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Taxi driver: what the job actually is

Driving paying passengers where they need to go, which means knowing the streets and handling whoever gets in.

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Taxi driver: quick facts

Taxi driver salary in Ontario: the median pay is $18.46 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is good. The job usually needs a short demonstration, no formal education.

Median pay in Ontario
$18.46 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$17.95 to $25.75 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Good
People working in it in Ontario
28,150
Usually needs
A short demonstration, no formal education

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 75200. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Driving passengers in a licensed taxi, limousine or similar vehicle, by the trip, from pickup to drop-off, and getting paid for the distance and the time.
  • In Ontario, taxi and limousine licensing is set by cities, not by the province. Rules differ between municipalities, so what is true in Toronto may not be true in Thunder Bay.
  • Job Bank says a Class G licence is required in Ontario, a municipal permit is typically required for taxi drivers, and some secondary school is usually required.
  • Job Bank reports that a very large share of this group is self-employed compared with the average job, so many drivers are running their own small business as well as driving.
  • Job Bank rates the outlook as Good.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 5:30 — Start early or very late. Airport runs and the commuter rush are early, the bars are late.
  2. 6:00 — Check the vehicle: tyres, lights, fuel, cleanliness. A dirty car costs a good review.
  3. 6:30 — First fare to the airport. You carry bags and make small talk, or keep quiet if the customer wants that.
  4. 8:30 — Wait for a fare. Waiting is unpaid time and is a big part of the job.
  5. 10:00 — A short trip to a medical appointment. The passenger needs help getting in and out.
  6. 12:00 — Lunch in the car or at a stand, as quickly as you can.
  7. 14:00 — The slow part of the day. You drive in circles or sit at a rank and watch the clock.
  8. 16:30 — Rush hour, a lot of short trips and a lot of traffic.
  9. 18:00 — A difficult passenger who argues about the fare. You stay calm because your licence depends on your record.
  10. 20:00 — Gas, wash, a quick tally of the day. After the fuel and the car, what you made is smaller than the meter total.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You enjoy talking with strangers, or you are comfortable being quiet with them, and you can tell which the passenger wants.
  • You like driving and you are good at it in traffic, at night and in winter.
  • You want flexible hours and are willing to accept that income is uneven.
  • You know your town and like learning more of it.
  • You want to run your own small operation eventually, with your own vehicle and routines.
You may hate this if
  • You do not like unpredictable income. You can sit for an hour with no fare, and bad weather or a slow week is your problem.
  • Long, sedentary hours bother you. A day in a driver's seat is hard on the back and legs.
  • You find drunk, rude or difficult passengers hard to handle, especially at night.
  • You want a fixed schedule. Peak earnings are often at inconvenient hours, nights and weekends.
  • You do not want to be your own boss with costs. If you own the car, you pay for fuel, insurance, repairs and licensing.
  • Job Bank reports a low typical hourly wage for this group, so the job is hard to support a family on without long hours.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Hold a G licence and build a driving record

    Job Bank says a Class G licence is required in Ontario. Ontario's G licence is graduated: you can apply from 16, and the full G comes after the G1 and G2 stages and two road tests.

  2. Check your own city's licensing rules

    Taxi licensing is municipal. For example, the City of Toronto requires a vehicle-for-hire driver licence with a minimum of three years of driving experience, a valid Ontario Class G or higher licence, a City-approved training programme, a criminal record and judicial matters check and a driving record abstract. Other cities have their own rules, so look up the one where you plan to work.

  3. Find out whether you will drive for a company or on your own

    Some drivers lease or work through a dispatch company and some own the vehicle. The costs and the risk are very different. Ask a working driver what they pay before you decide.

  4. Learn the area and the customers

    Job Bank mentions knowledge of the geographical area to be covered, and written tests on street and building locations and safety may be required. Your first months are for learning your streets and your regulars.

Where this comes from: Job Bank: Taxi and limousine drivers and chauffeurs, requirements in Ontario · City of Toronto: Taxicab or limousine driver (vehicle-for-hire driver) licence · Ontario: Get a G driver's licence

The money

Taxi driver salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$17.95
Low (hourly)
$18.46
Median (hourly)
$25.75
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 75200. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Taxi driver wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Good4 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

28,150
people work in this job in Ontario
7%
are women (48% across all jobs)
71%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Taxi and limousine drivers and chauffeurs job prospects in Ontario (NOC 75200). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Start your G1 as soon as you are eligible and build up clean driving hours, because a clean record matters in this job.
  • Get a customer-facing part-time job. Handling a rude customer calmly is the most transferable skill here.
  • Learn your town: walk, bike or take the bus and learn which streets connect to which. It sounds old-fashioned and it is still the skill.
  • Look up your own municipality's taxi licence page and read what it asks for, so you know what is waiting for you.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Spend an evening seeing the job from the back seat

About 90 minutes
  1. Look up your town's taxi or vehicle-for-hire licensing page on the city's website. Write down three requirements that surprised you.
  2. Choose one place in town you do not know well. Without a phone map, work out two different ways to get there using a paper map or what you already know. Then check which is faster.
  3. If you can do it safely with a friend or family member, take one short trip in a licensed taxi as a passenger and watch the driver. How do they handle the meter, the traffic, the conversation? Do not interview them unless they are happy to talk.
  4. Write down how it would feel to be in the front seat for ten hours with unpredictable income.

What it tells you. If you were curious about the streets and the people and you could picture the long hours without dread, taxi or vehicle-for-hire work might suit you, and the next step is the licensing page for your city. If the idea of waiting for income and dealing with every kind of passenger made you tired, that is a useful no and a much cheaper one than buying a car for it.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What do you actually make after fuel, car costs and licensing?”
  2. “What is the best and the worst hour to be on the road in this town?”
  3. “How do you deal with a passenger who is difficult or unsafe?”
  4. “Is it better to drive for a company or on your own, and why?”
  5. “How has the work changed in the last few years?”
  6. “What do you wish you had known before you got your licence?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Often yes, and it is common, since Job Bank shows most of this group are self-employed. But owning your own cab or vehicle-for-hire means you carry the fuel, insurance, repairs, licence fees and slow weeks. The rules for plates and licences are set by your city, and I only read Toronto's page here, so read your own city's before you plan anything. Do the numbers first.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a taxi driver make in Ontario?

The median pay for a taxi driver in Ontario is $18.46 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $17.95 to $25.75 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a taxi driver in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as good for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a taxi driver in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a short demonstration, no formal education. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Hold a G licence and build a driving record; Check your own city's licensing rules; Find out whether you will drive for a company or on your own.

How many people work as a taxi driver in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 28,150 people working in this job in Ontario. 7% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

Try Future Finder — freeAll jobs

Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.