What is the cheapest shuttle bus? How to open a fixed-route taxi business plan. How to open your route

* Calculations use average data for Russia

From 650 000 ₽

Starting investments

100 000 - 250 000 ₽

60 000 - 150 000 ₽

Net profit

11 months

Payback period

Minibus taxis are one of the most profitable and liquid types of auto business. However, launching it comes with many challenges that aspiring entrepreneurs need to keep in mind.

In most Russian cities, normal bus service is not developed. In frost, people are forced to stand idle at stops for half an hour, an hour, or even longer. You have to choose one of two evils: either you have to wait a long time for a single, but cheap bus, or you quickly get to your destination by an expensive taxi. Minibuses offer a third option: fast and inexpensive. In recent years, fixed-route taxis in many cities of Russia have become almost the main mode of transport, in some places displacing large public transport. They run more frequently than buses, they are more manoeuvrable, they stop at stops on demand, and the conditions in the cabin are often more comfortable.

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What types of fixed-route taxis are there in Russia

You may have heard that there are different types of fixed-route taxis. Which, for example, may not have a strict binding to the route, and passengers in them may indicate new directions to the driver. So, consider that there are no such types of “minibuses without a route” or “minibuses-taxi” in Russia. At least, the legal concept of "route taxi" does not exist. Since 2013, minibuses have been equated by law with public transport, that is, buses, trams and trolleybuses. This means that the transportation of passengers and luggage in minibuses is carried out on a regular basis and on a regular route. Such transportation is carried out on the basis of a public contract and is defined by law as “transportation by public transport”. In fact, this means that in Russia today there are two types of minibuses, which:

carry out transportation with embarkation and disembarkation of passengers at stopping points along the route of regular transportation;

carry out transportation with embarkation and disembarkation of passengers in any place not prohibited by traffic rules along the route of regular transportation.

In addition, according to the Charter of Road Transport and Urban Surface Electric Transport, there are 4 types of passenger transport routes:

Transportation in urban traffic. They are carried out within the boundaries of settlements.

Transportation in suburban traffic. Carried out between settlements at a distance of up to 50 km inclusive between the borders of these settlements.

Transportation in intercity traffic. Carried out between settlements at a distance of more than 50 km between the borders of these settlements.

Transportation in international traffic. They are carried out outside the territory of the Russian Federation or into the territory of the Russian Federation with the crossing of its border, including in transit through the territory of the country.

If we talk about the transportation of passengers and luggage in general, then three types of transportation are legally fixed in Russia: these are regular transportation, transportation on orders and transportation by passenger taxis. And, as you already understood, the activity of minibuses falls under the first category. So a more correct name for this type of transport would not be “route taxi”, but “minibus” or “small bus”. In addition, a minibus usually means not municipal transport, but private transport, which operates only at the expense of proceeds from ticket sales.

What you need to open your minibus

In Russia, the operation of minibuses, like all other public transport, is regulated by Federal Law No. 220-FZ “On the organization of regular transportation of passengers and luggage by road ...” dated July 13, 2015 and the Charter of Road Transport and Urban Ground Transport.

So, today's legislation requires all carriers to use a special parking lot for parking, and in order to transport passengers in the amount of more than 8 people, it is necessary to have a license, a route map or a certificate for the right to transport passengers issued by the authorized body of the municipal, regional or regional authorities.

One of the main state documents for the implementation of passenger road transport is considered a license. The presence of this document indicates that the carrier can ensure the complete safety of passengers, that its services comply with established norms and standards, and that drivers have the necessary experience. You can get a license if you have your own transport or rented.

To obtain a license for passenger transportation, it is necessary to collect an impressive package of documents and submit them to the territorial body of Rostransnadzor. It should be borne in mind that separate licenses are issued for each of the four types of transportation (urban, intercity, suburban and international).

The list of documents required to obtain a license for the carriage of passengers includes:

certificate of registration of a legal entity;

an application for obtaining a license, filled out in a specific form, where the type of transportation must be indicated;

documents confirming the tax registration of a person;

copies of documents regulated by the “Regulations on Licensing”;

copies of the constituent documents of the enterprise, certified by a notary.

And that's just, let's say, the main documents. You will also need documents from drivers that confirm their work experience (work book) and the ability to drive vehicles (medical certificate for permission to drive vehicles), information about the premises in which maintenance and repair of vehicles is carried out, namely:

copies of documents confirming the ownership of a specially equipped premises (extract from the register or contract);

declaration of own parking;

documents for technical equipment in the premises;

certificates or other documents confirming the compliance of the premises with generally accepted standards.

As additional documents, you will need an agreement for the implementation of a medical pre-trip examination of drivers, documents on the availability of the necessary transport, a vehicle registration certificate, a diagnostic card or a coupon for a technical inspection and the conclusion of a transport commission specialist.

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The license is issued within 30-45 days after the application is submitted. Before submitting documents, you must pay a state duty in the amount of 7,500 rubles. If prior to 2011 licenses were issued for 5 years, now they are issued indefinitely. Before collecting documents, be sure to check the list on the official portal of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Transport, as the requirements may change. Both individual entrepreneurs and organizations can obtain a license to transport passengers. For activities without a license, an individual entrepreneur faces a fine of 100 thousand rubles, organizations - 400 thousand rubles. Moreover, in case of repeated violation, the violator will face not only a fine, but also the confiscation of the vehicle.

