At Personal Class Travel, for a while we have not accepted cash as a form of payment. We have required payment in advance or on account. This has inevitably resulted in a slight reduction in the volume of bookings being placed. This is something we have not had a problem with. We have never wanted to appeal to the mass market, and have instead concentrated on delivering exceptionally high levels of service and reliability to our Driver Share Club Members.
However many people are simply looking for a more budget friendly way to get around Cardiff. To cater to those for who cost is more important that service, we are introducing Personal Class Travel Lite. Where the Personal Class Travel ethos will have a slightly more budget friendly rate.
With Personal Class Travel, all bookings are fixed fare, paid in advanced or on account. The fare payable is based on the predicted time and distance of the intended journey and the main factor in the cost is the amount of time the journey is predicted to take.
With Personal Class Travel Lite, the fares will be at a slightly lower than Personal Class Travel, with the main factor being the distance of the journey. All journeys will be metered, meaning the final price will be based on the length and duration of the actual journey carried out. Also payment can be made with cash or card direct to the driver at the end of the journey.
Personal Class Travel Lite, does come with some minor compromises, to mitigate for the lower, more budget friendly rate however. These are;
- All bookings must be no more than 25 miles
- Bookings must be within 24 hours of the booking being made.
- Bookings made more than 2 hours in advance, will require a non-refundable £5.50 deposit to be paid at the time the booking is placed.
- There is no free waiting time included with Personal Class Travel Lite. You may be charged from the moment the driver arrives at the pick up location.
- Personal Class Travel Lite bookings will be assigned based on driver availability at the time. As such we can not guarantee times for advanced Lite bookings, and the driver may arrive up to 15 minutes before or after the booked time
- It may take up to 60 minutes for driver to arrive for an immediate Lite booking. We wont wont take Lite bookings if the wait is longer than 60 minutes and will tell you on the phone if it is likely to be more than half an hour.
- Where a Driver Share Club member makes a Lite booking, they will be assigned the nearest driver which may not be their primary or back up driver.
- Driver details will not be provided for Personal Class Travel Lite bookings until the driver is on route to the pick up location.
- Personal Class Travel Lite bookings will not be undertaken between the hours of Midnight (10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday Nights) and 6:00 am unless a Driver Share Club Member.
- All Personal Class Travel Lite bookings must begin within Cardiff Council Boundaries.
- Bookings must be placed via phone or Whatsapp message during our office hours. We are unable to take Lite bookings via our website or app.
- Lite bookings are only available for a Standard Car, licenced for 4 passengers.
Guest’s can choose to make a Lite booking and pay the driver at the end of the journey, or make a normal booking at full rate and which will be payable at the time of booking.
Personal Class Travel Lite is also available to all Driver Share Club Members. Members can choose to make the one off or occasional bookings and have the final fare charged to their account, or can have their membership changed to the new Lite membership. Where a Lite members booking does not meet the criteria above, full Personal Class Travel rates and terms will apply and be charged.
Lite Membership
A free Lite Membership, give’s you an account facility for up to £75.00 per week. All you have to do is provide us with details for a credit or debit card in your name. Then any bookings you place, will be invoiced weekly and charged to your card automatically. If you go over your £75.00 per week limit, you can either pay the driver at the end of your journey for new bookings, clear your balance, or pay in advance for your travel at full rates.
How does Lite Membership compare to other Levels of Membership
| Feature | Membership Level | |||
Lite Membership | Personal Membership | Group Membership | Personal Class Membership | |
Fare | Metered | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed 15% Discount |
Primary Driver | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Account Facility | Up to £75.00 | Unlimited* | Unlimited* | Unlimited* |
Free Waiting Time | No | 10 Min | 10 Min | 15 Min |
Journeys over 25 miles on Account | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Make Bookings for Vehicles above Personal Class | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Authorise Other People to charge Bookings to the account | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Make bookings for other people | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| *Personal Class Travel Ltd reserves the right to refuse bookings on account if the Members Balance is deemed excessive at the time, or the fare is unusually high | ||||
Personal, Group and Personal Class Members can make Lite bookings on their account at any time upon request.
How does Personal CLass Travel Lite compare with Personal Class Travel?
The main difference is how prices are calculated. With Personal Class Travel the cost of a journey is determined using the following formula. Booking Fee + Time + Distance. Time is £0.90 per minute, Distance is £0.25 per mile, and the booking fee is from £6.00 for a standard vehicle. Our software uses Google Maps to determine the distance of the optimum route and a predicted time of the journey. It then multiplies the number of miles by 0.25, the predicted time in minutes by 0.9 and adds on 6 to give a cost, with a minimum fare of £7.50. This is then set, and so long as their are no changes to the booked journey, the price does not change. This is known as a Fixed Fare, which is either paid for in advance, or is charged to a Driver Share Club Members account.
