Driver Hire is our Chauffeur service, and an alternative to self drive car hire. This service lets anyone book a professional driver, with a luxury vehicle licenced to carry up to 6 passengers for either a full day, half a day or 1/4 day.
Driver Hire can be used for day’s out with the family, special occasion’s. Business Meetings. Events. Sporting & Music Events. Point to Point Travel. TV & Film work, and many other reasons
Car Hire Alternative
There are many reasons someone may hire a car for a day or weekend. Needing one, but not owning one. Needing a bigger car for more people as a one off. Driver Hire provides a solution to all these, with out the need to hire a car and drive yourself. What are the benefits of driver hire over car hire though?
Being Driven, not driving
May sound a bit obvious, but it is one the benefits. Particularly if you are visiting the Cardiff. If you are not familar with the local roads, or driving on the left, if you are visiting from oversea’s. For some people, it can be a bit daunting driving on unfamilar roads. Not knowing the local road layout. Or if not from the UK, not being sure of the laws of the road. Having someone else drive you removes these factors straight away. Giving you a more relaxed visit
Being Picked up, Not having to Pick Up
Some car hire companies will deliver a car to you, and pick the car up afterwards. For most though, you have to get to the hire company to pick the car up, and then from the hire company after taking it back at the end of the hire, and there is always a stack of paperwork to go through before and after. Usually involving walk arounds checking for damage, licence checks etc
With Driver Hire, we pick you up where you want, and drop you off afterwards. Your driver for the day would arrive at the time you want and you get in the car. No licence checks, no vehicle checks, no paperwork to sign. At the end of the hire period, you driver takes you to where you want to be and you get out. No vehicle checks, not extra paperwork to sign. Easier and simplier
All included
When you hire car, you still have to put fuel in it. In most cases, you pick the car up with a full tank of fuel, and then are expected to return it with a full tank of fuel. Not only does this mean you have to factor in the added time to go and find the nearest petrol station to fill the car up, but you also have the added cost of the fuel.
Some hire companies may try to add on addtional insurance aswell, giving you added protection in the event of an accident.
With Driver Hire, we take care of fueling the car, and you dont need to worry about any insurance. The fee’s include a very genorous mileage allowance. So long as the mileage is not exceeded, there are no extra fee’s to pay
Flexibility
Car hire is generally very flexible anyway. You can usually pick up and drop off at any time during their opening hours. They do however, have opening hours, and you cant usually pick up or drop off outside of these. The times you need a car from, or until, could mean you have to end up paying for an extra day, simply because of their opening times. For example, you may hire a car to leave to go somewhere at 6:00am, before the hire company has opened. You could book the pick up for 4:00pm the day before, so you have it when you need it. What if due to various reasons you cant pick it up that late, and need to pick it up around lunchtime, but will need it until 4:00pm the next day? The hire would be for more than 24 hours, and so you would need to hire it for two days.
We dont have opening hours, we opearate 24 hours a day. So the time you need a car from is irrelevant, and you wouldnt be hiring a car for longer than you need it.
Days out
Whether a Day our with the family, or friends, we can provide you with a driver that will be available to drive you where you want to go, when you want to go there. Now you could always drive yourself, but by being driven removes the hassle of parking for one thing. Maybe your car isnt big enough for the whole family at the same time. Our Mercedes V Class can carry 6 passengers in comfort. With the rear seats set out in conference position, 5 people can sit in the rear facing each other, making for a much more sociable journey. Our desk can provide a surface for children to colour on to keep them entertained, on the journey, or somewhere for up to 4 people to have a picnic lunch together.
When you arrive at the place you will be spending the day, we can take you right to the entrance, and pick you up from there at the end of the day, so there is no need to trapse through car parks, or trying to remember where you parked the car.
Having us deal with the driving, means whoever was going to driver, can have a fun and relaxing day out, while we take care of the stress of things like parking, navigating and other road users.
Special Occasions
We only use executive vehicles for Driver Hire. Travelling in an executive vehicle adds that extra bit of “special” to any occassion. Whether a big birthday or a celebration. Travelling in style can make that special day even more special.
Business Meetings
If you have a day of bouncing between meetings, in a variety of different locations driving between them can eat into your time . Having a driver to drive you from meeting to meeting gives you time to get work done between the meetings. Whether it is catching up on emails, preparing for the next meeting. Our Mercedes V Class if equipped with a desk aswell, to make working on the move that much easier, so you dont have to balance your laptop on your lap.