One of the stumbling blocks in the business of passenger transportation is the choice and coordination of the route. The fact is that no one will simply allow a novice entrepreneur to carry passengers where they want. In large cities, it is almost impossible to wedge into existing routes, the market there has long been divided. Free niches remained only in small settlements, and they are quite rare. The situation there is different. You can enter the market, for example, if the local bus fleet is very outdated and needs to be replaced, and the entrepreneur is ready to put new buses on the route. To find out if it is possible to get a route in a particular city, you need to contact the local department of transport or transport companies serving the routes and conclude an agreement with them to access these routes.

It is rather problematic to open new routes. They are developed by the Ministry of Transport of the region together with local governments, and a whole pile of papers is collected for their approval, including calculations of economic feasibility, organizational section, technological calculation, and so on. The choice of the carrier is carried out through tenders held by local administrations. It is almost impossible to win a tender without connections, especially when it comes to profitable routes.

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To find out all the features of obtaining a permit for a route and entering this business in general, it is best for an entrepreneur to familiarize himself with its components from the inside in advance: namely, to communicate with bus owners and drivers and other knowledgeable people. It is quite possible that there may not be legal ways to obtain a route. And then they may demand an impressive amount of up to several hundred thousand rubles from a beginner. Moreover, the hope that the “one-time fee” will solve all cases may also be destroyed. It is no secret that those organizations that have managed to enter this business have to regularly maintain the goodwill of the inspection bodies.

Both carriers and passengers agree that the traditional "Gazelle" as a fixed-route taxi has already become obsolete. These cars do not enjoy popular love because of their uncomfortable size and too low ceilings. The capacity of an ordinary route Gazelle is 8 passenger seats, which is not very pleasing for carriers interested in the greatest financial return of their workhorses. On the other hand, Gazelle remains the most budget option for starting a business. A used car until 2010 can be purchased within 40-170 thousand rubles, a car from 2011-2013. will cost 210-350 thousand rubles, and newer Gazelles can be purchased for 400-890 thousand rubles. The new "Gazelle" will cost around 1 million rubles.

More capacious, elongated Gazelles for 12 seats will already cost around 1-1.3 million rubles. But with this kind of money, the entrepreneur has a much greater choice. For example, you can buy a good used minibus of one of the foreign brands, or add a couple of hundred thousand and buy a new Gazelle Next with a capacity of 18 people. 18 passenger seats (in various modifications up to 20-22 seats) is the most common capacity of minibuses today. In this class, you can find about a dozen options, the most popular of which are Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Classic, Ford Transit, Volkswagen Crafter, Iveco Daily, Citroen Jumper, Peugeot Boxer, GAZ Next and Hyundai County minibuses. Moreover, the assembly of the latter in Russia has not been carried out since 2014, as well as deliveries from South Korea have been stopped, so you can only purchase a used version.

Prices for the most popular taxi minibuses for 18-22 seats*

CAR MODEL	COST, THOUS. RUB.
CAR MODEL	until 2010	2011-2013	2014-2017	New (2018)

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Classic

Volkswagen Crafter

*according to the Avto.ru website as of 01/25/2018

There is no consensus on which model is definitely better and more reliable. Of course, buying a used car as a fixed-route taxi is always a risk, so if you have limited financial resources, you should use leasing services. For legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, leasing is an excellent opportunity not only to lower the threshold for entering a business, but also to save money in the process of tax payments, since payments under leasing contracts can be accounted for as current costs attributable to prime cost.

What are the requirements for bus drivers?

The carrier's staff can be completed only by qualified drivers with category “D” licenses. At the same time, the driving experience in this category should not be less than 3 years. It is also necessary to have a medical certificate of admission to the management of transport. The number of suitable candidates is limited, therefore, private traders often sin and hire non-professional drivers or employees fired for misconduct from municipal transport companies.

The minibus driver is obliged to follow the instructions of dispatching personnel, follow the route schedule, know the places of stops, dangerous sections of the road, detour schemes for repair sites, navigate the location of medical institutions, gas stations and service points.

As for salaries for minibus drivers, the salary system is not used by entrepreneurs in practice. In fact, drivers work according to the established norm, which may vary on weekdays and weekends, and the salary, if any, is minimal. In this case, the driver's revenue includes an amount in excess of the prescribed rate. The disadvantage of such a scheme is that, in pursuit of revenue, following the route turns into a battle for passengers with other minibuses, with cuts, mutual insults, standing idle at a stop and driving a race with speeding to the next stop. As a result, a vicious system is formed in many respects: drivers think about passengers in the last turn, massively overwork, spending 14-16 hours in the cabin, and in case of non-payment of the “plan”, they may be deprived of the bonus or require additional payment from personal funds. This is not to mention traffic violations, accidents and so on.

