Chauffeur Service London

A transfer takes you from one place to another and the journey ends. Chauffeur hire is different: the car and driver are yours for the period you book, and the day is directed by you. The driver waits while you are at lunch, at the theatre, in a meeting or in a shop. Your coats, bags and purchases stay in the boot rather than being carried around. When you come out, the car is there.

That distinction matters more in London than in most cities. Parking is scarce and expensive, much of the centre is restricted, and the alternative — finding a taxi at 23:15 after the theatre, in the rain, along with everyone else who just left the same performance — is the part of the evening nobody enjoys. A retained car removes it entirely.

People book chauffeur hire for weddings, milestone birthdays and anniversaries, theatre and restaurant evenings, shopping days, sightseeing with family visiting from abroad, race days and sporting fixtures, business itineraries with several stops, and days where an elderly or less mobile relative needs a car close at hand rather than a walk to a station.

Get London Transfer has provided chauffeured hire in London since 2000 under a Transport for London Private Hire Operator licence held continuously since then. Every driver is TfL-licensed and enhanced-DBS checked, every vehicle inspected and fully insured. The rate is agreed before the car arrives and does not change, whatever the traffic does or how slowly the day unfolds.

Weddings. Bridal party to the ceremony, couple to the reception, guests between venues, and the departure at the end of the night. We handle the timings against your schedule rather than turning up when told and hoping. Ribbons and colour coordination on request; the driver is suited and will not appear in your photographs unless you want him to. Wedding bookings are usually taken as day hire rather than hourly, and we recommend booking well ahead — Saturdays in summer go early.

Theatre, dining and evenings out. Dropped at the door of the theatre or restaurant, the car waits, and it is outside when you come out. No walking to find a cab at 23:15, no surge fare because a thousand people just left the West End at once, and coats and bags stay in the boot rather than under your seat.

Shopping days. Bond Street, Sloane Street, Harrods, Selfridges, Bicester Village. The practical value here is the boot — purchases go straight into the car between shops instead of being carried, and the driver meets you at each door rather than at a car park several streets away.

Sightseeing with visiting family. The major sights spread across a wide area and public transport with an elderly relative or small children is hard work. A retained car lets you do Westminster, the Tower, St Paul’s and Greenwich at your own pace, with somewhere to sit down between them. Our drivers know the city well and will suggest an order that avoids doubling back — though they are chauffeurs, not qualified Blue Badge guides.

Race days and sporting fixtures. Ascot, Cheltenham, Epsom, Twickenham, Wembley and Lord’s. Traffic and parking at these venues are genuinely difficult and a car that drops at the entrance and collects at the end is worth more than the fare. Popular fixtures need booking weeks ahead.

Business itineraries. Several meetings across a day, a roadshow, a site visit programme. The driver holds documents and equipment between stops, and the timings are built with realistic London traffic allowances rather than optimistic ones. For firms doing this regularly, an account with monthly billing is usually the better arrangement.

Milestone occasions. Significant birthdays, anniversaries, proposals, graduations, christenings. The S-Class is the usual choice where the car is part of the occasion rather than a way of getting to it.

Medical appointments and less mobile passengers. A car waiting at the door, a driver who assists in and out, and no walk to a station at either end. Tell us at booking if step-in height matters and we will allocate accordingly, and allow unhurried time at both ends.

Three-hour minimum within London. Hourly hire starts at three hours. Half day is four hours and full day is eight, both at better hourly value than the base rate — a full day in the E-Class is £320 rather than £360. Longer bookings, multi-day arrangements and journeys outside London are quoted individually.

The clock starts at your pickup time, not when the driver leaves our base and not when he arrives. The driver aims to be there five to ten minutes early and waits at no cost. It stops when the booking ends at the final drop-off.

Running over. Days overrun — a lunch goes long, a meeting stretches, a shop takes longer than planned. Extra time is charged at the same hourly rate in half-hour increments, with no penalty. Tell the driver as soon as you know and he will hold the booking if his diary permits; on a busy Saturday it may not, so more notice is better than less.

Give us the plan, or don’t. A rough itinerary helps the driver think ahead about routes and parking, and we would rather have it. But it is not required — "we’ll see how the day goes" is a perfectly normal booking and the driver takes direction as you go.

Where the car waits. Much of central London has no legal waiting. In restricted streets the driver will circulate nearby or use the closest legal spot and return when you call — he has your number and you have his, sent by SMS before pickup. You should never be standing on a pavement wondering where the car has gone.

Outside London. Windsor, Oxford, Bath, Brighton, the Cotswolds and Highclere are all popular day trips. These are quoted as day hire including mileage rather than on the London hourly rate, since the distance rather than the time drives the cost. Call for a fixed price.

What is included. Car, chauffeur, fuel, Congestion Charge, ULEZ, parking and all waiting time. Complimentary water and USB charging. No mileage charge within London and no surcharge for evenings, weekends or holidays.

Cancellations. Free up to 24 hours before the booking. Inside 24 hours a charge may apply, particularly for wedding and event bookings where the vehicle has been held for a specific date. Confirmed at the time of booking.

Suited, licensed, directly contracted. Every chauffeur holds a TfL private hire driver licence — which requires an enhanced DBS check, a DVLA Group 2 medical and a topographical assessment — and is contracted to us directly rather than sourced from a gig platform. The same drivers work our chauffeur bookings, which is why we can honour a request for one you have had before.

Doors, luggage and shopping. The driver opens the door, handles luggage to and from the threshold, and takes your bags and purchases as the day goes on. That is the job, not a favour.

Conversation is your choice. The default is quiet. The driver will not initiate conversation, and in the S-Class the partition is raised unless you lower it. If you would rather chat — and plenty of sightseeing passengers do — say so and he will.

Discretion. Where you went, who was in the car and what was said are not discussed. Private residential addresses are used for the booking and not retained for marketing or shared.

Local knowledge. Our chauffeurs know London properly — which entrance a venue uses, where a car can legally hold, which route works at which hour. On sightseeing days they will suggest a sensible order. They are not, however, qualified tour guides; if you want a Blue Badge guide with the car, tell us and we will arrange one alongside.

What we are not. We are a TfL-licensed private hire operator, not a security firm. No close protection, no armoured vehicles, no security-trained drivers. If that is what you need, you need a specialist and we will say so rather than take the booking.

The car is there when you come out. This is the whole argument. No searching for a taxi after the theatre, no app surge when a venue empties, no standing in the rain on Shaftesbury Avenue with everyone else who just watched the same show.

The rate does not move. £45 an hour is £45 an hour whether the traffic flows or crawls, whether it is a Tuesday morning or a Saturday night, whether it is August or New Year’s Eve. Compare with a meter that rewards congestion or an app that multiplies at exactly the wrong moment.

Your things stay in the car. Coats, bags, shopping, equipment, presents. Across a full day this is worth more than people expect.

One driver, one day. The same person throughout, who learns where you are going and how you want the day to run — rather than four different strangers and four separate explanations.

Directly contracted, properly licensed. TfL private hire licence held continuously since 2000, enhanced-DBS drivers, inspected and fully insured vehicles. Documentation available on request.

A UK phone number, answered by a person. 020 8888 9988 at any hour. When the day changes — and on hourly bookings it usually does — you want a controller, not a support form.