A passenger being sick in the back seat of the cab is possibly one of the most inconvenient things that can happen as far as a taxi driver is concerned. There are no doubt many taxi drivers who have encountered this issue and it causes immense problems as we will now discuss.

For instance, it could mean that you have to take your vehicle out of operation for many hours so that you can get it cleaned. That cleaning could be done by you or by a professional valeter but if it is the later it is going to cost more money. Depending upon the time of day or night the event occurs, it may impact upon how quickly you are able to get your taxi back on the road. If the passenger has merely been sick on the floor mat then that is not as bad as someone who has been sick on the fabric of the seat as you could remove the floor mat and replace it with another one and then just spray inside the car with air freshener and hopefully get back on the road and start earning some money once again.

The biggest effect upon your business is obviously going to be the reduction in fares that you collect whilst your vehicle is off the road. Unfortunately, this could come to a significant sum of money depending upon how long you are not behind the wheel of your vehicle.

Fortunately, your local authority when setting the fares you can charge, will probably have also included a soiling charge that you can ask a passenger to pay in the event of them being sick in your car. This charge may vary between local authorities. For instance, it could be say £35, £50, £60, £100 or say £120.

Some taxi drivers may be of the opinion that the soiling charge should be a standard amount no matter where you are operating in the UK. Some will feel that the amount that he or she is aloud to charge is too low whereas other taxi drivers may feel that the figure is reasonable.

Of course, it is one thing being allowed to charge a passenger a soiling charge who has been sick in your taxi but it could be another thing actually getting the passenger to pay it. There are no doubt some passengers who manage to avoid doing so.