Over the last few years, the Private Hire driving industry in London has become saturated and we don’t even have to mention the last 12 months of difficulties faced by drivers due to the pandemic.

Private Hire Minicab driving has always had an appeal for people looking to earn money on a flexible basis, especially when app-based platforms hit the market. There are drivers who work full-time and others that work either part-time, or as and when they want to earn a little extra.

The 3 lockdowns we’ve had recently has meant that less people are commuting or going out. The knock-on effect of this is being felt by minicab drivers not just in London but all across the country.

We’ve done some research to help drivers look at alternative things they can do in this quiet period.  Whether that’s finding an alternative driving job or making use of the time to gain new skills that will hopefully help drivers find new more promising career paths.

The first ones that come to mind are possibly the first ones that most drivers would also consider:

1.Food Delivery Driver

2.Courier Driver

Both of the above have seen an increase due to people staying at home, there is a demand in online ordering of goods and takeaway food.  It’s also very likely that as people get more use to working from home, the demand for such services will continue after things have become better.  There is the issue that this is also a very saturated market, but sometimes you just got to sign up and get on with it, you’ll be surprised with the outcomes.

3.Warehouse Work

With the increase of more items being purchased online, now is a great time to work behind the scenes.  Many companies require more people to get orders fulfilled from their warehouses.

4.Track & Trace Call Handler

If you’ve got great communications skills, the NHS track & trace infrastructure needs people to work from home and check up on people who have gone through the covid-19 testing process. 

Learn skills for a new career

After the pandemic is over, many industries will need a fresh new push on their products and services.  More job opportunities will pop up and being ready to pounce on the opportunity of a new career is a smart move to make.  The best way to do this would ofcourse be learning new skills.  We’ve listed some ways to do this below. 

1.Online Courses

The internet is full of online courses that you can sign up to, many which are either free or very affordable.  Why not start learning how to use new technologies, like coding or AI?  There are even courses on how to provide counselling, which is something that will be needed for many after this pandemic is over. 

If you’re an expert in a specific field, you could even create your own online course and sell it via platforms such as Udemy.  Selling your own course is a great way to earn multiple times from work that you will have to almost only do once (minus the odd updates).  From our personal experience, we’ve met many drivers who are skilled in other industries and can share their knowledge to help others.

2. Start an online shop

This is kind of a new skill and a job in one, you can follow the steps with companies like Shopify to learn how to setup your own online shop, they can even help you come up with ideas on what to sell.  We live in a time where you can sell online and not even have to buy your own inventory, you can make deals with suppliers to market their products on your website and once you get an order, they will send the item out to your customer.

3. Learn to trade

This is a skill you can learn and once you’ve mastered it, it will give you the freedom of being able to work from anywhere.  Yes, it comes with some element of investment, but what doesn’t these days?  Learn how to do day trading, forex or even cryptocurrency trading.  This isn’t for everyone, but the ones who get it will love it.

If you’re looking to learn how to buy Bitcoins and other popular cryptocurrencies, download the Luno App and register to get started. 

Final thoughts…

We’re here to help people become minicab drivers in London, but we know it’s not the best option for work at the moment.  Once things return back to normality, we believe the private hire industry will make a comeback and once again provide a flexible job opportunity for many.  A good thing to take from this blog is that you can still learn new skills, try different career paths and hold onto your PCO licence still as it’s always a good fall back for times when you want to earn a little extra.