Who Your Chauffeur Will Be and How They Present

When you find out who is driving

Allocation happens as part of arranging the booking rather than at the moment you enquire, because it depends on the date, the vehicle and the shape of the day. Details of the chauffeur assigned to your journey are confirmed on the WhatsApp thread ahead of travel, which is also where you would receive vehicle details if you have asked for them.

If you would like to know in advance as a matter of course, say so. It is a reasonable preference, particularly for a first booking, for a guest you are hosting, or for a journey where somebody vulnerable is travelling alone. Families arranging travel for an older relative ask for this routinely, and it is never treated as an unusual request.

Dress, and why it is deliberately unremarkable

The convention on British chauffeured work is a dark business suit, a plain shirt and polished shoes, with a tie on formal work. It is not a uniform in the livery sense and it is not meant to attract attention. The point is to look correct in the settings the job passes through: a hotel entrance, a private terminal, a client's reception, a church.

There is a practical dimension too. A chauffeur in a dark suit at an arrivals barrier reads instantly as someone meeting a passenger, which is exactly what you want when you are scanning a concourse with a trolley full of cases. The visual shorthand does real work at the moment you are most tired and least inclined to search for anybody.

• Dark business suit rather than branded livery
• A name board where a meet-and-greet has been arranged
• Doors handled for passengers as a matter of course
• No commentary on where you have been or who you are meeting

What the conduct actually looks like

A chauffeur arrives before you do, confirms the booking and the destination, handles the luggage, opens the door and then leaves you alone unless you start a conversation. They know where they are going before the car moves. They do not take personal calls while you are aboard, and they do not ask about your business.

Small things matter disproportionately. Standing to greet rather than remaining seated, waiting until you are indoors on a late drop-off, and knowing which entrance a particular building actually uses are the details that distinguish chauffeuring from driving. None of them appear on a booking form, and every one of them is noticeable the moment it is missing.

The licensing that sits behind the person

Anyone driving a licensed private hire vehicle in England and Wales holds a driver licence issued by a licensing authority, which involves an enhanced criminal record check including the barred lists, a medical assessment and authority-specific requirements around safeguarding and local knowledge. The badge is carried and the vehicle displays its own licence plate.

You are entitled to see those. Asking is not an insult and nobody legitimate minds, which is a useful thing to know if you are ever uncertain about a vehicle waiting for you. The plate and the badge exist precisely so a passenger can satisfy themselves without having to take anybody's word for it.

Preferences you can register in advance

The notes box on the final step of the journey planner is where preferences about the person as well as the car belong. A guest who does not speak English confidently, a passenger who needs help to the door, an occasion where formality matters more than usual: all of those are worth writing down.

If a previous journey went particularly well, say so and name it by date and route. That is how a preference for the same chauffeur gets recorded against future bookings. It is also the most useful feedback anybody can give, because it describes something specific rather than a general impression.

Plan your chauffeur journey

London Chauffeurs provides itinerary-led private travel for airport transfers, executive travel, private aviation, events and long-distance UK journeys. Availability and pricing are confirmed for the requested itinerary.

Frequently asked questions