Often the scheme for building a business on minibuses is such that the owner of the minibus is the driver himself, who is obliged to be responsible for washing and refueling, perform minor maintenance, including replacing brake pads, oil, bulbs and filters, as well as carry out major repairs and provide parking in a personal garage. He, of course, spends the minimum on everything, since he already gives half of the proceeds to the business owner. As a result, passengers receive "broken" minibuses. Unfortunately, most often the labor relations between drivers and owners of carrier companies leave much to be desired and are more like a “collection of tribute”. The turnover in this business is huge, and at the root of most of the problems, of course, is human greed.

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Another option, which is chosen by more conscientious carriers, is to remove the bus driver from all other duties, except for driving on company-provided buses. In this case, the cost of gasoline, maintenance, washing and repairs remain with the company. With the solution of the issue of transparency of payments in public transport in our country is not in a hurry. The problem could be solved by the introduction of a cashless payment system with the installation of validators, but such a measure is effective only if it brings real benefits to passengers and applies to all types of urban transport. One way or another, the entrepreneur still needs to know the daily revenue plan, no matter what payment system he introduces. The best option would be to personally ride with the driver along the route as a conductor and calculate the income on different days of the week.

Returning to the requirements for drivers, we should not forget about their human qualities. Drivers not only should not be reckless, they should be able to get along with people. It's no secret that working in a minibus is a rather nervous and exhausting business. Here, the ability to control oneself is extremely important, because almost every day you have to deal with inadequate passengers, violent, arguing, and so on.

What are the requirements for the service of minibuses

All vehicles must be serviced at a service station and checked by a mechanic before each trip to work for faults. Also, before the flight, drivers must undergo an examination by a doctor and obtain permission to perform their duties. If there is no medical worker in the state, then you will need to conclude an agreement with one of the medical institutions for the provision of relevant services.

Minibuses must have licensed vehicle cards. You can not do without equipping GLONASS satellite monitoring devices and tachographs. Cars must be technically sound, and the type of vehicle must correspond to the type of transportation.

The entrepreneur should also take care of where to leave the cars after hours and how the car maintenance will be carried out: in-house or by a third party. In order to be in touch with their drivers, an office and the territory of the car park adjacent to it are equipped. Rent can be a significant expense, so finding a location on the outskirts of town is a good idea.

How much does it cost to open a bus business

There is no definite answer to the question of how much it costs to open a business on a fixed-route taxi. It all depends on the region in which it is planned to start, whether it is planned to purchase a fleet of vehicles or not, whether other services will be provided. Some investment guidelines can be obtained from advertisements for the sale of a ready-made business. A ready-made business with all the documentation, a minibus and drivers who agree to work for a new owner will cost from 650 to 1350 thousand rubles. The option of buying a ready-made business can be attractive in that the entrepreneur will be relieved of many initial bureaucratic obstacles and will be able to count on a certain flow of customers. In this case, the buyer will only have to find out exactly why the owner is selling his business. In the main period, the expense part of the business may include parking rental, payroll, fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair costs. Also, current costs may include a subscription fee for the route, payment for medical care, taxes.

How much do taxis earn

Finally, we come to the most interesting question. Namely, to the question of how much fixed-route taxis earn. On average, a route with one minibus in the fleet brings about 85-90 thousand rubles a month. The range of net profit varies from 60 to 150 thousand rubles per month with turnover in the amount of 100 to 250 thousand rubles. Accordingly, three minibuses can bring profit from 180 to 450 thousand rubles.

The amount of income, in addition to current costs, is highly dependent on the specific route, the seasonal behavior of passengers and their weekly schedule. Of course, the most profitable is a business that earns on weekdays, that is, along the “work-home” route. No one makes a bet on weekends and transportation of summer residents. On weekends, revenue and net profit indicators can decrease by 2-3 times relative to weekdays.

You can increase profits by advertising inside or outside minibuses. In the cabin, printed materials are most often used: leaflets, banners, booklets, which are placed in places in full view of passengers, for example, on the backs of seats. A special film with a pattern is applied to the body of the bus. Registration is carried out by employees of advertising agencies.

What are the trends and pitfalls in the minibus business

Due to the fact that large amounts of money are circulating on minibuses in the business, one of its main features is closedness. If we are talking about large cities, then, most likely, all profitable routes have long been divided among major players. The minibus business is a very corrupt and highly competitive area. Even with the desire to strictly adhere to the letter of the law, an aspiring entrepreneur may find that playing by "fair rules" in this market is not quoted. In addition, newcomers often underestimate the current costs of transportation. Repair of minibuses, which are used in a tough operation, can be not only expensive, but also long-term. The lack of modern bus service stations can put transport out of service for weeks and even months. Moreover, the entrepreneur is most often not able to increase revenue due to fixed tariffs. Tariffs may not change for years, while services for repairs, maintenance and gasoline continue to grow in the meantime.

When opening a business on minibuses, one cannot ignore the main trends in this area. In recent years, there has been a growing understanding in Russia that a minibus is a type of transport that has a detrimental effect on the situation with public transport in general. One of the main problems of minibuses is their low capacity. If the minibus can accommodate 15-20 passengers, then the tram and bus can accommodate 120 people. For cities suffering from traffic jams, it is clearly more efficient to replace 6-8 minibuses with one bus or tram. Minibuses clog roads and stops, cause more accidents and generally exacerbate the situation on the roads.

