Glossary
Taxi Driver Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential taxi driver terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key taxi driver vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in taxi driver training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Deadhead
- Driving without a passenger.
- Defensive driving
- Anticipating hazards.
- Dispatch
- Assigns trips.
- Fare
- Price of a ride.
- Hail
- Street pickup.
- Hours of service
- Limits on driving time.
- Independent contractor
- Self-employed worker.
- Medallion
- Taxi permit in some cities.
- Meter
- Calculates fares.
- Mileage deduction
- Tax deduction.
- Pre-trip inspection
- Vehicle check before driving.
- Rating
- Passenger score.
- Route
- Planned path.
- Surge pricing
- Higher prices at busy times.
- Taxi stand
- Waiting area.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Taxi Driver practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Taxi Driver training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.