What could be better than you and pets on the open road? How about getting paid for it?
The pet travel services industry is expected to grow at a rate of 9.7% from 2024 to 2030.
More people than ever want to travel with their pets or transport them from A to B, but they don’t have the time or knowledge to do it. That’s why they need a pro with pet care and driving skills.
And that’s where a pet taxi comes in.
What Is a Pet Taxi?
A pet taxi service combines delivery driving and pet care, letting pet parents hire drivers to transport pets from one location to another. Think of a pet taxi as Uber, FedEx, and Rover all rolled into one.
You might get booked for short drives into town or inter-state transportation jobs. You might also transport a pet alone or bring their owner along – every ride is different.
Here are a few reasons someone might hire a pet taxi service:
- Vet, groomer, and doggy daycare appointments for pet parents who work full time, don’t drive, face health challenges, or don’t want the hassle of driving while managing a pet.
- Transportation of fur babies to their new parents from a breeder or pet rescue facility
- Getting pets from A to B for special events like moving day or a wedding
- Taking pets to and from the airport for frequent-flier pet parents
Speak the Lingo: Pet Taxi vs. Pet Transporter vs. Flight Nanny
As you research pet taxi services, we bet you a shiny new chew toy that you’ll see answers pop up for how to become a pet transporter and flight nanny tips, too. These are similar jobs with a few subtle differences. Many pet taxis also offer flight nanny or pet transport services, and some businesses use these terms to mean the same thing.
Let’s dig into the nuances:
A pet taxi is typically a short-distance pet driving service, similar to Uber Pet. Jobs may involve ferrying a pet to appointments, or even taking a pet and their owner safely to and from the pub. Driving services like Uber (classic flavor) and Lyft don’t always allow pets, limit size, or have a one-pet policy. Your services guarantee a pet-friendly ride from a pet care pro.
A pet transporter is usually a long-distance ground transportation service. Pet transportation jobs typically involve driving animals from one city to another or between states. Pet transporters may work for breeders, pet rescues, and other businesses or directly for pet parents.
A flight nanny is a long-distance pet transportation service via airline travel. Air
nannies fly with small pets in-cabin and care for them during the flight. They may
also get on the same flights as larger pets, who travel under the plane, to ensure safe loading and passage through airport security.
Pet Taxi Responsibilities
The job duties of a pet taxi service combine several skills into one role:
- Superior driving or air travel experience: If you’re a ground-based pet taxi, most of your day is city and interstate driving. You’ll need excellent defensive driving skills to avoid accidents and delays. If you’re a flight nanny, familiarity with air travel will help you get checked in with pets and through security safely and quickly.
- Pet care experience: Pet taxis are just as much pet care providers as they are transporters. You create a safe and comfortable environment for pets, including taking breaks and comforting animals that get nervous while traveling.
- Communication and customer service: You might spend most of your day with pets, but you’ll coordinate schedules with pet parents and sometimes take them along for the ride. Strong communication about your progress and how pets are doing with a friendly, professional demeanor can make a one-time ride into a recurring customer.
- Planning and logistics skills: You need to manage time and resources well to arrive on time while accounting for pet potty breaks, traffic, canceled flights, construction, navigating difficulties, and other delays.
- Compliance with state and national regulations: Some states have road rules for pets, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates ground and air animal transportation businesses. It’s your job to make sure everything is in order and travel-safe.
How to Start a Pet Taxi Service
Ready to get your pet taxi business off (or on) the ground? Compared to some small businesses, the steps for how to start a pet transport business are pretty simple. Follow these tips to get on the road or in the air in no time.
1. Research Your Market
Is my area a good place for a pet taxi service?
One of the most important questions to ask before you start your business is whether there’s enough demand in your area to support a pet taxi service (or another pet taxi service).
Pet taxis tend to do well in large cities where fewer people drive. Plus, if you can consistently drive a short distance to get to pets you need to pick up, less of your profits and road time will be spent just getting to the job.
Identifying your client base can also help you decide which tools, licenses, and services you need starting out. Here are a few ways to get to know your customers and local market:
- Sniff out the competition: Search online for “pet taxi [your city]” or “pet transporter near me” to find the competition in your area. Choose the top five search results or best-reviewed local competitors and scroll through their sites and social media. What services and prices do they offer? Who do they market to?
- Identify consistent customers: What type of customers use competitors’ pet taxi services most? Search online pet forums to learn about their challenges with transporting animals and how they’re using pet taxis.
- Find underserved niches: Is there any group of people – for example, elderly pet owners, pet rescues, or vet offices– who might want this service in your area but don’t have many companies marketing to them? What are their concerns with finding or using a pet taxi, and how can you be the solution?
- Conduct a survey: Unsure where to start? Consider surveying pet parents in your community about interest in pet taxis. This could be a formal process with a survey company like Survey Monkey, or an informal process, like creating a social media poll or asking around at your local doggy daycare.
