Private Hire for Women's Groups, Events and Evening Journeys

The facts

What You Know Before the Car Arrives

A pre-booked journey with a licensed operator isn't the same product as a car accepted on the spot, and the difference is entirely in what you have in writing beforehand. Here is what that is with us.

• The fare, agreed in writing. Where fixed pricing applies, the quoted fare is what you pay — not adjusted at the end, not adjusted because of the hour or the traffic.
• The driver's name and the vehicle registration, shared ahead of travel where available, and a photograph where we have one. You know what you're looking for before it turns up.
• A booking reference and a written confirmation, with the pickup point, the destination and the time on it.
• A named pickup point of your choosing. A specific door, a lit corner, a hotel lobby rather than a street. Put it in the notes — no reason needed and we won't ask for one.
• A phone number that reaches a person, before, during and after the journey. Not only an app.
• The details sent to someone else too, if you'd like. Give us a second contact at booking and the confirmation and driver details go to them as well.

And two small things that cost us nothing and are worth having:

• Drivers wait until you're inside. On a drop-off at a home address, the driver stays until you're through the door rather than pulling away as you're finding your keys.
• A quiet journey is a perfectly good journey. Some passengers want to talk and plenty don't. Either is fine, and you never need to say which.

You can check what a licensed private hire operator is, and what the rules actually are, on the Transport for London site. We'd rather you checked than took our word for it.

A straight answer

Can You Request a Female Driver?

You can ask, and we'll tell you honestly whether we can do it for your journey, your date and your area. What we won't do is promise it and then send whoever is available.

The reason is worth stating plainly rather than hiding in terms and conditions: very few licensed private hire drivers in the UK are women. It's a small proportion of the trade nationally, and it means most operators — us included — cannot reliably guarantee a female driver for a specific booking, particularly at short notice or outside the areas and hours where they happen to be working. Any company that guarantees one without qualification is either unusual or is going to disappoint someone.

So: ask when you book, give us as much notice as you can, and we'll give you a straight answer — including "no" if that's the answer, in time for you to make a different arrangement rather than on the day.

What we do either way

Everything in the section above applies to every booking, not to a special category of one:

• Driver name, vehicle and registration shared ahead of travel where available
• A named pickup point of your choosing, with no explanation required
• Booking and driver details sent to a second contact if you'd like
• The driver waiting until you're inside on a drop-off at home
• A conduct standard drivers work to, and a complaints route that reaches a person

Group bookings

Groups, Events and Hen Weekends

Group travel goes wrong in predictable ways: everyone's meant to arrive together and doesn't, the venue changes halfway through the evening, and nobody booked the way home. All three are solved at quote stage rather than at eleven o'clock at night.

What we're usually asked to cover

• Hen weekends — arrivals across a Friday, transport between venues on the Saturday, and a return that's already booked before anyone goes out
• Milestone birthdays and celebrations — multiple pickups, one arrival time, one fare agreed in advance
• Women's network and business events — guests arriving from several directions, sometimes from airports and stations, with a written fare for anyone claiming it back
• Charity walks, runs and fundraisers — early starts, awkward rural start points, and a group that needs collecting from a finish line somewhere else entirely
• Book clubs, social groups and community groups — regular journeys, often the same one, often bookable as a block
• Sports teams and fixtures — 8-seaters where the option applies to your route and date
• Theatre, concerts and days out — fixed start times and a booked return

How to make it work

• Send the whole thing, not the first journey. Dates, venues, how many people, where everyone's coming from. One quote, one schedule, one contact.
• Count the people and the bags. Eight seats and eight overnight bags don't fit in the same vehicle — give us both numbers and we'll size it properly. See group and 8-seater transfers.
• Book the return with the outbound. The late leg is the one that disappears first and the hardest to arrange on the night, and it's the one everyone forgets.
• Nominate one contact for driver updates. A single number stops six people ringing at once from outside a restaurant.
• Tell us if the plan might change. Evenings move. Tell us at booking and we'll explain what flexibility applies. [CONTENT TEAM: state the actual waiting and amendment policy here — it is the most-asked question in this section.]
• Several vehicles can leave together, so a group arrives together rather than over half an hour.

See event transfers for larger bookings, wedding transfers where it's part of a wedding, and executive chauffeur services where the occasion calls for it.

Evenings

The Journey Home

The leg at the end of the evening is the one worth arranging first, because it's the one where the choices are worst: demand is highest, availability is lowest, and nobody wants to be sorting out transport at midnight outside a venue.

• Book it when you book the outbound. Same conversation, same quote, and the fare is agreed while you're not standing in the cold.
• Fixed fares where applicable — the same journey costs the same at midnight as at midday. No surge pricing on a pre-booked journey.
• A named pickup point. Tell us exactly where, including somewhere quieter than the venue frontage if you'd prefer. It's usually faster as well.
• Stagger the returns for a group. Not everyone wants to leave at the same time, and several bookings across the last hour works better than one argument about when to go.
• Regular journeys can be booked as a block. If it's the same trip every week, arrange them together rather than one at a time — less admin and it protects you against availability tightening.

