What a taxi truck is
A taxi truck is a truck and driver you book for a job, the way you'd book a taxi for a trip. You don't sign a rental agreement or send your own staff to drive. You call, tell us what needs moving and where, and a truck turns up with a driver who loads it, delivers it and sends you proof.
The name has been used in Australian freight for decades. Large carriers sell taxi truck services, and so do smaller operators like us. The difference is who you deal with. When you book a Visions taxi truck in Melbourne, you talk to the person who runs the trucks, and the driver who arrives knows the job before they get there.
When businesses book a taxi truck
- Urgent deliveries. A customer needs stock today and your regular carrier can't fit it in.
- Overflow freight. Your own trucks are full and there are still pallets on the dock.
- Stock transfers. Moving stock between a warehouse and a store, or between two of your sites.
- Site deliveries. Building materials or fixtures to a site that has no forklift, using the tail-lift.
- Returns and pickups. Collecting goods from a supplier or customer and bringing them back to your warehouse.
- One-off projects. A shop fit-out, an event, or a move between business premises.
If the same job keeps coming up every week, a taxi truck becomes expensive and hard to plan around. That's when a dedicated delivery run usually makes more sense.
How taxi truck rates work
Taxi truck pricing in Melbourne follows a similar pattern across most operators. Knowing how it works makes quotes easier to compare.
| What affects the price | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Time on the job | Most taxi trucks are charged by the hour, from arrival at pickup to the last drop. A short minimum applies so the truck isn't tied up for a few minutes' work. |
| Number of drops | Each stop adds time for parking, unloading and paperwork. Ten drops in one area can cost less than three spread across Melbourne. |
| Distance and tolls | A run from Truganina to Dandenong South will usually use toll roads. We list tolls on the quote so they aren't a surprise. |
| Waiting time | If the truck waits at a dock for loading, that time counts. Having freight ready when the truck arrives keeps the cost down. |
| Loading needs | Tail-lift work, hand unloading or stairs take longer than a forklift at a dock. Tell us what's at each end. |
We don't publish a single price, because the same hour of truck time can be very different jobs. Send us the pickup, the drops and the freight, and we'll reply with a written rate the same business day, showing what's included.
Same-day and urgent jobs
We run Monday to Saturday from 5am to 7pm. For same-day work, the earlier you call, the better your chances. If a truck is free, we confirm a pickup time on the phone. If we're booked out, we say so straight away rather than leaving you waiting on a maybe.
To get a truck moving quickly, have these ready when you call:
- The pickup address and the time the freight will be ready.
- Each drop address, and any delivery windows or curfews.
- What the freight is: pallets, cartons or loose items, and roughly how much it weighs.
- Whether there's a dock or forklift at each end, or whether we'll need the tail-lift.
Call 0482 389 938 for anything happening today. For jobs later in the week, the form on this page is fine.
The truck you get
Every Visions taxi truck is a 4.5 tonne pantech: an enclosed body that keeps freight dry and secure, with a tail-lift for loading without a dock. It carries around 2 tonnes and takes up to 6 standard pallets. The driver has a pallet jack, trolleys, straps and blankets on board.
A 4.5 tonne truck is a good size for metro work. It fits most loading bays and city streets, and it's big enough for a full pallet order or a day of carton drops. If your job needs a bigger truck, we'll tell you when you call instead of sending the wrong one. The full measurements are in our 4.5 tonne truck guide.
Tracking and proof of delivery
Every truck has live GPS tracking. During the job you can see where the truck is, and we can send a live link to you or your customer so nobody has to ring around asking for an ETA. At each drop, the driver takes a photo and a signature and sends it through, so you have proof the job was done before the truck is back on the road.
Taxi truck, courier or contract run?
Couriers are built for parcels and satchels. A taxi truck is for freight that needs a whole truck, a tail-lift or a driver's time. A dedicated run is for work that repeats on a schedule. Plenty of our customers start with a one-off taxi truck job and move to a regular run once they see how it goes.
Where our taxi trucks run
We cover Greater Melbourne, with most jobs starting or finishing in the industrial hubs: Truganina, Laverton North, Derrimut, Dandenong South, Keysborough, Campbellfield, Epping, Tullamarine and Port Melbourne. Runs to Geelong and regional Victoria are available by arrangement.