performance reviews, and pay reviews. You’ll also have to consider their ongoing training and development, and some drivers may need to renew their licences from time to time. The insights from your fleet management software can feed into this ongoing driver management. For example, telematics can help you monitor your drivers’ behaviour. Are any drivers prone to speeding, to harsh braking, and to other risky practices? These are the drivers you should prioritise for training and development.
- Legal compliance – Every year, every vehicle in your fleet will need to undergo an MOT. You’ll also have to renew your commercial motor insurance once a year. Some policies will renew automatically. But the renewal date is a good time to review your policy, to ensure it’s still providing all the cover you need at the best price.
We Can Help You Get The Most From Your Taxi Fleet Insurance
Whether you’re looking for your first taxi fleet insurance policy, or you’re getting ready to renew an existing policy, we’re here to help.
We can help you get all the cover you need for your vehicles and your drivers, and our expert risk management services can help you make savings on the price of cover. For more information, call our dedicated team on 0208 290 9099, or email CM@AnthonyJones.com.
