How to book a taxi in the UK
Written and maintained by the minicabit editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy by Amer Hasan.
Last updated 26/08/26.
To book a taxi in the UK, you can either hail a licensed Hackney Carriage, commonly known as a black cab, on the street or at a taxi rank, or pre-book a Private Hire Vehicle, usually called a minicab, through a licensed Cab operator.
The biggest difference for passengers is how the journey is booked and priced. Black cab fares are generally metered, while Private Hire Vehicle prices are agreed when you book.
Black cab, minicab or chauffeur: what is the difference?
For passengers, the main distinction between the different types of UK cab service is whether the vehicle needs to be pre-booked and how the fare is calculated.
A Hackney Carriage can be hailed in the street or taken from a taxi rank. Its fare is normally calculated using a meter, with local licensing authorities able to set maximum taxi fares.
A Private Hire Vehicle, commonly called a minicab, must be pre-booked through a licensed Cab operator. The fixed price is agreed when the journey is booked rather than calculated by a meter during the trip.
Chauffeur services are also pre-booked but generally provide a more premium vehicle and service, often for business journeys, events and formal occasions.
Hackney Carriage / black cab
Private Hire Vehicle / minicab
Chauffeur
How you book
Hail in the street, use a rank or pre-book
Pre-book through a licensed Cab operator
Pre-book
How the fare is set
Usually metered
Fixed price agreed when booking
Fixed price or agreed rate
Can you hail one?
Yes
No
No
Is advance booking required?
No
Yes
Yes
Typical use
Unplanned or short urban journeys
Airport journeys, station transfers, planned trips and group travel
Business and formal travel
The important safety point is that a Private Hire Vehicle cannot simply be hailed from the street. Your journey needs to have been accepted through a licensed Cab operator before the vehicle collects you.
How to book a Private Hire Vehicle
Booking a minicab in advance means you can arrange the journey before you leave, know the price you have selected and choose a vehicle suited to your passengers and luggage.
With minicabit, the process takes four main steps.
1. Enter your pickup and destination
Enter where you need to be collected and where you are going. Depending on the journey, this could be a postcode, street address, airport terminal, railway station or another point of interest.
Accurate pickup details are particularly important at large airports, stations and venues where there may be several possible meeting points.
2. Choose your cab pickup date and time
Enter when you want the vehicle to collect you.
Trips through minicabit can be pre-booked up to 12 months ahead. You can also arrange an outbound and return journey in the same transaction.
3. Compare the available quotes
minicabit’s comparison technology lets you instantly compare competitive, fixed quotes from 1,000+ licensed Private Hire Operators across 550+ UK towns and cities.
You can select between the available options based on price, Cab operator rating and vehicle requirements rather than contacting individual Cab operators separately.
One of the differences in how minicabit works is that quotes can come from Cab operators located near the pickup point or near the destination. This can increase the choice available for longer-distance journeys.
4. Confirm your journey and pay
Once you have selected the quote and vehicle you want, confirm the booking and payment details.
Payment options through minicabit include debit and credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
minicabit’s taxi booking app carries the same booking flow as the website.
Our top tips from the minicabit team
Booking a cab is straightforward, but a few extra checks can make the journey easier. These are the things the minicabit team recommends thinking about before confirming a booking.
Book when your plans are confirmed
You can book through minicabit up to 12 months ahead. If you know when and where you need to travel, searching in advance gives you time to compare the available Cab operators, prices and vehicle choices.
That can be particularly useful for airport journeys, larger groups and trips where you have specific luggage or accessibility requirements.
Add all of your passengers and luggage upfront
Do not choose a vehicle based only on passenger numbers. Add the luggage you are travelling with as well, particularly when you are heading to/from an airport or travelling as a family or group.
minicabit’s technology can then help determine an appropriate vehicle size for the information you provide.
Check more than the cheapest price
Price matters, but it does not have to be the only factor.
When comparing quotes through minicabit, look at the vehicle option and the Cab operator’s customer rating alongside the fixed price before you select your journey.
Give clear pickup information
For locations such as stations, airports, hotels and venues, make sure the pickup point information is as specific as possible.