Moreover, from the point of view of finances, minibuses are a real noose for municipal public transport. First, minibuses do not require expensive infrastructure. Secondly, owners of minibuses save literally on everything, from train repairs to paying taxes. They can leave the route late at night without consequences if they consider it unprofitable. Public transport, of course, does not have such opportunities. Initially, unequal conditions put minibusters in a winning situation. Gradually, they are crowding out city buses from the busiest routes, and trams and trolleybuses are left with only beneficiaries and unprofitable directions.

In large cities of the country, the authorities have long recognized this problem, but they still cannot completely get rid of the “bus noose”. The fact is that almost every municipality in the country has its own minibus lobby, which impedes the implementation of restrictive reforms. Minibuses are a business with unregulated cash flows, which is very convenient for laundering black cash. Therefore, minibuses in Russian cities have a solid “roof”, and an attempt to ban minibuses or flatly refuse their owners to raise tariffs can play a cruel joke on the authorities. Such a step turns out that the next morning the minibuses (and this is a large part of the city's public transport) simply ... do not go on the line. The city cannot replace minibuses with the forces of exhausted municipal transport. And it turns out a vicious circle, the main victims of which are ordinary residents of the city. Moscow and Kazan have already consciously abandoned minibuses, and other million-plus cities are voicing similar plans. The trend, by the way, is global: at the moment, minibuses have remained mainly in the countries of the CIS, Africa and the Middle East.

At the moment, the transportation of passengers on urban and suburban routes is a fairly profitable business for an entrepreneur.

However, in order for it to really bring profit and not get the “owner” into debt, everything must be carefully thought out and planned in advance.

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

Vehicle selection

The first step is to pay attention to the choice of car, because it will become your "breadwinner" in the next few years.

If your budget is very limited, you can buy a used shuttle bus. But here you need to be very careful, because not every owner maintains his car the way it should.

Sometimes private traders 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 a major overhaul of 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, since spare parts for it "fly" almost every day.

What conclusions can be drawn from this?

If your budget for the purchase of transport ranges from 500,000 to 2,000,000 million rubles. for 1 car, then, of course, you won’t find better “German” equipment. And for that kind of money you can buy a completely normal "Sprinter" with a working suspension and a working engine.

Buying a GAZelle minibus is not an option, since you will definitely have to invest in it further (about 50 thousand rubles, and possibly more). As the drivers say, even the new GAZelle has to be “finished” for themselves.

Regarding the number of cars in the fleet, it is desirable for a novice entrepreneur to have 5-6 minibuses. But again, the number of cars depends on the budget. You can try to ride routes alone, but this business is unlikely to be profitable. After choosing a transport, you can start buying it. But about where to get money for a car park, we will tell you a little later.

We organize business on minibuses: route selection

Many entrepreneurs first try their hand at long-haul flights. Hence the benefit - the high cost of travel (the more expensive the ticket, the greater the profit), lower costs for spare parts (clutch and brakes will last longer) and fuel (outside the city, any car spends 10-15 percent less gasoline). In addition, not every private trader manages to capture their share on city routes. Why is this happening? There are no secrets here.

The business takeover scheme 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 run on certain routes, and a novice entrepreneur, even with 5 minibuses, has nothing left to do but simply leave the transportation market.

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

Where to get money for transport?

In general, the acquisition of a fleet is a rather responsible step for every entrepreneur. Below we present the most common vehicle purchase options:

Acquisition of a car on credit / leasing.
Search for investors.
Purchase of vehicles with own money.

The first option is very risky and we do not recommend using it. Now we can cite many cases where companies with a budget of several million simply became bankrupt due to high interest rates and high transportation costs. Agree, what kind of profit can we talk about here, when, on the one hand, you bear the cost 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 costs here fall on the shoulders of investors. However, not every company will agree to cooperate with you in the passenger transportation market. Investors simply refuse to cooperate with many entrepreneurs, so if you want to increase your chances, count on a small fleet of cars - you should not hope that the company will take over 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 and conclude an agreement the next day are minimal (although it’s worth a try).

Buying a vehicle with 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, starting work with only one GAZelle in the fleet is also very risky, namely, unprofitable.

As a last resort, use it for interregional transportation, but not in the city. The optimal number of cars, as we noted earlier, is 5-6 units. Although not every novice entrepreneur will have about 7-10 million rubles of money in his hands. But how then to be, if the first way is dangerous, the second is doubtful, and the third is practically unrealistic? There is a way out, and it is called “car rental”.

What are the benefits of renting a minibus?

First, it is saving money. 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 rent.

How to start working on your minibus?

Passenger transportation remains an actual service in all cities of the country. People often have to move within the city and make out-of-town trips. The life of a modern person who does not have his own transport cannot be imagined without a fixed-route taxi.

Riding in a minibus becomes a vital necessity. Therefore, many firms and individual entrepreneurs start their business in the field of passenger transportation. The opening of a fixed-route taxi is becoming an attractive project. Businessmen dream of a large number of customers, their own fleet of vehicles and growing incomes.
However, the reality does not look as tempting as the dreams of novice businessmen. At first, the owner of a minibus will have to face certain difficulties that need to be overcome in order to build a successful business.
In this article, we will talk about the features of this business in our country and give useful advice to entrepreneurs who decide to choose this path.

