Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Will I receive confirmation of my journey?
A. When booking online you will receive two separate emails. The first email confirms we have successfully received your payment and we are in the process of confirming your journey with our fleet. A second email will be sent to you, confirming your driver has been allocated and you're all booked in. If, in the unlikely situation we are unable to cover your journey, we will automatically refund your booking giving you plenty of time to make alternative arrangements.
Q. How do I pay?
A. You can pay by credit/debit card or by cash to the driver on the day. We accept all major cards including American Express as payment.
Q. Are there any time restrictions?
A. No, we operate 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Q. Do you provide a receipt?
A. We will email you a receipt with a booking reference and contact number by email.
Q. Is the payment secure?
A. Yes, this payment is 100% secure and we do not store your card details on our system.
Q. Are there any surcharges?
A. No surcharges standard debit or master cards, we pass on the credit card fees to business customers only at the rate we are charged. We only do this to help keep our prices low for customers paying by debit card and cash.
Q. Why is the price I've been quoted more than advertised on the website?
A. The fares advertised are our typical fares for our standard vehicle, however fares can sometimes be higher depending on the time of day and day of the week. Fares can also be higher on bank holidays and at other busy periods.
Q. Do you operate a fixed price policy?
A. Price quoted online is the price you pay, unless you amend the booking mid journey.
Q. Can I book a vehicle with a child seat?
A. Should you require a car seat please provide details in the child seat request box when making your booking and we will endeavour to meet your requirements.
Q. Do I need to have an account with you to book a taxi?
A. No, you can book a taxi without an account however creating an account provides an easy way to manage all of your taxi bookings in one place.
Q. What are the benefits of a business account?
A. There are a number of additional benefits to creating a business account including:
· Book a taxi hassle free
· Full audit trail of all bookings
· Entire booking history is held online
· Easy online payment or on a monthly basis by bank transfer
· Your own account manager
· There is no charge for setting up a business account
Q. Where do I meet my driver when I land at the airport?
A. Your driver will be waiting you in arrivals holding a 'meet & greet' board with your name clearly written on it. Ensure you provided a working mobile number and your phone is switched on. We will try and contact you if we have any difficulty finding you. Please take a note of our phone number this is sent in your booking confirmation email so you can ring us should you need to.
Q. When do I need to be at the airport by?
A. We advise you get to the airport as early as possible. You should always allow 30 minutes to get through security.
· Long-haul and El Al: three hours before scheduled departure
· European flights: two hours before scheduled departure
· UK and Ireland flights: 90 minutes before scheduled departure
Q. How much time do I need to leave from my flight landing to booking a taxi?
A. This time can vary quite a lot depending on airport and time of day. We recommend you book for 30 to 45 mins after you land but that you also give us your flight number. Our experienced drivers will know roughly how long you need to come out of the terminal.
Q. Do you need to know the flight number or terminal building?
A. It's best you give us the flight number or airline name, from this we can work the rest out. Don't worry if you don't know the terminal number.
Q. Am I charged if my flight is delayed?
A. No, we do not charge you any extra if your flight is delayed. We always check your arrival time before we dispatch your driver.
Q. Is the price per person?
A. No, the price you see is the total price.
Q. How do I know the service is reliable?
A. To date we have provided ground transport services for many happy customers.
Q. Are your drivers licensed?
A. Yes, it is required by UK Law that all taxi companies are licensed by the Public Carriage Office or Transport for London.
Q. How long will the driver wait for me?
A. Your ride includes 10 minutes’ waiting time for standard pickups and 45 minutes for airport pickups (unless otherwise stated). Even if your driver has arrived early, your included waiting time starts from the time you booked your ride.
Q. What is included in an hourly booking?
A. A specific number of miles are included for each hour of an hourly booking. The number of miles is shown alongside the price for the booking. For an additional cost, and at the discretion of the driver, it is possible to extend the number of hours or miles.