For airport pickups, enter your flight information as part of the booking. The driver tracks the flight and, if it is delayed, arrives 30 minutes after the new landing time.
Add specific requirements when you book
If there is something the Cab operator needs to know, include it when making the booking rather than waiting until the driver arrives.
For example, if you require a child seat, state the requirement clearly in the Additional info box. Availability and any charge depend on the Cab operator, and the request should not be treated as guaranteed until it has been confirmed.
[AMER INPUT: Could we attribute this section to a named Operations team member and add a short quote? For example, what is the one thing customers most commonly forget to tell minicabit when booking? A genuine answer would make this section much stronger.]
How UK taxi fares work
UK taxi fares generally fall into two categories.
Hackney Carriage fares are usually metered, with the final amount calculated using factors such as distance and journey time. Local licensing authorities can set maximum taxi fare levels, so metered tariffs can differ between areas.
Private Hire Vehicle prices are agreed when the journey is booked. This means you know the price you have selected before the trip starts rather than watching a meter increase during the journey.
With minicabit, you can instantly compare quotes from multiple licensed Private Hire Operators before deciding which one to book.
minicabit’she comparison technology searches Cab operators based near both ends of the route. This means a Cab operator nearer your destination may sometimes offer a more competitive quote than one based close to where you are being collected.
For example, you can compare a Southampton Airport taxi or Cardiff Airport taxi before you travel rather than relying on a metered fare after the journey has started.
Is it cheaper to book a taxi last minute or in advance?
There is no single booking time that should be assumed to produce the cheapest taxi price on every journey. Prices and availability can differ according to the route, pickup time, vehicle requirements and the Private Hire Operators available when you search.
Paying for your taxi
How and when you pay depends on the type of taxi you use.
With a pre-booked minicabit journey, payment can be made when you book using debit or credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay. This means the payment is arranged before the journey rather than having to settle the selected price with the driver at the destination.
For a metered Hackney Carriage journey, payment is normally made when the journey ends.
If you are using a service where you intend to pay the driver directly, check which payment methods are accepted before the journey starts.
Booking for different passengers, luggage and accessibility needs
A benefit of pre-booking is that you can set out your requirements before the vehicle arrives.
Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles are available as a bookable vehicle tier through minicabit. If you require one, select the appropriate vehicle during the booking process rather than waiting until pickup to ask whether the arriving vehicle is suitable.
For groups and luggage-heavy journeys, enter the number of passengers and the luggage you are taking so the booking system can identify the vehicle size required. The driver can help with luggage.
If you need a child seat, enter the request in the Additional info box when booking. Availability varies by Cab operator and area, and any charge depends on the Cab operator. Confirm that the Cab operator fulfilling the journey has received the request and can meet it.
Where you have a specific requirement, booking well in advance should give you more time to confirm the arrangements before the cab pickup date.
Taxi safety: what should you check before getting in?
The most important distinction to remember is that a Private Hire Vehicle must have been pre-booked through a licensed Cab operator.
Do not treat an unbooked car that approaches you in the street as your Private Hire Vehicle.
When your booked vehicle arrives, check that the vehicle and driver details correspond with the information provided for your journey where these are available.
Licensed taxi and Private Hire Vehicle requirements are managed by the relevant licensing authority, so the exact appearance of licence plates and identification can vary around the country.
With minicabit, Cab operators and drivers can be independently rated by customers after completed journeys, and Cab operator ratings are shown when customers compare available quotes.
All minicabit trips are monitored, with customer support available 24/7 by phone, live chat and email. If the Cab operator booked through minicabit cannot fulfil the journey, minicabit reallocates the booking to an alternative Cab operator at no extra cost to the customer.
Booking an airport taxi in the UK
Pre-booking is particularly useful when you are arriving at an airport because the driver and pickup arrangements can be organised before the flight.
For airport pickups booked through minicabit, Meet and Greet is included. The driver waits inside Arrivals with a name board, and airport pickups include 45 minutes of free waiting time.
Flight tracking is also included. If your flight is delayed, the driver tracks the change and arrives 30 minutes after the new landing time.