Documentation

A novice businessman who has decided to have his own minibus is interested in the question: “What documents are needed for route transportation?”

It is clear that any businessman must work legally. To do this, you need to register an LLC or open an IP. However, this is not difficult, and the main problem is obtaining a license for transportation.

This document is issued by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. There are three types of licenses related to transportation. To work on a minibus, you need a license that gives you the right to transport more than 8 people.

According to the current legislation, in order to obtain such a license, you must provide:

articles of association and agreement;
documents on registration and registration;
statistics codes;
requisites;
parking contract;
PC and DB documents;
inspection data;
driver documents.

Before submitting an application for consideration of documents, you must pay a fee of 300 rubles. For issuing a license, you need to pay another fee in the amount of 1000 rubles. This amount is paid at the time of receipt of the document. The license is valid for 5 years.

In addition, each bus must have a separate registration card. If you do not plan to immediately use a large number of minibuses, the best option would be to conclude an agreement with a company that will help you put minibuses on the route.

The choice of vehicles for a fixed-route taxi

The issue of the bus fleet is the most important in organizing the work of a fixed-route taxi. Transportation is faced with the problem of choosing vehicles. There are several options for choosing a strategy.

You can hire drivers with their own minibuses or buses. With the seeming benefit of such a development of the plot, certain problems may arise here:

you will receive less profit;
drivers can always switch to another carrier;
It will be almost impossible for you to control your drivers.

Bus drivers feel more free. It is extremely difficult to predict their behavior. They have their own conditions, requests, and if you cannot give them what they need, these people will leave you, and their equipment will “leave” with them. Therefore, the master of the situation is the one who owns the transport.

The other option is the most preferred. It is used by most carriers. We are talking about creating our own bus fleet. You need to draw up a competent business plan and calculate the costs, and you also need a profit forecast. It is mistakes at this stage that cause many failures.
Shuttle taxi equipment is your main asset, so the choice of minibuses should be approached very carefully. Everything is built on three pillars:

model cost;
the number of passengers that can be accommodated;
service costs.

The benefit from the acquisition of a particular bus / minibus is determined based on a combination of the above factors.

Maintenance costs are the hardest to predict. This is where carriers often make mistakes. It is necessary to build on objective data and carry out accurate calculations. Minibus service costs depend on the specific model.

The equipment that is used as a fixed-route taxi can be divided into 2 groups. These are buses of Russian and foreign production.

The most common version of the domestic minibus is the famous GAZelle. The low price speaks in its favor. GAZelle costs between 500-600 thousand rubles. Although this Russian-made minibus (depending on modification) is designed to carry 8-15 passengers, real practice shows that this number can be even more.

GAZelle drivers, wanting to get more profit, take an additional number of passengers, which is why the minibus is sometimes packed. Traveling on such a bus is not classified as safe. In addition, GAZelles are not a reliable mode of transport.

Such minibuses have another serious disadvantage. The low cost of the GAZelle is an advantage only at the beginning. Then you have to spend a lot of money on the maintenance and upkeep of these minibuses. As a result, you will hardly feel the profit from your business.

"GAZelle" can normally work as a fixed-route taxi for no more than 2-3 years. Then problems begin with this technique.

An alternative to Russian minibuses are imported models. They seriously compete with GAZelle, although they are much more expensive. The most popular foreign cars as fixed-route taxis are minibuses Ford Transit, Iveco Daily and Peugeot Boxer. Such equipment costs from 1 million rubles and more.

To purchase such models, you need to have a good initial capital. But the game is worth the candle. Foreign cars allow you to quickly recoup your investment. Foreign minibuses can accommodate 16-26 passengers, which significantly exceeds the capacity level of the GAZelle. Ford Transit is designed for 25 seats, Peugeot Boxer - for 22 seats. Iveco Daily can accommodate 16-26 passengers. Since imported equipment can accommodate more passengers than the GAZelle, your revenue will increase markedly.

Another important aspect is the service life of these buses and minibuses. They are able to serve in the mode of a fixed-route taxi for 7-8 years. The cost of their maintenance allows us to talk about the benefits of purchasing imported equipment.
If you have the opportunity, it is better to purchase imported equipment.

Seller's choice

From whom you buy automotive equipment plays a big role. If you are dealing with a serious seller, you will receive guarantees, you will be advised on important issues, and you will also be provided with after-sales service. A reputable company will support you in the future. In addition, the seller may offer you to use a car loan, purchase a minibus in installments or lease.

You can buy automotive equipment "from hand". However, this is a very risky move. The former owner of the vehicle may remain silent about the existing problems of this minibus. Therefore, you risk spending a large amount on repairs. Why create problems for yourself? In addition, the age of vehicles purchased for fixed-route taxis should not exceed 3 years. This is a recommendation from people with experience in this field.
Check that the seller has all the required documents. Of particular importance is OTTS (Vehicle Type Approval). This document provides a number of advantages, including: the opportunity to participate in tenders;

opportunity to participate in tenders;
no problems with registration in the traffic police;
obtaining a license;
guarantee of factory production of the minibus;
compliance with safety standards;
warranty and service maintenance;
fast paperwork;
no problems with car loans or leasing.

