How Many Hours a Day do Taxi Drivers Work?

How long do taxi drivers work per day? You can essentially work the hours you choose, provided you follow national safety regulations and don’t exceed the maximum allowed daily driving limit.

One of the biggest perks of becoming a London taxi or private hire driver is the freedom to set your own hours. This makes it an attractive option for those who have unusual schedules or need extra flexibility. If you’re studying and need a part-time job to support yourself, or you want to manage your work time and family time more effectively, you’ll find that driving for a London taxi company helps you to strike that balance.

How Many Hours Can a Taxi Driver Work?

There is a limit to how much time you can spend driving per day. This is to ensure your safety, as well as the safety of your passengers.

The daily driving limit and other regulations are in place to help prevent drivers from becoming overtired, which can cause slow response times leading to accidents and even fatalities on the road.

According to UK Government drivers’ hours regulations:

• You may not drive for more than 10 hours a day.
• You must rest for at least 10 hours between 2 working days.
• If you have been driving continuously for 5 hours and 30 minutes, you must stop and rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Within a period of 8 hours and 30 minutes (an average work day), you must take at least 45 minutes’ worth of rest or breaks spread over your day.
• You cannot work more than 16 hours at a time between the start and end of your work shift (this includes time spent not driving).

Choosing the Hours You Work as a Driver

As a taxi driver, you may want to structure your working hours around your other commitments, like family, studies and leisure time. On the other hand, you may choose to maximise what you earn per hour by working during peak times, and using off-peak hours for the rest of your daily schedule.

Peak hours for taxi fares in London are:

• Morning: 6AM – 9:30AM Monday to Friday (excl. public holidays)
• Evening: 6PM – 11:59PM Monday to Sunday (incl. public holidays)

At Addison Lee, driver jobs are completely flexible, but we offer incentives to encourage our drivers to work during our busier times. On weekdays, early mornings and evenings are our busiest periods, while weekends tend to be busier later at night.

Busiest hours to work in London are:

• Monday – Friday
• Morning: 6am and 9am
• Afternoon: 4pm – 7pm
• Evening: 10pm – 1am
• Weekends: always busy

We provide safe, well-maintained vehicles to help you reach each destination with confidence. Register as a private hire driver to learn about the benefits of driving with Addison Lee.

Become a Driver