Events
If you are planning an event, we can provide a service to drive your guests to and from the event. We can drive you guests around to make sure they are where they need to be, when they need to be there, and have a driver on standby at the event to take them back afterwards, no matter what time they want to leave. We will work with you to find out what your requirements and guests needs are. In the past we have provided this service to members clubs who have held functions at their venue before rugby matches at The Principality Stadium. We were booked for 3 hours to provide their members with a free shuttle service from their venue into the city centre for anyone who had tickets to the game.
We can also provide a post event shuttle service to ensure your guests get home safely. Particularly if your event is being held in a location that it may be difficult for them to get a taxi or Uber home. We can either provide a shuttle service from your event to a set location, or we can take them all the way home. Which ever is more suitable for you and your guests needs
Sporting & Music Events
Whether its England v Wales at Twickenham. Cardiff City v Bristol City at Ashton Gate. Boxing at Wembley Stadium. A Concert in Birmingham, or even a West End Show. Driver Hire can be usd to provide luxury travel too and from the event, so you dont have to worry about parking and driving home after the event, or arranging hotels. We can get you home that night.
Point to Point Travel
Although the majority of Driver Hire Bookings are for either a half day or full day beginning or ending in Cardiff. That doesnt mean they we cant meet you outside of Cardiff, and bring you to Cardiff, or drive you to somewhere outside of Cardiff. Journeys such as Airport Transfers, or City Transfers etc.
Many companies provide this service, and the fee for most of these companies will be based on the distance between the pick up location and the destination. When we carry out these type of bookings, our fee’s are based on how long it will take the driver to driver from Cardiff, to the location outside Cardiff, and return to Cardiff again. If this can be done in under 3 hours, it would require a 1/4 day booking. If it would take between 3 & 6 hours, a half day booking would be required. Between 6 and 10 hours, a full day. If the round trip driving time is likely to take more than 10 hours, there would then the additional hours would be charged for. As we include a generous mileage allowance with all hires, it is unlikely that any booking would exceed the mileage allowance, so poviding you with a quote is quick and easy, as there is only a choice of 3 fee’s. This also makes it easy for you to know what the fee would be, before asking. You just need to know how long it would take to drive from Cardiff to the other location. Up to 1/5 hours? 1/4 Day. Up to 3 hours? That would be a half day hire. Up to 5 Hours? Thats a full day.
Airport Transfers
Driver Hire can be used for Airport Transfers. There are extra costs involved in an Airport Transfer such as drop off fee’s and parking. These can vary from Airport to Airport, so to keep things simple, we have set amounts for we add on, regardless of which Airport we are dropping off at, picking up from. For an Airport Drop off, we charge a set £5.00, as this is the amount charged by most Airports in the UK. For an Airport pick up we charge an additional £60.
Airport Pick up’s
This covers all the parking fee’s at the Airport, and we add an additional hour on to the hire duration aswell. So a 1/4 day hire becomes a 4 hours hire, half day becomes a 7 hour hire and full day becomes a 10 hour hire.
When a hire has been made for an Airport Transfer from any airport to Cardiff, we will ask for the flight details. This is so we can track the flight. The hire will begin at the time the driver has to leave Cardiff to get to Airport for when the flight lands. The driver will then be in the arrivals hall of the airport approximately 30 minutes after the flight has landed and will be waiting for you with a nameboard. The end time of the hire will be the booked duration after the driver departs. So for example, if the transfer requires a half day booking, and the driver has to leave Cardiff at 10:00am to arrive at the airport for when the flight lands, the end time would be 5:00pm. If for any reason the driver has not drop you off in Cardiff by 5:00pm, they may request additional payment depending on how much later than 5:00pm the hire actually ends
TV & Film
We are happy to provide a driver for location scouts working in the TV & Film industry. Whether you have a list of places you would like to visit, or whether you would like our assistance in identifying potential locations, we can provide you with a driver to go and see them. Driver Hire can also be used for unit work, where we can provide you with a driver to available to the set all day. Either for cast or crew.
More
This is just a small sample of the situations Driver Hire could be used for. In reality, the list is much longer. Driver Hire is for any time you need a professional driver.
