Business on minibuses, or How to open a "Route taxi"

At the moment, transporting passengers on urban and suburban routes is a pretty profitable business for an entrepreneur.

However, so that he really makes a profit and does not incur a “master" in debt, you need to carefully think through and plan everything in advance.

The path to success in the transportation market is very thorny, and not everyone succeeds in passing it. But today we will tell you some secrets, thanks to which you will know how to organize a taxi business correctly.

Vehicle selection

The first thing you need to pay attention to the choice of car, because it will be he who will become your “breadwinner” in the next few years.

If your budget is very limited, you can purchase a supported fixed-route taxi. But here you need to be very careful, because not every owner supports his car as it should.

Sometimes private owners simply kill their cars on the routes, as a result of which the new owner (that is, you) will have to spend a lot of money on overhauling the chassis, and possibly the engine. As for the brand, many entrepreneurs use Sprinter for city routes. These German "horses" will definitely not let the driver down at the most unexpected moment.

"GAZelle" is also a good option, but here you will need to prepare for various unpredictable waste, as spare parts on it "fly" almost every day.

What conclusions can be drawn from this?

If your budget for the purchase of vehicles ranges from 500,000 to 2,000,000 million rubles. for 1 car, it’s certainly better not to find a “German” vehicle. And for that kind of money you can buy a completely normal Sprinter with a working suspension and a working motor.

Buying a minibus of the type "GAZelle" is not an option, since you will definitely have to invest money in it further (about 50 thousand rubles, and possibly more). As the drivers say, even the new "Gazelle" has to "finish" for themselves.

Regarding the number of cars in the fleet, it is advisable for a novice entrepreneur to have 5-6 minibuses. But then again, the number of cars depends on the budget. You can try to travel on routes alone, but this business is unlikely to be profitable. After choosing a vehicle, you can proceed to purchase it. But about where to get money for the fleet, we will tell you a little later.

We organize business on minibuses: route selection

Many entrepreneurs at first try themselves on long-haul flights. Hence the benefits - the high cost of travel (the more expensive the ticket, the greater the profit), lower costs for parts (clutch and brakes will last longer) and fuel (in the country any car spends 10-15 percent less gasoline). In addition, not every private trader succeeds in capturing his share on city routes. Why it happens? There are no secrets here.

The scheme for capturing a business is very simple: one large company appears in the city with a huge fleet of cars (about 100 or more units). All these cars begin to ply along certain routes, and the novice entrepreneur, even with 5 minibuses, has no choice but to simply leave the transportation market.

On inter-regional flights, everything is much simpler, and the income will be stable (although this is not a fact - it all depends on the season). But in any case, you can get real profit. As practice shows, all costs for a fleet pay off already in the first 6-10 months of transportation.

Where to get the money for transport?

In general, the acquisition of a car fleet is a rather crucial step for every entrepreneur.Below we give the most common options for buying a transport:

• Acquisition of a car on credit / leasing.
• Search for investors.
• Purchase transport for your own money.

The first option is very risky and we do not recommend using it. Now we can cite many cases when companies with several millionth budget simply became bankrupt due to high interest rates and high transportation costs. Agree, what profit can be talked about when, on the one hand, you have the costs of spare parts and diesel fuel (not to mention the salary for drivers), and on the other hand, the monthly payment of debts.

The second option is less risky, since all the costs here fall on the shoulders of investors. However, not every company will agree to cooperate with you in the passenger transportation market. For many entrepreneurs, investors simply refuse to cooperate, so if you want to increase your chances, count on a small fleet of cars - you should not hope that the company will undertake the purchase of 100 buses and calmly give them to you for use.

But all the same, the chances that they will give you money for the fleet the next day and conclude a contract are minimal (although it’s worth a try).

Buying a vehicle for your own money is perhaps the safest way to start your own business. Initially, you will not worry about debts, as in the first case, because you simply will not have them. However, to start work with only one GAZelka in the fleet is also very risky, namely, unprofitable.

In extreme cases, use it for inter-regional transportation, but not in the city. The optimal number of cars, as we noted earlier, is 5-6 units. Although not every aspiring entrepreneur will have about 7-10 million rubles of money in their hands. But what if the first method is dangerous, the second is doubtful, and the third is almost unrealistic? There is a way out, and it is called "car rental."

