How to become a taxi driver

Official title: Taxi driver

Also called: Cab driver, Ride-share driver

Taxi drivers drive vehicles to transport passengers from a pick-up point to a desired location. They may load and unload luggage and collect payment.

Main tasks

• Drive passengers safely to their destination
• Help passengers with luggage and boarding
• Collect payments from passengers
• Calculate trip costs
• Maintain cars and vans
• Clean cars and vans
• Communicate with passengers
• Follow road and vehicle safety rules

How to become one

You usually learn on the job and need to do training to become a taxi driver. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: to have a full driver licence for at least two years; to pass a 'fit and proper person' check; to pass a medical assessment; a passenger (P) endorsement. Other requirements: a passenger service licence (PSL); to complete on-the-job training courses.

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Pay · Past change · AI and this job

• Median pay: $50,000 a year or less, a TEC estimate before tax.
• Upper: $81,000 a year
• TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
• Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
• People employed in the group Automobile Drivers: 8,721 at the 2018 Census and 11,379 at the 2023 Census (+30.5%). Past change, not a forecast.
• Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• About 4,500 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
• In the group Automobile Drivers, 12% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
• Where people in the group Automobile Drivers work (2023 Census): Auckland 37.5%, Canterbury 13.3%, and Wellington 12.7%.

Related jobs

• Shuttle driver and chauffeur
• Heavy truck driver
• Roading construction worker
• Driving instructor
• Traffic controller
• Railway track worker

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Questions people ask

How do I become a taxi driver?

You usually learn on the job and need to do training to become a taxi driver. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: to have a full driver licence for at least two years; to pass a 'fit and proper person' check; to pass a medical assessment; a passenger (P) endorsement. Other requirements: a passenger service licence (PSL); to complete on-the-job training courses.

How much does a taxi driver earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $50,000 a year or less, before tax.

Has the number of people working as a taxi driver grown in New Zealand?

It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a taxi driver?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026