COMPETITION OR COLLEAGUES? The fine line between cabbies looking for that next fare
- Perry Richardson
- Sep 29, 2025
- 3 min read
It’s a question that sits quietly in the background every time you roll up to a rank or ply on a street looking for that next fare. On the face of it, we’re colleagues. We share the same type of licence, face the same challenges, deal with the same passengers, and fight the same battles. But when it comes down to the grind of finding work, the line between being just a fellow worker to being a rival can blur very quickly.
In a dream world, drivers would be shoulder-to-shoulder, happy to see each other, waving through traffic and swapping jobs as they fall. A proper community of cabbies all earning a decent living without any stress about where the next job is coming from. But this isn’t a dream world. This is a slow Tuesday morning, where you’ve looked for a job for the best part of an hour and you see the taxi on the other side of the road get a hail. You smile, give them the nod, but secretly you’re just wishing it had been you.
The etiquette of “whose turn it is” has been tested for decades on the streets. On quieter days you see drivers push the limits, sneaking a position, or going around the outside and cutting in. It’s not on, but it’s arguably getting worse even when demand is high. It’s fast becoming every man and woman for themselves once you switch the meter on, which isn’t great.
At the same time, there’s no ignoring the bigger picture. The number of taxi drivers on the road has fallen, and in many areas it’s a real problem.
When demand is high and coverage is low, passengers are left waiting or, worse, they go elsewhere. That’s no good for anyone. The industry needs more drivers coming through, and most of us recognise that. Without new blood, the trade will wither, and the job opportunities we rely on now will shrink away.
But here’s the rub. More drivers means more competition. That new face on the rank might be great for the industry in the long run, but right now they’re another orange for-hire light hunting the same jobs you are when demand eases off. It’s easy to see why some take the “I’m alright Jack” view. If you’re managing to earn, why would you welcome another taxi into the mix? Human nature says you don’t. You want fewer cabs in the queue, not more after all.
We’ve all had those moments. You’re sat at the lights, a job pings up on the app, and you’re praying that no other driver nearby hits accept before you. Or you turn into a road hoping the taxi in front has already got work so the next passenger is yours. It’s the unspoken competition that runs alongside the camaraderie.
On the flip side, we also know that an empty rank sends a terrible message. If the public can’t rely on finding a taxi when they need one, the trade loses credibility. Too many gaps, too many “no taxis available” messages, and people start making other arrangements. A healthy number of drivers is what keeps the service viable and keeps the work flowing. We might secretly wish for less competition, but deep down we also know the trade doesn’t survive without strength in numbers.
It leaves us in a strange position. We’re colleagues in the sense that we’re part of the same fight and share the same day-to-day life behind the wheel. But we’re also competition, chasing the same passengers, the same fares, and the same apps.
The relationship between taxi drivers is a mix of nods, waves, laughs, and stories—layered with a quiet hope that the next fare falls your way instead of theirs. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just the way it is. Cabbies are both colleagues and rivals, and that dual role is part of what keeps the trade alive.
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