What are the benefits of renting a minibus?

Firstly, it’s money saving. After the conclusion of the contract, you will have the opportunity to get a whole fleet of cars for only 3-5 thousand dollars (this amount can certainly be collected by a novice businessman). Naturally, you will have to pay this money monthly to their owner as a rent.

Secondly, you can start to engage in transportation almost immediately, since the lease is concluded in a matter of days. At the same time, when buying a vehicle, you will have to stand in long lines at the traffic police for registering a vehicle and obtaining license plates. Shuttle taxi drivers are very fast, so there should not be any special problems with finding personnel.

Starting your business is best in the midst of the tourist season (if you or your drivers will work on interregional routes). You can conclude a lease for 3 months (June, July, August) and calmly receive a stable profit from transportation.

If everything is done correctly, at the end of the season you will have money for your small fleet of cars. In order not to waste time buying a car, you can immediately place an ad like “buy a fixed-route taxi with a route” - there will already be a license for such a bus and all other permissions.

Business plan expenses

When creating your own company, you need to plan your business expenses plan in advance. He should consider the following points:

1. Payment of the rent of a vehicle or its acquisition.
2. Daily refueling.
3. Payment of taxes.
4. Paying salaries to drivers.
5. The cost of insurance and car maintenance.

Knowing the exact costs, you can determine your tariff for transportation, which will not drag you into a debt hole, and at the same time will not scare away customers.

How much does a minibus earn per day?

Since the profitability of a car daily can vary depending on various factors, we give approximate values ​​of profit. For example, on city routes, an average bus receives about $ 800 per shift. From here you should subtract such moments as:

1. Salaries for drivers (approximately $ 50 / car).
2. Insurance or loan repayment (about $ 100).
3. Maintenance of transport (about $ 300).
4. Payment of taxes (20-50 dollars / day - maximum).

Net revenue from each machine is $ 350 per day. Not bad, especially considering that there will be several such minibuses in the fleet.

But passenger transportation is like a game of Russian roulette: today revenue can reach $ 400, and tomorrow you will go negative (because the influx of passengers changes every day). Therefore, a stable income should definitely not be expected. Although 5-6 thousand dollars a month with proper business organization, you will definitely receive. As you can see, minibus as a business is a pretty lucrative business.

What is the profit from the fleet?

Suppose your car brings 250-300 dollars of net revenue with all expenses per day. Therefore, if your fleet has 5-6 such cars, then per month, taking into account the weekend, the company's profitability will be about 30 thousand US dollars. Agree, a pretty solid amount. At such a pace, you can quickly expand your fleet (buy a larger minibus) or start your own (if these cars were rented).

How can you further increase the profitability of a minibus?

Advertise your services in newspapers and on the Internet. Correctly and competently make an announcement and select the appropriate picture. If this is any website (by the way, you can open your own and indicate all the detailed information about the services there), post a photo of your minibus and preferably not only its external side. Also, an additional source of income from the minibus will be advertising on it. Thus, you can increase profits by 3-4 times. Accordingly, a fixed-route taxi will pay off in the next few months.

How to get a minibus taxi license?

A license is that document without which no legal shipping company can do. And it’s obligatory because in its absence they may impose a fine of up to 1 million rubles on you. In some cases, it even comes to confiscation of your own transport. When organizing a business on minibuses, pay special attention to this.

Where to get it? A license for passenger transportation is issued at the regional branch of the Ministry of Transport or on the electronic portal of the State Service.

What documents are needed to get a minibus taxi license?

To do this, you should prepare a copy of the passport, a statement, certificate of registration of IP and a copy of the certificate of registration of the vehicle.

If the minibus is on lease, prepare a copy of the lease to obtain a license.

At the same time, the following requirements are imposed on the vehicle:

1. Color scheme on the body.
2. Working taximeter.
3. Orange lantern on the roof.
4. Inspection no later than 180 days before the date of application.

How much is such a license? Depending on the region, you will have to pay from 4 to 5 thousand rubles. What is its exact cost, you can find out in local authorities. Documents need to be prepared in advance, since the term for issuing a license is up to 30 days. The minibus taxi license is valid for 5 years after issuance. After this period you will have to go through the procedure for receiving it again.