The presence of OTTS for a minibus shows the seriousness and professionalism of the seller, who is a certified manufacturer.

Where to begin?

If you decide to go into business in the field of passenger transportation and work on a minibus, you need to understand what kind of field it is. Chat with company owners and drivers. This will allow you to understand the essence of the work and allow you to look at the situation with someone else's eyes.

Information on specific brands of buses and minibuses will be especially useful. Find out what "pitfalls" exist in the work of fixed-route taxis.

Gather as much information as possible. This will help you organize your business in the right way. Good preparation will be the key to success. Think carefully about all the nuances. When planning, consider all the "pitfalls".
The demand for fixed-route taxis will always remain. Passenger transportation is a service, the relevance of which is beyond doubt. This is a promising and sought-after business. If you properly organize all business processes, you can succeed.

The background is this: on Monday, Komsomolskaya Pravda announced our project on radio. A minibus named Roman called the studio and began to justify that the drivers violated it by no means of their own free will. I was intrigued by his arguments. It was not possible to talk with Roman himself after the broadcast - colleagues said that he was already working in a taxi - but they brought me to another minibus, Viktor, who quite clearly stated his vision of the problem. I am not ready to vouch for the 100% accuracy of all the facts, perhaps this is just a subjective view of the problem. But it is at least useful to take into account.

About the traffic schedule

The main reason for violations is the need to follow the schedule. The time interval between minibuses is from two to seven minutes, but seven minutes is more likely for unloaded routes, mostly three to four minutes. Schedule adherence is checked against milestones. Now imagine that the schedule is not adjusted when the traffic situation changes: traffic jam or not, you must withstand your three minutes. If a minibus has lagged behind somewhere because of a traffic jam, it is forced to catch up: either violate or cut the route.

Riding on schedule is important to pick up passengers. There are "fat" stops where many customers gather, for example, Aloe Pole, Dovatora, the Sports Palace. The minibus must not be the last to arrive there, otherwise passengers will be picked up by other cars, including those from competing routes.

About wanting to drive

There is a contingent of drivers who like aggressive and fast driving, but there are not so many of them. Most ride calmly at first, but gradually accept the rules of the game, because otherwise you will ride for free. There is a professional deformation, the nerves are loosened, the negative often spills out into the family.

About earnings

If the driver is hired, he must pay about 5,000 rubles to the owners of the bus and the route itself for the shift. Another one or two thousand is spent on fuel. All that he earned from above is his, now it is usually two or three thousand rubles per shift. If the minibus driver drives calmly and pushes forward the minibuses of competitors, he simply will not work.

The fee depends on the route: somewhere they give 2.5 thousand, somewhere 5.5 thousand.

For bus owners, the fee for driving along the route is about 1,000 rubles per day, but they have to pay for the equipment, and this is not fast. Consider that a new PAZ costs about 1.3 million rubles, plus it needs to be serviced and repaired, so it usually pays off for a couple of years, during which you just work on your car. Again, if you drive slowly, the payback period will stretch indefinitely.

The minibus driver works an average of 14 hours per shift, another hour for preparation, lunch, and so on, that is, it is 15 hours on his feet. There is no universal schedule: someone travels two days after two, someone four after four, someone for five days (mostly on their own buses). About 30 thousand rubles come out a month, but, of course, you can do more if you travel seven days a week.

About guest workers

Once I saw a minibus that was driving in the oncoming lane in reverse - the minibus was too lazy to turn around to drive up to the gas station according to the rules. I stopped and shouted to him: “Did you buy the rights for a sheep?” He replies: "Nah, for two." He wasn't kidding.

Many visitors do not know the rules in principle. They either do not pay fines, or perceive them as expenses, and if they are deprived of their rights, they buy them out for a certain amount of money. When there was a massive replacement of driver's licenses with Russian ones, the issue was resolved for 25 thousand rubles, and sometimes they slipped a fake printed on a color printer.

About competition

The root of the problem is that in recent years, competition has increased dramatically. The number of minibuses turned out to be excessive, but there were no more passengers. Ten years ago, a minibus driver could earn 5,000 rubles per shift, today - half as much. Many carriers have the same part of the route, say, 56 and 40 travel several kilometers along Sverdlovsky Prospekt side by side. And people will not wait - they will sit down to the one who arrives first. It is important to be on time, hence the unhealthy manifestations: overtaking, cutting, blocking someone else's minibus ... Competition is especially strong near key stops, which you need to arrive before competitors.

In fact, the whole problem is in the organization of transportation: they have spawned routes and are trying to squeeze the maximum profit out of each. Drivers are placed in conditions where you need to drive on the verge of a foul or not work at all.

About accidents

Accidents are unprofitable, because this is a lost day for registration, and then an unpredictable time for repairs, that is, large drop-out costs. Therefore, minibuses try not to get into an accident, even if they break the rules.

About illegal carriers

As such, there are no "illegal immigrants" and cannot be. If by them we mean some random driver who wedged into someone else's flight, then he will be figured out in a few minutes: the oncoming drivers will call back and tell me and the one who goes ahead that the left bus is crammed between us, in three minutes we will squeeze it, first we'll talk, if he doesn't understand, we'll break the mirrors, we can break the glass, this is practiced. So no one works.