With Personal Class Travel Lite, all fares are calculated by a meter, and will depend on the actual journey carried out, regardless of what is booked. The way the final fare is also calculated is different. Lite bookings are charged at £4.25 for the fist mile, then £1.75 for every subsequent mile + £0.25 per minute, with a minimum fare of £5.50.
Waitiing Time differences
The other difference between Personal Class Travel and Personal Class Travel Lite is waiting time. Personal Class Travel gives Guests, Personal Members and Group Members 10 minutes free waiting time, and the driver will wait for a minimum of 15 minutes. Personal Class Members get 15 minutes free waiting time, and the driver will wait for a minimum of 30 minutes. With Personal Class Travel Lite, there is no free waiting time. Charges may be incurred from the moment the driver arrives at the pick up location. The driver will wait a for between 5 and 10 minutes for a Lite booking,
Punctuality
As all Lite Bookings will be assigned depending on driver availability at the time, we are unable to guarantee any times. Where an advanced booking is made, the driver may arrive up to 15 minutes either side of the booked time, and charging time may be incurred from the moment they arrive, even if that is 15 minutes early. As such, if you need to be somewhere at a particular time, such as to catch a train or for a meeting, we recommend using Personal Class Travel, instead of Lite. If however you have flexibility about when the driver arrives Personal Class Travel Lite could be perfect for you. Just make sure you are ready 15 minutes before the booked time, to avoid any waiting time charges.
How do the prices compare?
When introducing a budget friendly rate, it is important know how it compares to our standard rate, and the competition. The table below shows the costs of a number of journeys starting in Cardiff when booked with Uber, Personal Class Travel Lite, Personal Class Travel Member and Guest rates, and Personal Class Membership discounted rates
| Start | Destination | Uber | Lite* | Guest / Personal / Group Membership | Personal Class Membership |
| Mill Lane | Mermaid Quay | £5.12 | £6.18 | £12.65 | £10.75 |
| Mill Lane | Barry Waterfront | £17.75 | £23.67 | £30.24 | £25.70 |
| Mill Lane | Llandaff Railway Station | £10.93 | £14.72 | £23.53 | £20.00 |
| Mill Lane | Sainsburys Thornhill | £13.19 | £18.50 | £28.41 | £24.15 |
| Cardiff Central Station | Penylan Road | £8.43 | £10.79 | £20.14 | £17.12 |
| Sophia Gardens | Cardiff Golf Club | £12.02 | £14.86 | £24.55 | £20.87 |
| Hilton Hotel | Village Hotel | £10.20 | £13.81 | £22.63 | £19.24 |
| Principality Stadium | Lewis Arms, Pentrych | £14.37 | £21.93 | £30.56 | £25.98 |
| Whitchurch Golf Club | Wenvoe Golf Club | £16.50 | £28.82 | £25.01 | £21.26 |
| St Fagans Museum | Tongwynlais | £18.43 | £27.27 | £25.13 | £17.61 |
| Mill Lane | Aberdare | £4.59 | £55.64 | £53.52 | £41.72 |
| Cardiff Museum | Blackwood | £34.00 | £41.23 | £43.39 | £10.28 |
| *Prices mentioned are approximate prices as actual fare will be determined by a meter | |||||
| All prices stated above are midweek evening journeys on 23rd Sept 2021, with no waiting time. The above prices should not be taken as a quote for any future bookings as rates may change at any time without notice | |||||
As you can see, Personal Class Travel Lite estimated prices are lower than Personal Class Travel rates, even when Personal Class Member discount has been applied. Whilst higher than Uber, it is still competitively priced. The important thing to remember is Ubers Dynamic Pricing means that whilst their non surging fares are low, they can climb to as much as 3 times the normal amount almost instantly. Where as neither Personal Class Travel or Personal Class Travel Lite rates have Dynamic Pricing, and stay consistent at all times, apart from increases over night and on weekends.
How to make a Lite booking
We can not currently take Lite bookings through our website or our app. If you would like to make a Lite booking, this can be done by phoning us on our office number 029 2268 0850 or sending us a Whatsapp message to 07537 127 310, during out office hours,
Our office hours are;
- Monday – Closed
- Tuesday – 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
- Wednesday – 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
- Thursday 9:00 am to 10:00 pm
- Friday 9:00 am to 10:00 pm
- Saturday 10:00 am to 10:00 pm
- Sunday – Closed
For more information about Lite Bookings or to take out a Lite Membership, you can contact us on the numbers above, or email booking@personalclasstravel.com