For organisations arranging this for staff, business accounts and invoicing are available — one arrangement, a number to give people, and an invoice at the end of the month rather than expense claims.

Our standard

What Drivers Are Held To, and What Happens If They Fall Short

A conduct standard nobody can read isn't a standard. Here is ours, and what happens if a journey doesn't match it.

• No comment on a passenger. Not on appearance, not on where someone is going or coming from, not as a compliment and not as a joke.
• No personal questions to fill a silence. Weather and traffic are always available.
• No politics, no religion, and no responding in kind if a passenger raises either.
• The agreed route, or the sensible one, and the driver says so if it changes.
• A correction from a passenger is accepted once and applied. No explanation asked for, no debate.
• The journey ends where you want it to. If you'd like to stop at a safe, public place at any point, the driver does that without argument.

If a journey falls short

• Report it with your booking reference by phone, WhatsApp or email. You can report on someone else's behalf.
• You'll get an acknowledgement from a named person within [X working hours], not an autoresponder.
• We review the booking record and speak to the driver, and we don't share your details with them beyond what the booking already contained.
• You get a written outcome within [X working days], including what action was taken. Conduct breaches are dealt with under our driver terms, up to and including removal from RushXO work.
• If our answer doesn't satisfy you, you can take it to the licensing authority that issued the driver's licence. We'll tell you which one applies to your journey and we won't obstruct it.

Booking for someone else

Arranging a Journey for Somebody Else

Plenty of these bookings are made by someone who isn't travelling — an organiser, an employer, a friend sorting out the way home, someone arranging a car for a relative.

• Give us the passenger's name and number as well as yours. The driver contacts them directly; you get the confirmation and the receipt.
• You can pay for it entirely, with nothing to settle in the car.
• Preferences belong to the passenger. A named pickup point, a quiet journey, extra time — put them in the notes and we'll follow them without querying anything.
• Send several journeys at once rather than one at a time, and we'll quote and coordinate them together.

For organisations doing this regularly, business accounts and invoicing take the admin out of it.

Accessibility

Accessibility and Travel Requirements

Requirements vary and so do vehicles, so what we can arrange depends on your specific need, your location and your date. Tell us before booking rather than hoping on the day.

• Step-free or easier access into and out of the vehicle
• A folding wheelchair, walking frame or other mobility aid travelling with you
• Extra time at pickup and drop-off, so nobody is rushed
• Assistance with bags, or to the door
• A carer, companion or family member travelling in the same vehicle
• A pram or pushchair, and child seats — tell us ages and numbers when you book [CONTENT TEAM: state the actual child seat and pushchair policy.]
• A specific drop-off point relative to a particular entrance

Call "020 8888 9988" or message WhatsApp before booking and we'll tell you honestly what we can arrange. See also assisted and door-to-door travel.

Your information

Privacy

• We ask for what the journey needs. Addresses, times, passenger numbers, a contact number. Not the reason for the trip.
• Your driver gets the operational minimum — the booking name, the addresses, the time and any notes you've added as instructions. Nothing else.
• No categorising. Bookings aren't tagged or grouped by anything about the passenger, and nothing carries between bookings unless you ask us to save a preference.
• Home addresses. A saved address can be removed at any time — ask and we'll delete it rather than keeping it for convenience.
• Retention. Booking records are held for [X] as required for accounting and licensing, then deleted. Detail in our privacy policy.

Why pre-book

Why Pre-Booking Makes the Difference

• You know the fare before you travel, in writing, and it doesn't change at the end.
• You know who's coming. Driver name, vehicle and registration ahead of travel where available.
• The return exists. Booked with the outbound, which is the only reliable way to have a car at the end of an evening.
• The pickup point is yours to choose, and it's agreed in writing rather than described over the phone in a noisy street.
• Several vehicles can be coordinated, so a group arrives together.
• Someone else can arrange and pay for it, and can be sent the details.
• There's a number that reaches a person if anything goes wrong.

Journey types

Example Journeys

Examples of journey types — not fixed routes or scheduled services. Everything is quoted individually against its own date, time and addresses.

• Several addresses → one venue, arriving together
• Hotel → restaurant → second venue → hotel, across one evening
• Station or airport arrivals across a Friday for a weekend group
• Home → event → home, booked as a return
• Early start to a rural walk or run, and a collection from a different finish point
• Office → home, the same journey every week at a fixed fare
• Venue → several addresses, staggered across the last hour

Longer journeys between cities via UK-wide private hire; airport legs via London airport transfers; rail connections via train station transfers. If you're arranging travel for someone arriving in the UK for the first time, arriving in the UK covers that.

Booking

How to Book

1. Tell us whether it's one journey or an evening

   A single return and a group across three venues are quoted differently. If it's the second, send the whole shape rather than the first leg.