2. Develop a Business Plan (It’s Easier Than You Think)
Set yourself up for success by thinking through the resources you need ahead of time. Creating a small business plan sounds hard, but that’s really all it is. You’ve already analyzed your market and competitors, so you just have a few more areas to think through:
Step 1: Describe Your Business
What’s special about your pet taxi service that fills a need for your area or customer? Thinking this through helps you create a unique business that fits your local market.
Step 2: Set Your Services
Will you offer short-distance, long-distance, air travel, or all three? This is the place to think about your audience and price point, too. Are you a luxury pet limo and mobile spa experience, or a simple pet taxi?
Step 3: Think About Marketing
Consider how you’ll get your service in front of clients. Will you approach pet care businesses or reach out to pet parents? Will you market online or by word of mouth?
Step 4: Consider Funding
Will you finance the initial costs of this business yourself? (Don’t worry, we’ll break down your startup expenses later!) Do you need to take out a loan or approach investors?
Step 5: Create Some Goals
What do you want to achieve, short-term and long-term? Keep your goals doable by thinking about how you’ll measure progress and grounding them in the facts of what other pet taxis make in your area.
3. Get Pet Taxi Liability Insurance
Becoming a pet transporter without pet taxi insurance is like driving without auto insurance. You would never intentionally put pets in harm’s way, but no one intends to get into a car accident, either. A lot can go wrong on the road or in an airport, especially with unpredictable animals in tow. That’s why insurance is so crucial.
Pet taxi insurance is designed to protect you in case of animal injuries and mishaps. If a pet gets hurt during loading or gets sick and needs to go to the vet, you could be covered for expensive claims with pet taxi insurance from Pet Care Insurance (PCI) to have your back.
4. Fulfill Legal Requirements
Once you have a pet taxi business idea that makes sense for your area, it’s time to get the paperwork in order. Getting registered, licensed, and informed about road and air travel rules around pets will navigate around roadblocks to starting your business.
Licenses and Registration
Your first step is to register your pet care business with the state and federal government. Here’s the process to get registered:
- Name your pet business: You’ll need a name to register your business with the local government, federal government, and the USDA, so decide what you’d like to call yourself. Will your client base appreciate something cute and playful (ex: Pampered Paws Pet Limo), or simple and professional (ex: Ohio Pet Transportation)?
- Register for a federal tax ID, also called an Employer Identification Number (EIN): Registering for an EIN sets you up for future business growth by letting you open a business bank account, hire employees, and pay your state and federal taxes.
- Register your business with your state to comply with local rules.
- Incorporate your business: Your state may require you to register as a sole proprietorship, called a Doing Business As (DBA), for one-person operations or a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) for businesses that want to expand.
- Hold a valid driver’s license and vehicle registration: If you transport pet parents, too, you may need to get a Class E driver’s license. Otherwise, there’s no special license to drive pets – your standard driver’s license and registration will do!
Transportation and Animal Welfare Rules
Several federal and state rules keep animals and people safe during travel. Make sure your itinerary, vehicle, and pet carriers follow these rules so the pets in your care stay comfy and you stay free of fines and fees:
- USDA registration: The USDA requires some transporters and pet taxi services to register. Even if it’s not a requirement, USDA registration is free and boosts your business’s credibility. Something to chew on: pet transportation app CitizenShipper found USDA-registered pet transporters won 42% more jobs than unregistered ones.
- Animal harness road rules: Some states will give you a distracted driving citation if they catch you driving a pet not in a harness or secured carrier. Rules vary, so check your state’s animal restraint laws.
- Vaccination records and vet certificate: Many states and almost all airlines require a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) and up-to-date vaccination records for pets to travel. This may be less of a big deal for a simple pet taxi ride from home to the groomer, but a must-have for longer transportation jobs. Check your local regulations.
- Airline paperwork: Each airline has rules around how flight nannies should tag and document pets in their care. Look up airline websites before traveling to ensure you have all the paperwork when you check-in.
- Animal Welfare Act (AWA) care requirements: The AWA outlines guidelines for safe and humane animal transport over long distances – everything from carrier size to rest and water breaks. Read AWA regulations for road and air travel to make your vehicle or flight carrier a safe place for furry clients.
5. Know Your Startup & Equipment Costs
You have to spend money to make money in the pet biz as much as anywhere else. The good news is that the initial costs and continuing expenses on the road to becoming a pet transporter are relatively low compared to some startups.