Each bus driver has some kind of basis for work and a license. It is clear that some have a contract with the administration, others do not. If your contract has not been renewed, you can arrange it as a student bus, sightseeing bus, and so on.

The authorities are rolling a barrel against illegal immigrants, but the problems are not in them, but in the general redundancy of carriers. Otherwise, the rules of the game for the driver of the excursion route or the official (with a contract) are the same, and they are all motivated to drive faster.

Even if some of the minibuses that operate without a contract with the administration are removed from the road, they will be replaced with legal ones, but the principle will remain.

Now there is a redistribution of business, so some routes are closed, others are launched, but this does not change the essence of the matter.

What to do?

Of course, it would be easier to follow the schedule if there were no traffic jams in the city. But it's not real. If we return to the essence of the problem, we need to reduce the number of cars and centralize the management of transportation. We had examples of normal work even in traffic jams, for example, in 2005 they were especially strong, but as soon as rush hour began or an accident occurred, the dispatchers informed us about the change in the schedule, and everyone just drove through the real situation, not trying to overtake anyone. But then it was possible to earn up to 5,000 rubles per shift, because there were fewer carriers. Now you can’t afford to relax even in a traffic jam, because someone will break in ahead and deprive you of your income, which has already fallen so much. I emphasize once again that the driver must earn not only for himself, but also give about 7 thousand rubles a day for fuel, the owner of the car, the owner of the route.

It is possible and not even difficult to restore order in this area. For example, any route can be closed in two days. There are a number of violations that are typical for all carriers, so you can suspend a license for 90 days for one or two. They are all on the hook. Centralized administration under the auspices of the governor would solve the problem in a jiffy. There would be only the best drivers who know how to drive and know the rules. Another thing is that this requires the will of the authorities and the need to give up a business that brings very good money.

About the market volume

According to my estimates, there are about 4,000 minibuses operating in the city now. Let each collect 6.5 thousand rubles a day - I take not the biggest figure. We receive 26 million rubles a day, or about 10 billion a year. You can imagine how tasty a business it is to give it up voluntarily. And no one is interested in compliance with traffic rules - everyone is interested in income. By the way, the question of paying taxes arises along the way, because many drivers are either not registered or work for an allegedly minimum wage of about 10 thousand rubles, from which taxes are paid. On paper, we are all altruists.

About tracking devices

In my opinion, on route 66 they tried to introduce tracking devices that gave information about the speed and position of the minibus to dispatchers, but it did not help. Let's say someone is behind, the rear one cannot overtake him and goes after him, remaining without passengers, because the sluggish vehicle takes them. And everyone has the same plan. As a result, people leave the route, and good drivers are in short supply.

About silent people

Passengers grumble at the way minibuses drive, and remarks are made to them extremely rarely. I agree, it doesn't always help, but sometimes it works. Each minibus has phone numbers for complaints, from my own experience I can say that the reaction to a justified complaint is almost instantaneous, the minibus can be fined, for example, 500 rubles - quite sensitive (3-4 hours of work). The talk that the owner of the company cannot do anything with the drivers because of the fear of losing them is only partly true: drivers stick to good routes.

About professional jargon

Passengers are called "moslas" by minibuses. If he travels from the final to the final - "brick" or "stump". If the driver is driving slowly, they say "rubber".

About Me

I worked on a minibus for a long time, now I travel on an intercity flight, where there is no such tough schedule and competition, so I can afford to follow the rules and take my time.

About the project "Catch a minibus"

Until the authorities want to change the situation radically, fines and traffic police raids are dead poultices. Rather, all this works, but does not eliminate the essence of the problem, and she - in excessive competition and lack of consistency between routes.

Is opening a fixed-route taxi a profitable investment? Such services are very popular in our country. Residents of large cities and small towns prefer this type of transport for quick movement and travel comfort. As a result, demand is growing every day. People use taxi services every day. This type of public transport is especially popular in megacities, where it ranks first among all types of ground transportation.

How to open a fixed-route taxi?
What documents are needed to run minibuses
What cars are better to choose for business?
Putting the car on the route
Selection of drivers for work on a fixed-route taxi
How much can you earn on taxis
How to start a taxi business
How much can you earn on a taxi
How to choose transport for a fixed-route taxi
What documents are needed to open a business

In addition to paying for travel, passenger transport also brings additional profit, which once again proves the profitability of the business. Advertising inside your car is a good source of additional income. It can be banners, booklets, flyers and other printed materials. They bring good money to the owner of the vehicle. Such products should be placed in places that are visible to passengers.

The car body can also be used as a place for advertising. The design of the vehicle is carried out by employees of an advertising agency using a film with a colorful pattern. Despite the fact that this is the most expensive type of advertising, it is gaining more and more popularity. The owner of the vehicle can organize bus tours and excursions, provide a car for rent. If all this prompted you to open a minibus, the business plan below will help you start your business the right way.

How to open a fixed-route taxi?

