Private Hire London

London has two kinds of licensed passenger vehicle and they work differently. Hackney carriages — black cabs — may be hailed in the street or picked up from a rank, and run on a meter set by regulation. Private hire vehicles may not be hailed or ranked. Every journey must be booked in advance through a licensed operator, and the price is agreed at the point of booking rather than accumulated on a meter.

That single structural difference produces most of the practical distinctions people notice. Because the journey is booked ahead, the operator knows where you are going before the car is assigned, so the vehicle can be sized to the passengers and luggage. Because the price is agreed rather than metered, traffic is our problem rather than yours — a slow journey costs us more and costs you nothing extra. And because there is a booking record, there is a named driver, a registered vehicle and an auditable trail behind every trip.

Get London Transfer is a licensed private hire operator, not a vehicle owner-driver and not an app platform. We have held a Transport for London Private Hire Operator licence continuously since 2000. That licence is what permits us to accept bookings in London at all, and it carries obligations: we must keep records of every booking, only use TfL-licensed drivers and TfL-licensed vehicles, and maintain insurance appropriate to private hire work.

In practice most people arrive at this page for one of four reasons — they need an airport transfer, they want a car for a day, their company needs an account, or they are travelling long-distance and want a fixed price rather than a rail fare per head. All four are below.

The black cab. Unbeatable for a spontaneous journey — you raise a hand and a car stops, with a driver who has passed the Knowledge. The drawbacks are structural rather than a criticism: the meter runs while you sit in traffic, so the slowest journeys cost the most; you cannot pre-book one to meet a specific flight; the vehicle you get is the vehicle that stopped, regardless of how much luggage you have; and there is no name board waiting in arrivals. For a short hop across town when you are already standing on the street, a black cab is often the right answer and we will say so.

Rideshare apps. Convenient and frequently cheap off-peak. The problems appear precisely when it matters: surge pricing multiplies the fare at the exact moments demand spikes — a bank of flights landing, a venue emptying, bad weather — and you discover the multiplier at the moment you need the car. The driver is whoever is nearest rather than someone assigned to your booking, so vehicle size is a lottery. There is no meet-and-greet in arrivals. Flight tracking is limited or absent, so a delayed arrival usually means rebooking from the baggage hall.

Licensed private hire, pre-booked. The price is agreed before the car moves and does not change. The vehicle is sized to your passengers and luggage because we knew both when we assigned it. Airport bookings are flight-tracked, so the car is dispatched against your actual landing time. The driver meets you inside arrivals with a name board. You get his name and direct mobile number by SMS before pickup. The trade-off is honest: you have to book ahead, and for a genuinely spontaneous journey we are not the tool.

When we would tell you to use something else. A short central London hop you decided on two minutes ago — hail a black cab. One person with a cabin bag going from Gatwick to somewhere near Victoria — the Gatwick Express is fast and cheap. One traveller from Stansted to Liverpool Street in the daytime — take the Stansted Express. We would rather point you at the better option than take a booking you will regret.

Airport transfers. Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and Farnborough, to and from any address. Every airport booking is flight-tracked on live ATC data, the driver meets you inside arrivals with a name board, and we hold up to 60 minutes after your actual landing at no charge. Fixed prices from £65 depending on route and vehicle.

Long-distance and intercity. London to Manchester, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh and elsewhere. One vehicle, door to door, all luggage handled, no interchange. For three or four people travelling together this is frequently cheaper than rail once you count the fares per head plus the taxi at each end — and considerably easier with luggage.

Hourly chauffeur hire. Car and suited driver retained for the day, waiting between stops. Weddings, theatre evenings, shopping days, sightseeing, business itineraries. From £45 per hour with a three-hour minimum.

Corporate accounts. Monthly consolidated billing, VAT invoices carrying your cost codes, multiple authorised bookers, and no traveller paying at the kerb. Account setup takes one phone call.

Stations and cruise ports. All London termini, plus Southampton, Dover, Tilbury and Portsmouth for cruise departures and arrivals. Cruise transfers are sized for cruise luggage, which is normally more than people estimate.

Events and occasions. Race days, sporting fixtures, concerts, weddings and parties. One vehicle keeps a group together, and a pre-booked collection avoids the scramble when twenty thousand people leave a venue simultaneously.

Medical and assisted journeys. Hospital appointments, discharge collections and journeys for less mobile passengers. Tell us at booking if step-in height matters or extra time is needed at either end, and we allocate and schedule accordingly.

Operator licence. A TfL Private Hire Operator licence is what permits a company to accept private hire bookings in London. It requires us to keep a record of every booking, to use only licensed drivers and licensed vehicles, and to hold appropriate insurance. We have held ours continuously since 2000. Anyone taking a private hire booking in London without one is operating illegally, and your insurance position as a passenger is not what you would assume.

Driver licensing. Every TfL private hire driver licence requires an enhanced DBS check, a DVLA Group 2 medical — the same standard applied to lorry and bus drivers — a topographical assessment, and an English language requirement. Licences are renewed on a fixed cycle with the checks repeated. We contract drivers directly rather than sourcing from a gig platform, so the same people work for us over years and we know them.

Vehicle licensing. Every vehicle is TfL-licensed for private hire, which requires inspection beyond a standard MOT, and carries private hire insurance rather than ordinary domestic cover. A licensed vehicle displays TfL discs.

How to check any private hire booking is legitimate. Ask for the driver’s name and vehicle registration in advance — we send both by SMS, with a photograph, two hours before pickup. Check that the car matches when it arrives. A licensed private hire vehicle carries TfL licence discs. And be aware that a private hire vehicle may never lawfully accept a street hail — a driver who stops for you in the street without a booking is either a black cab or is breaking the law, and if it is the latter you are not insured.

Records. Every booking is recorded with passenger, route, driver, vehicle and time. For corporate clients this provides the audit trail a duty-of-care policy usually requires. For private clients it means there is always a record of who drove you and when.

What we are not. We are a licensed private hire operator, not a security firm. No close protection, no armoured vehicles, no security-trained drivers. If you need that, you need a specialist provider and we will tell you so.

What we need. Pickup address, destination, date and time, number of passengers and a realistic count of luggage. For airport pickups, your airline and flight number so we can track it. Anything unusual — a wheelchair, a child seat, skis, an instrument, a dog — tell us at booking rather than at the kerb.

Confirmation. An SMS within five minutes with the fixed price and booking reference. Two hours before pickup, a second SMS with your driver’s name, photograph, vehicle registration and direct mobile number.

Waiting time. Airport pickups include 60 minutes free after your actual landing time — enough for immigration and baggage on most arrivals. Non-airport pickups include 15 minutes. Beyond that, waiting is charged in fair increments rather than penalised.

Flight delays. Handled automatically on airport bookings. We track your inbound and move the driver to the real landing time. You do not need to call us and the price does not change.

Cancellation. Free up to 24 hours before pickup. Inside 24 hours a charge may apply, particularly for wedding, event and day-hire bookings where a vehicle has been held for a specific date. Terms confirmed at booking.

Payment. Card at booking or on the day, or on account for corporate clients. VAT invoices issued as standard.

How far ahead. 24–48 hours is normally enough. Book further ahead for peak periods — summer weekends, school holidays, the December party season, and any date needing an MPV or 8-seater, since larger vehicles go first.