Taxi company introduction letter to businesses (with a template)

A good introduction letter has one job: to get a business to try you for a month. It doesn't need to tell the whole story of your firm. This guide gives the five parts of a taxi pitch letter in order, the rules for posting it and emailing it, what a business letter has to show by law, and a template with placeholders you can copy. For who to send it to and how to build the list, read our guide on how to get corporate taxi clients.

What should a taxi company introduction letter to businesses say?

A taxi company introduction letter to businesses should say five things, in this order, on one page: their problem, what you do, the proof, the terms and the next step. Anything else goes in the conversation that follows.

The town, the car count and the licence number in the table are examples. Put your own in.

Keep the whole letter under about 250 words. The person who books reads it at their desk between other jobs, so a page with white space gets read and a two-page brochure goes in the recycling.

How do you open with the reader's problem?

Open with a journey the reader already recognises, in their words. "I am writing to introduce our company" tells them nothing. A real journey tells them you understand their day.

• Hotel: a guest who needs the airport for a 6am flight, and a night porter who has to find a car.
• Solicitors: a client who needs to be at court for 10am, with no time to look for parking.
• Warehouse or factory: the late shift finishing after the last bus has gone.
• Care provider: carers who don't drive, starting a shift at 7am across town.
• Garage: a customer dropping a car off for a service who still has to get to work.
• Venue: 300 guests leaving at 11pm, all wanting a car in the same ten minutes.

One sentence is enough. Then move straight to what you do about it.

What proof should you put in the letter?

Put in proof the business can check for itself: your operator licence, your insurance and the checks on your drivers and office staff. A claim like "the best service in town" proves nothing. A licence number does.

Your operator licence. Name the council that licensed you and give the licence number. Any office manager can ring the council to confirm it.

Your drivers. The Department for Transport's statutory standards expect councils to require an enhanced DBS check, with barred list checks, for every licensed driver, and to check for new information every 6 months through the DBS Update Service. So "every driver holds a [council] licence" carries real weight. Check what your own council requires and say that.

Your office staff. The same standards expect operators to have seen a basic DBS check for everyone who takes bookings or dispatches cars. If you've done that, say so.

Your insurance. Say what you hold: hire and reward motor insurance on every car, public liability cover and, if you employ staff, employers' liability insurance. GOV.UK says employers' liability cover must be for at least £5 million. Offer copies of the certificates.

Your records. The standards suggest operators keep each booking's record, from the passenger's name to who dispatched the car, for at least 6 months. That's how you'll answer "who booked this?" three months later, and it's worth one line.

Only put in what you can show. Our guides to DBS checks for operators and taxi business insurance cover the detail.

Should you post the letter, email it or both?

Post the first letter if you can, and email a copy to a company address once you have the name. A posted letter to a named person stands out, and the marketing rules are simpler for post than for email.

The Information Commissioner's Office says the UK GDPR applies when you hold an identifiable person's details, even at work, and that legitimate interests can be a lawful basis where PECR doesn't require consent. It also says people have an absolute right to stop their data being used for direct marketing. So keep a "do not contact" list, and check it before every send.

What must a business letter show by law?

A limited company's letters must show its registered number, its registered office address, where it's registered (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) and that it's a limited company, usually by giving its full name with "Limited" or "Ltd". GOV.UK adds that if you name any director on the letter, you must name them all.

A sole trader trading under a business name must put their own name and the business name on official paperwork such as invoices and letters. If you're a sole trader called Sam Patel trading as Riverside Cars, both names go on the letter.

The same details belong in your email signature. A buyer who looks you up on Companies House and finds the number matches is a buyer who's already halfway to trusting you. Our guide to registering a taxi company covers the choice between sole trader and limited company.

A template you can copy

Change everything in square brackets, and cut any line that isn't true for your firm. Print it on your letterhead, sign it by hand and post it to the person by name.

[Firm name], [address], [phone], [email]. [If a limited company: full company name, company number, registered office address, registered in England and Wales.]

[Date]

[Name], [job title], [business name], [address]

Dear [first name],

When [one journey they book, for example "a client needs the station for the 5.40pm train"], you need a car outside at the time you asked for, and a firm that answers when you ring.

We're [firm name], a private hire firm licensed by [council], operator licence [number]. We run [number] cars in [town] and take bookings from [time] to [time], [days]. Every driver holds a [council] licence, which needs an enhanced DBS check, and everyone who takes bookings in our office has a basic DBS check. We hold [hire and reward motor insurance and public liability cover of £amount]. Copies are enclosed.

For [business name], we'd offer fixed prices for your regular routes, one statement at the end of each month listing every journey with the booker's name and [your purchase order number], and one person to ring here: [name], on [mobile].

Would you try us for a month? I'll drop in a price sheet for your [three] most-used routes on [day], or you can ring me on [number] before then.

Yours sincerely, [signature], [name], [owner], [firm name]

If you'd rather not hear from us again, reply to this letter or ring [number] and we'll take you off our list.

Give the business every way to book, not just the phone number. Dispatch AI is booking and dispatch software for taxi and private hire firms. It answers your phone, WhatsApp, texts and emails, books the jobs at your prices and sends them to your drivers on your own app.

How should you follow up the letter?

Ring three to five working days after it should have arrived. Screen the number against the TPS and CTPS first. Ask three things: did the letter arrive, who else should see it, and which journeys do they book most.

If nobody picks up, drop in the price sheet you promised in the letter anyway. Keeping a small promise is the best proof you'll keep the big ones. Our guide on getting corporate taxi clients has a six-week follow-up plan, and the one on pricing corporate taxi accounts shows how to build the price sheet.

Which mistakes get a letter thrown away?

Seven mistakes send a pitch letter straight to the recycling:

• Starting "Dear Sir or Madam", which tells them you don't know who books.
• Running to two pages, or enclosing a brochure about your cars.
• Listing prices for every journey in town instead of their three routes.
• Claims nobody can check, like "the best taxi firm in the area".
• No next step, or three different ones.
• Writing to the managing director when the office manager books the cars.
• Spelling their name or their company's name wrong.