Chauffeur Service
Driver Hire is a more relaxed, less formal Chauffeur service. The word “Chauffeur” to us conjurs up images of drivers in full suit & tie. Often incredibly formal. That is not us. Our drivers are all very well presented, wearing a shirt, trousers and a jacket, but you wont see a tie on the majority of our drivers. Many believe a chauffeur will also only arrive in a top end luxury vehicle. Such as a Mercedes S Class, Rolls Royce, BMW 7 Series etc. We believe it is not the vehicle that makes the chauffeur, but the chauffeur who makes the vehicle.
It will almost certainly be a Mercedes or BMW of some kind. So whilst what we deliver with Driver Hire, is a chauffeur service, in some people eyes we may not, tick all the boxes, so to manage expectations, we do not call ourselves a Chauffeur service. We provide a Driver Hire Service.
With our Driver Hire service, we take all the service levels that would be expected of a Chauffeur, but present them in a more relaxed manner. Think fine dining at a high end restaurant, versus a family run bistro. The food & service will almost certainly be just as good, but their wont be chandeliers and gold cuttlery. Why? Because ultimately, when you go out for a meal, you want good service, and good food. Eating with a gold fork under a crystal chandelier, doesnt make any difference to what is on your plate, or how you are treated. This is approach we take with Driver Hire.
Hire a driver
Too place Driver Hire reservation, choose one of the options below
Hire Durations and MIleage
All Driver Hires come with a generous mileage allowance. The allowance depends on the duration of the hire.
A 1/4 day hire is £125 for up to 3 hours, and has a mileage allowance of 150 miles
A 1/2 day hire is £250 for up to 6 hours and has a mileage allowance of 300 miles
A Full day hire is £420 for up to 10 hours and has a mileage allowance of up to 500 miles
If you believe you will want a driver for more than 10 hours, additional hours can be booked for £45 an hour, up to a maximum of 15 hours in one day.
Point to Point Journey Guide
Should you wish to hire a driver for a Point to Point Journey, the fee for this would be based on the round trip driving time. You can use this as a guide for how long a hire would be required for a number of locations and Airports around the UK
Quarter Day Hire
These locations are typically under 90 minutes drive from Cardiff so would require a 3 Hour 1/4 Day Hire
Cardiff Airport (please note, due to the distance from Cardiff to Cardiff Airport we do not apply any additional drop off or pick up fee’s for a Cardiff Airport Transfer)
Swansea
Bristol
Bristol Airport
Half Day hire
These locations are typicaly between a 90 minute and a 3 hour from Cardiff, so would require a Half Day Hire
Birmingham
London Heathrow
Southampton
Full Day Hire
These locations are typically between 3 and 5 hours from Cardiff, so would require a Full Day Hire
Central London
All London Airports apart from Heathrow
Manchester
North Wales
Cambridge
These timings should be taken as a guide only. Timings may be slightly different at different times or on different days. For example, most of the time, Bristol Airport would require a Quarter Day Booking, however due to typically heavier traffic and increased travel times on Friday afternoons, a half day hire would be required
Additional Information
If the booked hire period is exceeded, the driver may request additional payment directly. We typically allow a 30 minute grace period over the booked time. After this we advise our drivers to request an amount equivalent to £50 per hour for exceeded time.
If you think the hire may exceed the amount of time you are considering booking, we recommend booking the next amount of time. If you believe the hire may go over 10 hours, you can book additional hours in advance
If the mileage allowance is exceeded, the driver may request additional payment directly. We typically allow a grace of around 20 miles over the allowance. After this we advise our drivers to request an amount equivalent to £10 for every extra 20 miles covered. If when placing the booking, you believe the mileage allowance may be exceeded, you can pre-book additional miles in blocks of 50 miles.
All hires must start and end in Cardiff. Driver Hire may be used for a long distance point to point journey that starts of finishes outside of Cardiff., such as Airport or City Transfers. Where the journey finishes outside of Cardiff, and you request to be left outside Cardff, the hire will continue until the driver has returned to Cardiff. If when leaving you, the driver believes the booked hours or mileage allowance may be exceeded by the time they return to Cardiff, they may request additional payment directly. Where you wish to be met outside of Cardiff, the hire period will before at the time the driver leaves Cardiff to arrive at the requested meeting location, by the requested time. Where a Driver Hire is being used for a long distance point to point journey, all timings and mileages will be from the time the driver leaves Cardiff, to the time they return to Cardiff.
Driver Hire is not available on Sundays, unless it is booked for a Point to Point Journey, and is part of a return booking where the other journey is taking place on a different day.