What documents are needed to run minibuses

First of all, you should obtain permission to carry out passenger transportation. To do this, contact the city department of transport inspection. It is mandatory that vehicles comply with the requirements of supervisory authorities. It is necessary to hire workers who have a driver's license of the appropriate category and have passed certification.

The license is issued for 5 years, to obtain it, you must pay 2 types of state duty. Each vehicle has a separate registration card. You can register an enterprise engaged in passenger transportation as an individual entrepreneur or LLC. When starting a route business, a novice entrepreneur should know that the most important document is a license for the right to carry out transportation. It is issued by the Ministry of Transport.

What cars are better to choose for business?

The type of cars purchased depends on the financial capabilities of the entrepreneur. Do not try to reduce your initial investment by buying used cars. In one shift, the minibus travels a fairly long distance. This is important to know when starting your own business. A used car is not capable of covering such distances on a daily basis, which leads to constant breakdowns.

Gazelle cars with 13 seats are considered the most reliable. No less often on the roads are 18-seat Ford Transit and 19-seat Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Gazelles have an attractive cost, but they are not able to provide proper comfort. With limited financial resources, you should use the services of leasing.

Putting the car on the route

A business plan for a fixed-route taxi must necessarily include the route development stage.

To obtain a route for passenger transportation, the owner of the car must contact the local administration. They arrange tenders for the organization of transportation, in which a novice businessman can also participate. Transportation of passengers on the most popular routes begins to generate income from the first shift. You can develop a new route. To do this, it is necessary to carefully study the infrastructure of the city, to think through all the subtleties well. With the right approach, the transportation of passengers on new routes will begin to make a profit. However, you will still encounter some difficulties. Passengers will need some time to get used to the new route. A small revenue is not able to cover current expenses.

Selection of drivers for work on a fixed-route taxi

The next step is recruitment. The issue of hiring drivers should be approached with special responsibility, because the lives of passengers depend on their qualifications. In addition to category D drivers, you will need an accountant, a dispatcher, a medical worker who will carry out pre-trip inspections. It will be useful to independently control the condition of vehicles. Driver negligence is the main cause of car breakdowns. The employee must have a 5-year driving experience of vehicles of this category and a medical certificate.

The driver's salary consists of a fixed part and bonuses for exceeding the production rate.

This approach allows you to motivate the employee to fulfill and overfulfill the plan. Like any other type of business, a fixed-route taxi requires a large initial investment. Payback depends on many factors.

How much can you earn on taxis

In order to determine the profitability of the route business, it is necessary to determine the daily revenue. One car is able to bring from 3 to 5 thousand rubles daily. Of these, 1,000 rubles are deducted for the driver's wages, 500 rubles for the compulsory insurance fund, and 1,000 rubles for fuel and car repairs. Thus, net profit will range from 500 to 2500 rubles. Tax fees range from 1 to 7 thousand rubles per unit of transport. The total amount depends on the number of cars in the fleet. Running costs are determined by the condition of the car. For example, domestic gazelles consume at least 15 liters of gasoline per 100 km.

In order to save money, the territory for the car park can be rented outside the city. When forming a large enterprise, it is possible to conclude contracts for the supply of fuel and spare parts. It is most profitable to open a fixed-route taxi in a large city. On a flat road, fuel is more economical, and customers are almost always there.

You also need to think about setting the fare, it should not be too high, but do not forget about the need to cover current expenses.

How to start a taxi business

The passenger transportation business begins with registration with state authorities. It takes 3-4 weeks to get the status of a passenger carrier. It is also necessary to obtain a license for the transport of passengers from the Ministry of Transport. It is also necessary to approve the route of transport. It is necessary to take into account the point of compulsory insurance of passengers.

It is necessary to purchase vehicles for the fleet, the decisive factor here will be the cost of the car and the funds available to the entrepreneur. After choosing a transport, it is necessary to hire drivers, as well as organize a work schedule and pay for their work. After that, you can send transport to routes.

How much can you earn on a taxi

The profitability of the business depends on the daily revenue from one vehicle. The average income from one car is 4,000 - 5,000 rubles, after deducting the driver's salary, insurance premiums, and the cost of fuel, the net profit will be about 1,000 - 2,000 rubles per car.

How to choose transport for a fixed-route taxi

The main choice of transport category lies in the available means, between foreign and domestic vehicles the difference in price is about 200%. The GAZelle car has a small capacity of 8 - 15 passengers, low security, and therefore a low cost. Imported analogues of Peugeot Boxer, Ford Transit and Iveco Daily are distinguished by a larger passenger capacity of 16-26 seats, they are much more reliable and last longer. Purchasing cars from hand carries great risks that will lead to problems with the repair and maintenance of vehicles. It is necessary to clarify the availability of the necessary documents for the car, specifically OTTS. It is possible to get advice from a certified seller, as well as warranty service.

What documents are needed to open a business

For the procedure for transporting passengers by fixed-route taxi to the local Ministry of Transport, it is necessary to present the following documents:

registration document;
copies of vehicle inspection;
memorandum of association;
bank accounts, addresses and contact numbers;
a document that testifies to tax accounting;
statistical codes;
parking contract;
certificate of PC and DB;
employment records and driver's licenses of employees.

Do I need permission to run minibuses

It is necessary to obtain a state license to transport more than 8 people by road.