Checklist: open a taxi service in 30 days

Twenty steps, week by week: from choosing a legal form to your first day of operation. The checklist is based on our experience launching services on UpTaxi in small and mid-sized towns. Print the PDF and tick off each step as you go.

Download the checklist (PDF) Calculate your service economics

Week 1. Decisions and paperwork

  1. Choose a legal form. A sole proprietor or LLC for a taxi ordering service; self-employed status only suits a driver who carries passengers himself. The main OKVED activity code for a dispatch service is 49.32 “Taxi and rental of passenger cars with driver”. For an ordering service, add 52.21 or 63.11 as your accountant advises.
  2. Get to grips with Federal Law 580-FZ. A taxi ordering service is entered in the regional register of ordering services; carriers and cars go into the registers of carriers and taxis. For exactly what the law requires of a service, see our breakdown of Federal Law 580-FZ.
  3. Run the numbers. How many cars, how many orders per day and what driver commission you need to break even. Use the taxi service economics calculator.
  4. Pick a name and check it. Are the domain and the names on Telegram, Max and 2GIS available? Is there a service in town with a similar name?
  5. Choose your software and apply for a trial. Don’t buy a license before you test. With UpTaxi, the server for your service is ready within one business day, and the first 30 days are free.

Week 2. Telephony, software, app

  1. Connect a multi-line number. A SIP trunk from a telecom operator or a GSM gateway. The number should be easy to remember: it will go on business cards and car doors.
  2. Set up the operator’s workstation. A computer with 4 GB of RAM, a headset and wired internet from 1 Mbps. No dedicated server or office PBX needed.
  3. Configure fares and zones. Pickup price, price per kilometer, night and holiday multipliers, city and suburban zones. In UpTaxi, our support team does this with you during onboarding.
  4. Turn on automated order channels. The voice robot on incoming calls and the order bots in Telegram and Max take load off the operator from day one.
  5. Decide on a passenger app. To start, the shared “UpTaxi Taxi” app is enough: customers choose your service inside it. You can order a branded app under your own name later.

Week 3. Drivers

  1. Set driver terms. Commission per order, how drivers top up their balance, bonuses for night and long-distance orders. Your terms should be no worse than the aggregators’ in your town.
  2. Start recruiting. Ads on classifieds sites, in local city groups and through drivers you know. Put the link to the online driver application form from the software in every ad.
  3. Check driver documents. Transport permit, mandatory passenger carrier insurance (OSGOP), trip sheets and medical checks: everything Federal Law 580-FZ requires. Keep records in the software, not in a notebook.
  4. Install the app for drivers or connect the bot. “UpTaxi Driver” from RuStore, or the driver bot in Max for drivers with a weak phone or poor internet. Show them how to accept an order and change statuses.
  5. Run a test day. Five to ten orders among your own people: by phone, app and bot. Check that pickup distance is calculated along roads and that drivers see the addresses.

Week 4. Customers and launch

  1. Put your service on the maps. Listings in 2GIS and Yandex Business with your number, hours and app link. It’s a free order channel for years to come.
  2. Print business cards and flyers. Your number, a QR code for the order bot, a first-ride offer. Hand them out in shops, at the station and in competitors’ taxis.
  3. Start a channel in Max or Telegram. Promotions, promo codes and service news. Broadcasts through the order bot are free, unlike SMS.
  4. Set a launch day. The manager on duty at the dispatcher console, pickup times under control, quick replies to drivers. The first reviews in town matter a lot.
  5. After two weeks, review the reports. Pickup times by area, cancellations, driver utilization by hour. Adjust fares and connect the order exchange if you’re short of cars at peak hours.

What’s next

A detailed breakdown of each step, with numbers, is in the article “How to open a taxi service in a small town”. If you’re switching from radios or other software rather than starting from scratch, see the migration plan.

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