Private chauffeur or VTC driver: putting professional driving to work

Two ways to be a driver: employed or independent

A private chauffeur generally works for an employer: a chauffeur-driven car company, a hotel, a business, a family or a senior executive. He or she drives a vehicle that is entrusted to them, to a set schedule, and receives a salary. The vehicle, the insurance and the maintenance are the employer’s responsibility.

The driver of a VTC (in France, a pre-booked private-hire car with driver) usually works as a self-employed person, with their own vehicle or a rented one. Rides come through a platform or a network, and the driver runs the business, the contributions and the costs alone.

These two worlds have different rules, risks and incomes. It is best not to confuse them when reading an advert.

What a senior can bring to the job

A senior often offers what customers look for: calm at the wheel, people skills, discretion, local knowledge and experience of unexpected situations. An executive used to business travel, a former sales representative or a former hotel manager will readily grasp what a passenger in a hurry expects.

These qualities do not remove the need to train or to check your own capacities: long hours of driving, unsocial shifts, night-time alertness. Expectations about language, appearance and quality of service are also high, especially in upmarket services or with an international clientele.

Conditions for working as a VTC driver in France

According to a public information sheet on the activity, several conditions have to be met:

• a valid driving licence, held for a number of years;
• professional aptitude, shown either by an exam run by the chamber of trades or by earlier experience of driving passengers professionally;
• a medical certificate issued by an approved doctor;
• good-character requirements, checked against the criminal record;
• a professional card applied for at the prefecture;
• registration on the VTC register and insurance suited to carrying passengers for payment;
• a vehicle that meets precise criteria, with the compulsory distinguishing marks.

These requirements and their amounts may change. They must be checked again with the competent authorities before any investment. Signing up with a platform is never enough on its own to work.

Working out the real cost of self-employment

The sum charged to the customer is not the driver’s income. To judge an offer, you need to deduct or include:

1. the platform’s commission, if any;
2. fuel or electricity, servicing, tyres and wear on the vehicle;
3. professional insurance and administrative costs (register, compulsory training);
4. social contributions and tax linked to self-employment;
5. empty journeys to reach a customer, and waiting time.

A gross hourly rate that looks attractive can collapse once these items are counted. It is prudent to keep a small table of the hours actually spent at the wheel or waiting over several weeks.

Retirement and status: what must be declared

A retiree who takes up chauffeur work again, whether employed or self-employed, has to check the French rules on combining a job with a pension. They depend on age, contribution record, whether all pensions have been claimed and the nature of the activity. They are changing and are not the same for everyone.

The return to work must be declared to the pension body. For independent activity, you also have to set up the business and meet the corresponding social and tax obligations. The site gives no personalised advice: a visit to your pension fund and to an accountancy professional is recommended.

A day in the life of an employed chauffeur

Fictional example, for illustration only. An executive chauffeur starts at 7 am by checking his saloon car: cleanliness, fluid levels, fuel. He collects a company director at home, drives him to a meeting, then waits during the meeting while planning the next journey. In the early afternoon he meets a visitor of the company at the station and handles the luggage.

In the evening the day ends later than planned because of a change of programme. He had anticipated the access roads, checked the traffic and warned the employer. The job rests as much on organisation as on driving. The working span often exceeds the hours spent on the road.

Getting ready: documents, appearance and the unexpected

Before answering an offer or starting an activity, it helps to gather the documents requested: licence, identity document, medical certificate, training certificates, criminal-record extract, insurance. Each employer and platform specifies its own list, which should be read carefully.

It is also advisable to prepare concrete examples of how you handle the unexpected: a delayed train, an unhappy passenger, a breakdown, a blocked route, bulky luggage. Such examples reassure a recruiter. Smart dress, a clean vehicle and a clear way of greeting and speaking are among the criteria customers use to judge the service.

Traps, tiredness and alternatives

Several points call for caution: investing in a vehicle before the status is confirmed, committing to a platform without understanding its terms, neglecting rest, and accepting hours that are too long or night driving that wears you out.

If these constraints put you off, other transport activities exist: accompanying people with reduced mobility, delivering vehicles, driving a charity minibus, school transport or meal delivery. They rely on the same dependability at the wheel, in different settings and at different rhythms.