It is no secret that Russians, and especially men who have remained or are afraid of being left without work in their main specialty, always keep in mind the opportunity to become a taxi driver. The advantages are obvious: no special skill, except the ability to drive a car well, is required there, the earnings are legal (unlike "bombed"), and most importantly – a completely free schedule: how much I drove – so much I earned. Beauty! And besides this, there is also constant communication with different people, which significantly expands the life experience. A Moscow taxi driver, a popular blogger, a photographer in the past, and now a recognized writer Nikita Sadykov (they wrote about his literary debut – the book "Among the Paks" - "NI" not so long ago), reports in his blog that the number of questions to him about the attractiveness of taxi driver work has grown significantly over the past year which is not surprising. Therefore, he decided to answer everyone at once:

"From time to time, the same questions are carefully written to me in a personal account: is it worth going to a taxi? Is it possible to earn something there? How hard is it, physically and emotionally? Is it suitable to "hang out" while left without a basic income?

There have been especially many such questions in the last year. And before that there was a wave in the pandemic.

Let me try as briefly and abstractly as possible.

Getting into a taxi (so far) is very simple

You need a car with a license (permit), for example, rented from a taxi company (they are now actually transport companies that provide a car, a working tool).

You need to register in a service that will find orders and accompany you operationally and financially, this is the second working tool in the form of an application in your phone (now only Yandex is left of the major ones in Russia). The first operation takes a couple of hours, the second a couple of minutes. At the end of both, you, sitting in a yellow car with checkers, will be able to start fulfilling orders and earn money.

Work without problems, if taxiing around the city is not a burden for you

And even better, if you get high and you have the ability to choose what to react to calmly and what to stop (I mean, what is happening in the cabin).

This is very important: to treat some insignificant things with detachment and not to worry, and not to allow some categorically. Manage what is happening in your car.

Decent earnings (thousands from a hundred and above) can be from the first day

If you work steadily on time, leaving home for 12 hours, during which you will prepare for going on the line (washing, refueling), and then take a break and have lunch in the process.

On the one hand, a taxi is freedom: do what you want, start and finish at any time, but only stable work by the hour leads to decent earnings, like a robot that turned on, hammered the right amount, and then turned off. Lazy people like me find it difficult to work: there are too many temptations to find a reason to disconnect and do "their own business".

It's not a shame to work behind the wheel, but it's not an honor either

The first must be understood for yourself immediately, the second — to score.

If you go to a taxi, there will be people around who will ask "why?!" in fear, but let it be their problems, not yours. You need to worry about how you do this important and responsible work. And if you do it well, then you are a great fellow.

This work, though not highly intellectual, is important and responsible

I didn't misspoke above.

People who trust you not just with their comfort, but with their lives will get into your car. Wives, parents, children — even if they don't realize it — are your responsibility. You need to take them the way you would take your spouses, parents and children. With this understanding, you need to go to a taxi. Even for a couple of months, "to hang out." I've also come for a couple of months, you know..."

One of the commentators of this message, Alexey Dulenkov, added an important remark:

"I can add that after working for a week on a rented car, I bought my own on credit. Got a license. I'm not a workaholic like Nikita. I prefer to work 3 days a week, on weekends and holidays..."

STORIES FROM TAXI DRIVERS