How much does a taxi make in a shift?
A taxi, limousine or ride-hailing car earns its fares, then pays for fuel, maintenance, the car itself, insurance and permits. What is left is the profit before driver pay, and it is shared between the driver and the company. How it is shared depends on the deal: a fixed daily rent, a share of the fares, or a salary.
The calculator works out that profit per shift and per month for one car, compares what the driver and the company keep under the three pay models, and gives the break-even fare per paid kilometer and the trips a shift needs.
Why work it out per car and per shift?
- Two drivers share one car's fixed costs: a car on two shifts a day spreads its installment, insurance and permits over twice the shifts.
- Empty kilometers cost the same as paid ones: fuel and wear run on every kilometer, but fares come only from the ones with a rider. The share of distance with a rider is often the figure that decides profit.
- The pay model moves risk: with a daily rent the driver carries a slow day; with a salary the company does. The same car can look profitable under one model and lose money under another.
- Regulated costs are fixed costs: in Saudi Arabia, the Transport General Authority (TGA) requires taxis to use the fare meter, offer electronic payment and carry a live tracking device linked to its Naql portal. Their subscriptions belong in the fixed costs.
What inputs do you need?
| Input | Where to find it | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Trips and average fare | Meter records, the app's weekly statement | Use a full month, not a good week. |
| App commission | The ride-hailing or booking partner's statement | Use the share actually deducted, with booking fees. |
| Distance and share with a rider | Odometer and tracking trip reports; meter paid distance | Count the km driven to pick-ups and back to the rank. |
| Fuel and maintenance | Fuel receipts, workshop bills | Maintenance per km = a year of bills ÷ a year of km. |
| Fixed costs | Finance or lease contract, policy, permit receipts | Spread annual fees over 12 months. |
| Pay terms | Driver contracts | Enter what the contract says, not the average deal in the market. |
How is it calculated?
Profit of the car before driver pay
Driver and company under each pay model
In every model the driver's part and the company's part add up to the profit before driver pay; the model only decides who gets what and who carries a bad day. The break-even rent is the rent at which the company covers maintenance and fixed costs and earns nothing.
Break-even
The tool has no fares, commissions, rents or wages of its own: every figure is yours. Fares are before VAT.
Sources
- Taxi requirements in Saudi Arabia (fare meter, electronic payment, live tracking linked to the Naql portal, vehicle age): Saudi Press Agency, TGA stresses dealing with regular taxis, 10 August 2023. Source: SPA.
- Executive regulation for taxi transport and taxi passenger intermediation, decision 6/16 of 1447/03/01 AH, Umm Al-Qura 2 September 2025. Source: Qanoniah.
- Gasoline 91 at SAR 2.18 per liter in October 2026 (Saudi Aramco prices, reported 11 October 2026). Source: Al-Muraba. Last reviewed 21 October 2026.
Worked example: one sedan on two shifts
The defaults are examples in US dollars; the Arabic page shows the same example in Saudi riyals. Replace them with your own figures.
- 14 trips at $8 make $112 in fares a shift. With no app commission, net fares are $112.
- 220 km at 8 L/100 km and $0.58 a liter is $10.21 of fuel; maintenance at $0.03 a km is $6.60.
- Fixed costs of $900 a month over 26 days × 2 shifts = 52 shifts are $17.31 a shift.
- Profit before driver pay is $77.88 a shift, $4,050 a month. The car covers 121 paid km a shift, so fares are $0.93 per paid km.
- Daily rent of $53 with the driver paying fuel: the driver keeps $48.79 a shift ($4.07 an hour), the company $29.09, or $1,513 a car a month. The company breaks even at a rent of $23.91.
- To pay the driver $53 a shift and cover the car, a shift needs $87.12 in fares, 10.9 trips or $0.72 per paid km.
How to read your results
- A negative profit before driver pay means no pay model can work: fares or the share of distance with a rider must rise, or costs must fall.
- A driver who keeps less than the rent model expects will look for another car. Check the driver's earnings per hour, not only per month.
- The break-even rent is your floor in a rent negotiation; below it the company pays to put the car on the road.
- Fares per paid km against the break-even per paid km shows how much room the fare leaves.
How to raise profit per car
- Cut empty kilometers: plan ranks and waiting areas from where trips start, and see from trip reports how far cars drive between rides.
- Put each car on more shifts: fixed costs fall per shift. The Fleet Vehicle Utilization Calculator shows which cars are under-used.
- Know each driver's real cost: the Driver Cost Calculator works out what a national or expatriate driver costs per month and per hour; the Driver Turnover Cost Calculator shows what losing one costs.
- Settle every shift the same way: record km, trips, cash and card for each shift with the Taxi Shift Handover and Cash Settlement Sheet.
Assumptions and limits
All shifts of a car are treated as equal, and each driver works the same number of days. The salary model counts the monthly cost of a driver per working day, and the company pays fuel. Taxes other than fares before VAT, end-of-service benefits, fines, accidents and the cost of empty days are not modeled unless you add them to the fixed costs. Every default is an example. This is a planning aid, not financial, legal or tax advice.