When you book a taxi with us, our priorities are to ensure you have as comfortable and stress-free a journey as possible, no matter where you need to go and when you need to go there.
One curious aspect of taxis in the UK is the fact that there are two completely distinct types of taxis that drive around British roads, one that you can step into whenever you need them when transferring from Morpeth Station or following a night in Newcastle, and those that you need to book ahead of time.
These are the Hackney Carriage and the Private Hire Cab, respectively, but why are they so different, and why can you not get into a Private Hire you have not booked?
Hackney carriages as they are officially known, are typically purpose-built cars licensed by the local authority, have a dedicated sign on the roof and have strictly set fares measured using a taximeter (or simply the meter) when picked up from a Rank.
They can be pre-booked, but also often pick up passengers from a rank.
By contrast, a private hire vehicle, must be pre-booked through a licensed operator, although there is a wide range of vehicles that the firm can operate.
Rather than have a meter, private hire will either give you an accurate fare estimate or a fixed fare agreed ahead of time. The latter tends to be more common for airport transfers booked well in advance of your departure. Hackney carriage can also do fixed prices for pre-booked journeys.
Pre-booked tend to have lower prices, particularly for longer trips both with Hackney and Private Hire. Metered fares from the Rank often operate on a zonal system set by the local licensing authority, which means that it costs more per mile the further away from the Rank you are.