How to start a pet transport business involves initial costs from $20,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on how much you want to invest and what help you need.
| Pet Taxi Transport Fees and Pet Supplies | Cost |
|---|---|
|
Vehicle A reliable vehicle for transporting pets is your biggest upfront expense. If you need time to raise money for a sweet company van, start with your own car. Just be aware that driving pets creates wear and tear, so you’ll want to factor in regular cleaning and upkeep. |
$15,000 – $100,00 |
|
Gas If you start with your own car, you’ll have a good idea of gas mileage and what it costs to fill up. Plan to spend at least an extra 50% of your normal weekly gas costs on driving pets around town, and more for long-distance trips. Plan to bake at least some of this cost into your pet taxi fee. |
$30+/week |
|
Pet Equipment From a $50 harness to a $500 dog kennel, the right gear for each job is as different as the pets you care for. Pet taxis often provide USDA-approved carriers, so expect to invest upfront and continue buying new sizes. Other ongoing costs include pet wipes, potty pads, leashes, water dishes, treats, and toys. |
$500+ |
|
Pet Taxi Insurance Vet bills and pet injury lawsuits add up fast. The most cost-effective way to limit your risks is pet taxi insurance. PCI offers a low-cost policy with flexible monthly or annual payments to fit your needs. |
$21.58/month |
| Pet Taxi Business Fees | Cost |
|---|---|
|
Business Registration There is typically a small fee to register your business or start an LLC. Check your state guidelines to find out how much to budget. |
$50+ |
|
Permit and License Registering with the USDA is free, but you may need a Class E Driver’s license or other state paperwork depending on where you live and whether or not you drive people along with their pets. |
$50+ |
|
Scheduling and Bookkeeping Software Software makes it easier to automate and organize your bookings and finances. A basic Quickbooks subscription starts at $35/month, while a pet care scheduling app like Time to Pet starts around $20. |
$55+/month (ongoing) |
|
Professional Website Depending on how comfortable you are with web design, you can create and host your site on user-friendly platforms like Wix or Squarespace for a monthly fee. Hiring freelance designers on Fiverr is another option to get a sleek website for less. |
$25+/month |
|
Marketing Budget Posting to a social media account or handing out business cards is inexpensive if you do the legwork yourself. Freelancers or an agency can take this over if you need help with branding or want to investigate marketing strategies that need a little more know-how, like paid ads. |
2 – 10% of your revenue |
6. Promote Your Business
Once you have the plan, the paperwork, and the supplies, you’re ready to fetch those clients. Sadly, “if you build it, they will come” isn’t usually true for pet taxi businesses. Your customer base is huge, in theory, since 66% of U.S. households own a pet. The problem is that pet taxis are relatively new in many cities, so pet parents might not know your service exists.
Your marketing needs to do several things: let pet owners know your service is available, show how it addresses their problems, and explain why your company is the best option.
The key to finding and expanding a client base is getting your name out in the places where customers live, work, and play – both online and in person. Try these marketing tips for your pet care business.
Use your website to build trust like Pet2Vets by showcasing your certifications, registrations, and pet taxi insurance badge.
Showcase your contact info, credentials, and testimonials on a neat and professional website. You can also link to your social media profiles or tie-in booking apps to make a central hub for customers to connect with you.
48% of pet parents are Gen Z or Millenials, so your clients are definitely on social media. The good news is that pet photos and stories are proven to stop the scroll. (Just look at your own feed.) Post photos of pups reunited with their families, or take a friend on your next pet taxi ride to document how the process works.
You might find new clients by posting a profile to pet transportation marketplaces like uShip and CitizenShipper. You can also offer pet taxi rides on petcare apps like Fetch or as a specialized service on Rover. Our Rover app review can help you get started.
Since a big part of your job will be getting pets from home to a pet care appointment, why not see if another business would like to work with you? Adding a pet taxi or flight nanny option for customers can be convenient for a breeder, boarder, pet rescue, groomer, or doggy daycare.
The pet parents who hire you care enough about their animals to get them to appointments, ship them across the country, or take them on vacation, even though it’s hard.
Videos and quotes from satisfied customers reassure potential clients that pets are in good hands with you. Many pet parents are happy to talk about their fur babies if you ask.
Pet people flock together, so your clients probably have friends, family, or pet business contacts who need your services. Getting current clients to explain and recommend your business does 90% of the work for you. Try encouraging referrals by offering discounts for a client and a friend if their friend books you.
If you invest in branding, your business vehicle is essentially a mobile billboard that visits all the spots where pet parents gather. A custom decal that showcases your company name, contact info, and memorable branding could raise awareness and even snag some clients.
Speedy Pet Taxi FAQs
Pet transporters get paid by pet owners or businesses who need someone to drive or fly with pets to their destination. Pay is typically by the trip based on the type of pet and length of the journey, so more transportation gigs means higher revenue. However, some pet taxi services work for a breeder, boarder, groomer, or other pet business and receive hourly pay.
Driving and pet care experience are essential to become a pet transporter, plus a business idea that meets a local need. From there, register your business and read up on animal safety regulations. When you have the essential supplies, a marketing plan, and pet taxi insurance, you’re ready for business!
Pet transporters usually price their services based on the mileage or time worked, plus factors like pet size and number of pets. Many pet taxis charge extra for miles or minutes beyond a threshold. Short-distance pet taxi pricing typically ranges from $28 to $50 round trip for 15-20 minutes of driving.
Pet taxi businesses need insurance to avoid paying for claims and lawsuits if a ride doesn’t go as planned and an animal gets hurt. Not all employers or clients require insurance, but many do. Getting pet taxi insurance shows you’re a professional who takes animal health and safety seriously.