You can use the same booking process at airports around the country, including a Newcastle Airport taxi, Aberdeen Airport taxi or Inverness Airport taxi.
London City Airport can also be booked in the same way, while travellers using Essex can arrange a Southend Airport taxi.
For all other pickups, including journeys to an airport, minicabit includes 15 minutes of free waiting time at the original pickup point.
Booking a taxi from a UK railway station
A station pickup can also be arranged in advance, so the journey is booked before your train arrives.
Make sure you enter the correct station and cab pickup time, together with your passenger and luggage information.
For example, you can book a taxi from East Croydon station before arriving rather than organising a Private Hire Vehicle after leaving the train.
If your plans change, update your pickup information through minicabit rather than contacting the Cab operator directly.
What happens if your plans change?
Free cancellation through minicabit applies before the booking’s cancellation cut-off time, shown clearly at booking.
If you need to change your pickup time, you can update it online or, as a last resort, contact minicabit 24/7 by live chat, phone and email.
Changes and cancellations should be made through minicabit rather than through the Cab operator.
About minicabit
minicabit’s comparison technology allows customers to instantly compare competitive, fixed quotes from 1,000+ licensed Private Hire Operators across more than 550 UK towns and cities, selecting between available options based on price, vehicle requirements and Cab operator rating.
Customers can pre-book journeys up to 12 months ahead, with Standard, Executive and Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles available depending on the journey.
The platform counts Booking.com, Expedia and major UK airports including Stansted and Birmingham as partners.
minicabit has won Best Ground Transport platform at the Travolution Awards four times, in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023, and was the first taxi app to win investment offers on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den.
minicabit is rated 4.4/5 on Trustpilot from over 9,600 customer reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pre-book a minicab in the UK?
Yes. A Private Hire Vehicle, commonly called a minicab, must be booked through a licensed Cab operator before it collects you. It cannot be hailed from the street in the same way as a Hackney Carriage.
What is the difference between a black cab and a minicab?
A black cab is a Hackney Carriage that can be hailed in the street or taken from a taxi rank. Its fare is normally metered. A minicab is a Private Hire Vehicle that must be pre-booked through a licensed Cab operator, with its price agreed when the journey is booked.
Are UK taxi fares fixed or metered?
Both systems are used. Hackney Carriage fares are usually metered, while Private Hire Vehicle prices are agreed when the journey is booked. With minicabit, you can compare available fixed quotes before selecting a Private Hire Operator.
Is it cheaper to book a taxi in advance?
Not necessarily on every journey. Prices can depend on the route, pickup time, vehicle requirements and which Cab operators have availability when you search. Comparing quotes before you book lets you see the options available for your specific journey.
[Once Amer provides the pricing data, update this answer with a short reference to the real comparison above.]
How far in advance can I book through minicabit?
You can pre-book a minicabit journey up to 12 months ahead. If you have particular requirements such as a larger vehicle, airport journey or child-seat request, booking earlier should give you more time to confirm the arrangements.
Can I book a taxi with a child seat?
You can request a child seat when booking by entering the requirement in the Additional info box. Availability and any charge depend on the Cab operator, so the request should be confirmed with the Cab operator fulfilling the journey and should not be treated as guaranteed.
Can I book a Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle?
Yes. Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles are available as a bookable vehicle tier. Select the appropriate vehicle option when making the booking so your requirement is included from the outset.
What happens if my flight is delayed?
For airport pickups, the driver tracks your flight. If it lands later than scheduled, the driver arrives 30 minutes after the new landing time. Airport pickups also include 45 minutes of free waiting time and Meet and Greet, with the driver waiting inside Arrivals with a name board.
Can I change or cancel my taxi booking?
Yes. Free cancellation through minicabit applies before the booking’s cancellation cut-off time, shown clearly when you book. If you need to change the pickup time, update it online or, as a last resort, contact minicabit 24/7 by live chat, phone or email. Changes and cancellations should be made through minicabit rather than the Cab operator.
What happens if my Cab operator cannot complete the booking?
If the Cab operator booked through minicabit cannot fulfil the journey, minicabit reallocates the booking to an alternative Cab operator at no extra cost to the customer.
