Confessions of a Lima Taxi Cab Driver

I've kept in touch with some of the "street boys" I met in Lima from my first trip to Peru in 2004. One of them is now a cab driver (or taxista in Spanish) and gave me the lowdown on the job. Apparently a typical Peruvian office worker, like a receptionist or customer service rep, makes about 20 soles a day ($7 US). However a taxista in Lima can take in 120 soles (close to $40), of which about 50 is spent on gas (hugely expensive here, and very low diesel quality), leaving 70 soles take-home pay ($22).

Now cabs, as I've mentioned, are a sketchy business. Many of them are practically falling apart. Both taxistas and cab riders risk being robbed or assaulted if they get in a car with the wrong person. My friend called it an "ugly" job, and dangerous. But certainly practical, even smart, if you can afford the car and want to save up some money.

Emigration is an even more lucrative option. A housekeeper told me her friends in Chile make 500-1000 soles a month (about $160-$320 US) cleaning houses or taking care of children -- I imagine in the US it would be much more than that.

Of course most people would prefer having an office job to driving cabs or cleaning bathrooms, but the economic motives are all slanted toward the latter. Yet another reason the cycle of poverty here continues. Would some of you social entrepreneurs out there please think of a way to make it more economically lucrative for a Peruvian to become a scientist or entrepreneur than a cab driver?