Q. What are ‘one-way’, ‘return’ and ‘hourly’ bookings?
A. A one-way booking is a single journey from A to B, such as from the airport to your hotel. The price is based on the number of miles driven. A return booking is a two way journey from A to B and back again, such as from the airport to your hotel and then back from the hotel to the airport a few days later. An hourly booking is a booking for a period of time during which you can direct your driver. The price is based on the number of hours the car is hired for and includes a specific number of miles per hour.
Q. How much waiting time do I get with additional pickup and drop offs?
A. Each via allows five minutes of waiting time per pick up, the driver may charge extra if this is exceeded. Costs are at the discretion of drivers. If you require additional waiting time this should be agreed with the transport company prior to the booking taking place.
Q. I have a lot of luggage, will it fit?
A. If you're not sure your luggage will fit in the vehicle you've selected, it probably won't. The best option when booking with large amounts of luggage is to book the next available vehicle size up. For example, if you are booking a saloon, book an estate, If you are booking a 6 seater MPV book an 8 seater minibus and if you are booking a 12 seater minibus book a 16 seater minibus. The price difference is often not that much greater and it will ensure you have a more comfortable ride. And remember, if you're booking with a return you may have more luggage on the way home.
Q. Do I get a driver with a minibus or coach?
A. Yes. All our ground transport bookings come with a driver. We do not offer a rental service.
Q. How do I know you have availability?
A. We have a operators working day and night, in the event that we can not supply the vehicle in the first instance we will be able to book the journey with one of our other partner companies. We will do this automatically and for the same price. If you are booking for an event like a race day or music festival or if you are booking a large vehicle, we recommend you book as far in advance as possible to guarantee your booking.
Q. I have not received my booking confirmation email?
A. First thing to do is check your spam folder, If you can't find your email, you can find your booking by logging in to your user account or by creating a user account with the same email address as the one you made the booking with.
Q. I'm a single female passenger, How safe are your drivers?
A. When you travel with us, you'll travel with approved drivers only. These are driver who have gone through a strict vetting process. All drivers have a minimum of 1 years experience. Every journey is logged, The details of the journey are comprehensive and they include drivers details, pickup and drop off details, plus the journey is tracked via GPS.
Q. Tell me more about Passenger Safety?
A. A rigorous approach is taken to ensuring drivers we work with are fully checked because your Safety is our priority. Every one of our drivers are licensed with the local licensing borough, with an enhanced criminal check and are fully insured. In addition, they all guarantee an exceptional level of customer service via email and over the phone.
Our partners are fully licensed with the local council, which means:
· Drivers have passed criminal record checks with the Criminal Records Bureau.
· Drivers have passed medical checks.
· Drivers hold valid EU driver’s licenses.
· All cars checked for safety every 6 months, by the local council
Q. It is only 5 minute drive or 2 miles down the road, why is the charge so high?
A. Taxi fares
A taxi fare can depend on a number of things, including the type of taxi you use (class A, B, C, or D) and when & where your journey takes places.
Most clients value time or mileage over money when a service is required.
It would be safe to say that is the journey takes longer, the customer would happily pay more.
Providing a fast efficient & reliable service is what we strive to do at Ryde.
We look to save you time, assuring you the best possible service at reasonable prices.
Clients cant have it both ways some times, looking to have a short journey at a low cost.
it is understandable now that you require some symmetry to the logic here.
If Ryde is to charge a higher amount for a short journey
It could be that you are
A. Too far out
B. No local driver’s available
This logic would both apply for asap or advance bookings.
Allowing us to give the best possible service
Time is the most important to any service. Clients in general want a fast and on time service.
It might seem that we are being unfair charging ridicules prices for short journeys, but in order to provide a good service it would most likely mean driver travelling out to you, having a lot of dead mileage.
If a driver is traveling out to rural area, could mean driver is traveling 6 miles out to you doing your small journey and then doing a another 6 miles back, in conclusion it would mean loss of time, additional fuel usage and wear and tear to vehicle and loss of local work. where the journey will only be 5-10 minutes for you, the same journey for the driver will be 40 - 45 minutes. Hence why a higher rate is applied than in normal circumstances, to accommodate for loss of time and dead mileage for the driver.
