Questions, answered

Three ways. Online through the booking form on this site, which gives you a price immediately and a confirmation email within minutes. By phone on 0117 287 0247 or 07856 939 691, answered around the clock. Or by email to info@bristoltaxi.co.uk if you would rather write it all down — include the pick-up address, destination, date, time and number of passengers.

For a local journey, an hour is usually plenty and we can often do better than that. For Bristol Airport, book the day before as a minimum — the early-morning departure wave is our busiest period. For a minibus, a 15-seater, a wedding or anything during school holidays or a major event weekend, book as far ahead as you can: the larger vehicles are spoken for first.

Yes. Changes made more than 12 hours before pick-up are free of charge — call, email or reply to your confirmation. Cancellations more than 24 hours before pick-up are free with a full refund; between 12 and 24 hours a 50% fee applies, and inside 12 hours the booking is non-refundable because the driver is already assigned. The full terms are on our cancellation policy page.

Yes, and it is the sensible way to do it — particularly for airports, weddings, concerts and matches. Book both legs together and the return is held for you, so you are not standing outside a venue at midnight competing for a car with three hundred other people.

Fixed. You are quoted a single figure before you book, based on the pick-up point, the destination and the vehicle you choose, and that is what you pay. Traffic, a longer route because of a closure, or a driver stuck on the M5 do not change your fare.

Cash to the driver at the end of the journey, all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, and mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Business account customers are invoiced monthly. If you are booking on someone else's behalf you can pay in advance so they travel without touching their wallet.

On an airport or seaport collection the driver is inside with a name board from 30 minutes after you land or dock, and you should make contact within 45 minutes; beyond the allotted period, waiting is £15 for each additional 30 minutes. On other journeys the first 5 minutes are free and it is £15 per 30 minutes after that. A driver can decline to wait unless waiting has been agreed beforehand, so tell us at the booking stage if you need it.

We dispatch 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year — including Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. A 03:00 airport pick-up is an ordinary booking for us rather than a favour, and it is quoted as a fixed price before you travel like any other journey.

Give us your flight number when you book and we track the flight rather than the clock — if you land three hours late, your driver is scheduled for three hours later. Once you have landed, please contact the driver within 45 minutes so they know you are on your way; waiting beyond the allowance is charged at £15 per 30 minutes under our terms. If the flight is cancelled outright, call or email us and we will move the booking.

Yes. From 30 minutes after your flight lands the driver is waiting inside the terminal with a name board, so you walk out to a person rather than to a car park. They will text and call you when they are on their way; contact them once you are through and they will meet you at the Drop & Go.

A Standard Saloon or Executive Car takes two large suitcases plus two items of hand luggage. The Mini Bus takes eight of each, and the 15 Seater fifteen. If you are carrying something awkward — skis, a bike, golf clubs, a pushchair, a musical instrument — tell us when you book so we send a vehicle that will actually swallow it.

Yes. Add the child's age and the seat type to the notes when you book — the cost is £15 per seat, payable to the driver or over the phone in advance. Child seats are not legally required in a licensed taxi, so this is something we provide rather than something you have to arrange; availability is limited and priority goes to journeys over 20 miles, so ask early. A driver who has not been told cannot produce a car seat on the doorstep.

Yes. The Mini Bus seats eight and the 15 Seater fifteen, and for larger parties we send two or more vehicles travelling together so everyone arrives at the same time. One booking, one fixed price for the whole group.

Every driver holds a current private hire licence from the relevant local authority, which requires an enhanced DBS check, a medical and a driving assessment. Every vehicle is licensed, insured for private hire and inspected on the schedule the licensing authority sets. We do not put anyone behind the wheel who has not been through all of that.

Licensed drivers and licensed, regularly inspected vehicles are the foundation. On top of that: every journey is logged in the office with a named driver, so somebody always knows who took you and where; vehicles are GPS tracked; and you receive the driver's name and vehicle details before pick-up, so you can confirm you are getting into the right car.

Smoking and vaping are not permitted in any of our vehicles — that is the law for licensed vehicles, not a house rule. We also operate a no-food, no-drink policy, with a £50 charge for breaching it; bottled water is the exception. Please tell us if anyone in your party is unwell so the driver can plan for it.

Call the office on 0117 287 0247 as soon as you notice. Every journey is logged against a named driver and vehicle, so we can identify exactly which car you were in. Property found by our drivers is logged and held at the office for collection, and we will arrange to get it back to you.

Regularly. Bath, Cardiff, Newport, Swindon, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Exeter, Oxford, Reading, Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester and London are all routine runs with fixed prices, and we take bookings to anywhere in England, Wales and Scotland.

We do. A business account gives you priority dispatch, booking by phone or email without re-entering payment details every time, a single monthly invoice for your accounts department, and drivers who become familiar with your regular journeys. Email info@bristoltaxi.co.uk to set one up.

They live here. That means knowing that Park Street is closed for an event before the satnav does, which end of a Clifton terrace a car can actually stop at, and how long Temple Way really takes at half past five. It also means we can point you at the museums, the harbour, the heritage sites and the good walks if you are visiting.