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I am looking for the best option and I found a website https://www.londondrivers.com/southampton-london/ and the price is 105 GBP ... Is this price correct?

EDIT ADDED from comment posted as answer:

We need a taxi from the Ocean Cruise Terminal because we will have a lot of luggage and a service door to door is what I am looking for

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    Why do you want a taxi? Surely a train would be quicker and cheaper?
    – Gagravarr
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 23:18
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    The most critical part of your question is: to where in London? And you left that part out. Inside the M25 can be up to 1/3 of your price quote. Unclear what you're asking. Close voted.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 0:46
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    Both cities are quite large, London especially. This makes a HUGE difference depending on where you're going.
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 3:17
  • Mike, I have editted your additional information into your original question, which is what you should have done. Stack Exchange is not a normal forum, but a single question followed by answers. If you wish to add information, please edit your original question.
    – CGCampbell
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 14:03
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    Why is this being upvoted? The difference between Marble Arch and Charing Cross is at least GBP 10. And there's Brixton, Battersea, Wood Green, Primrose Hill, etc etc. Where's the destination?
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 14:53

5 Answers 5

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Lots of helpful suggestions, but no-one has yet answered the specific question of what is a reasonable price for this journey.

£105 sounds surprisingly cheap for such a long distance taxi from London.

Popular London taxi firm Addison Lee quote around £250 - they're not the cheapest, but their prices are usually pretty competitive. For a regular taxi firm, £250 isn't surprising to me at all (I was expecting around £230).

Crowdsourced taxi site/app Uber, which is usually the cheapest option, quotes £104-£139 for their smallest, cheapest cars [Uber won't actually book inter-city journeys, as Ankur Banerjee points out, but their quotes give an indication of plausible prices].

£105 is cheaper than three people taking an off-peak train (£39.50 each), and London-based taxis are notoriously expensive - it can easily cost £50 just to get from one side of London zone 2 to the other.

Long-distance taxis are particularly expensive since you're not just paying for your journey, but also for the (usually empty) cab driving back to base after dropping you off. As well as the driver's time this includes double the fuel (which is expensive in the UK) and all the business they missed out on while driving back to base. If they get stuck in traffic, if you don't show up, if you're very late or if you do a runner, it's much more disruptive than for a short journey. Expect them to want at least part of the payment up front.

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    FYI, Uber might give a quote but it won't actually travel to different city. You can find out Uber's operational areas for London on their site. Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 18:23
  • Ah, didn't know that, thanks for the tip! I'll leave the quote in as it provides context Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 18:25
  • Agree that £105 seems cheap - you're certainly not being overcharged. Commented Mar 16, 2015 at 15:55
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Your best bet would be to contact Southampton based firms directly. Local taxi firms include Radio Taxis and West Quay Cars. I've used both for local journeys in and around Southampton. When I've been on trips abroad with work we've always used English Rose to get to/from the airport, and have been very impressed. Even when we arrived 8 hours late at 5am they were there waiting for us.

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    +1 but be sure to negotiate it well in advance. Many companies will refuse such a long distance trip - suppose they drive all the way to London and you don't show up? They've lost a day's business and a lot of fuel money. Expect to pay a large part of the price up-front as a deposit. If you can find a Southampton company who is willing, I'm sure they'd be cheaper than a London company (but London companies are probably more accustomed to such requests) Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:20
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For long distance taxi hire within the UK, there isn't usually a published rate. A lot of private hire and taxi sites exist (none very user friendly) and a lot of what you actually pay in the end depends on what you can negotiate with a driver - because a lot of them have standard rates on paper, but say if you have a return journey or repeat customer, they'll be happy to negotiate lower fares.

That said, like Gagravarr commented, a train will be cheaper, quicker, and less hassle.

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we will have a lot of luggage and a service door to door is what I am looking for

Define "a lot of luggage". The referenced website has a Minibus, 8 people / 8 large cases for 50% more so you are now looking at £150+.

It's a long trip, and "a lot of luggage" in England isn't going to move cheaply. You could try a delivery service like DHL, assuming they have a counter at the cruise terminal. Otherwise, it's going to be rather expensive.

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    I think the point is, they've got enough luggage that they don't want to hike it around town on and off of trains etc. I take "door to door service" to mean they're looking for premium convenience (not freight and haulage!) Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:25
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    "A lot of luggage" is highly subjective. I define it as more than 2 large and 2 small bags per person, as one person can handle that much if they put some effort into it.
    – paul
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 23:56
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Checker Cars, based at Southampton Airport, charge about £105 Heathrow to Southampton, and about £140 central London to Southampton, any time, any day. They operate some Ford Galaxies and Vauxhall Zafira Tourers, both of which are luggage-eaters.

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    Is this your company?
    – JoErNanO
    Commented Dec 17, 2015 at 20:58

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