2. Give us every pickup point and destination

   Including exactly where you'd like to be collected — a specific door, a lit corner, somewhere quieter than a venue frontage. No reason needed.

3. Tell us the times, including the return

   Book the way home at the same time as the way there. It's the leg that disappears first.

4. People and bags, as two numbers

   Both, every time. Overnight bags count.

5. Add a second contact if you'd like

   Confirmation and driver details can go to someone else as well as you.

6. Ask for anything that would help

   A quiet journey, extra time, a child seat, a pushchair, a particular drop-off point — or ask about a female driver and we'll tell you honestly.

7. Confirm the quote

   Where fixed pricing applies, the quoted fare is the fare you pay. Written confirmation with a reference goes to whoever booked.

In summary

Why Choose RushXO?

What we don't claim: we're a private hire company, not a safety service. We can't promise you an outcome and we won't pretend to. What we can do is arrange a licensed driver in a known vehicle at an agreed fare, tell you who's coming before they arrive, and deal with it properly if we get it wrong — and every one of those is something you can hold us to.

13 — Questions

FAQs

Can I request a female driver?

You can ask, and we'll give you a straight answer for your journey, date and area — including "no" if that's the answer, in time for you to make another arrangement. We won't promise one and then send whoever is available. The reason is that very few licensed private hire drivers in the UK are women, so most operators can't reliably guarantee it. Give us as much notice as you can and ask when you book.

Will I know who's picking me up before they arrive?

Where available, yes — the driver's name, the vehicle and the registration are shared ahead of travel, and a photograph where we have one. You'll also have a written confirmation with a booking reference, the agreed fare and the pickup point. If anything doesn't match what you were sent, call us on the number on the confirmation before getting in.

Can the booking details be sent to someone else as well?

Yes. Give us a second contact when you book and the confirmation and driver details go to them too. Plenty of people do this and no reason is needed.

Can I choose exactly where I'm collected from?

Yes, and it's worth doing. Name a specific door, a lit corner, a hotel lobby or somewhere away from a venue frontage, and that's where the driver will be. Put it in the booking notes — no explanation required, and it's often faster than the obvious spot anyway.

Do drivers wait until I'm inside?

On a drop-off at a home address, yes — the driver stays until you're through the door rather than pulling away while you're finding your keys. It costs nothing and it's part of what drivers are asked to do.

Can you cover a hen weekend across several venues?

Yes, and it's easiest as one booking rather than several. Send the dates, the venues, how many people and where everyone's arriving from, and we'll quote the whole thing with one schedule and one contact. Book the returns at the same time — the late leg is the one that disappears first and the hardest to sort out on the night.

Can several vehicles arrive together?

Yes. Tell us the pickup points and the time everyone needs to be there and we'll stagger the departures so the group arrives together rather than spread over half an hour. The same works in reverse at the end of the night, and returns can be staggered so people can leave when they want to.

What if our plans change during the evening?

Tell us at booking that the timing might move and we'll explain what flexibility applies to your booking. Otherwise call or message and we'll do what we can, subject to availability at that moment. [CONTENT TEAM: replace with the actual waiting, amendment and cancellation policy — this is the most-asked question in this part of the page.]

Does the fare change if it's late at night?

No. Where fixed pricing applies, the fare is agreed when you book and that's what you pay — the same journey costs the same at midnight as at midday. There's no surge pricing on a pre-booked journey, which is most of the reason to book one.

Can I book the same journey every week?

Yes. If it's a regular trip, tell us and we'll arrange them as a block rather than one at a time — less admin, and it protects you against availability tightening. For organisations arranging this for staff, business accounts and invoicing are available.

What happens if a driver behaves badly?

Report it with your booking reference by phone, WhatsApp or email — you can report on someone else's behalf. You'll get an acknowledgement from a named person within [X working hours], we review the booking and speak to the driver, and you get a written outcome within [X working days] including what action was taken. Conduct breaches are dealt with under our driver terms, up to and including removal from RushXO work. If our answer doesn't satisfy you, you can escalate to the licensing authority that issued the driver's licence and we'll tell you which one that is.

Are you a women-only taxi service?

No, and we're not going to imply otherwise. We're a private hire company. What we offer is set out on this page — driver details before travel, a pickup point you choose, a fare agreed in writing, a published conduct standard and a complaints route that reaches a person. If you specifically need a women-only service, we'd rather tell you now than take a booking on a misunderstanding.

Can I book on someone else's behalf?

Yes. Give us the passenger's name and number as well as yours — the driver contacts them and you get the confirmation and receipt. You can pay for it in full, so there's nothing to settle in the car, and any preferences they've given you can go in the notes.

How far in advance should I book?

For a group booking or anything with more than one vehicle, as soon as the dates and venues are fixed. For a Saturday evening, earlier than you think — the late returns go first. For a single journey, at least the day before. There's no cost to asking us to check a date.