Taxi company phone system: what number and set-up do you need?

The phone number is the one thing a taxi firm keeps for as long as it trades. It goes on the cars, the cards, the website and your Google listing, and regulars save it for years. This guide covers which number to choose, whether to run the office on a landline, a mobile or a VoIP phone system, what callers hear when you're busy, the rules on call recording, and how to keep your number when you move or switch provider.

What phone number should a taxi firm use?

A local 01 or 02 number is the best choice for a taxi firm. Ofcom says geographic numbers are linked to a specific area through the area code, so a local number tells callers you're a local firm. Google's own guidelines for business listings say to use a local phone number instead of a central call centre helpline whenever possible.

Here's what each type of number costs the caller, from Ofcom's call costs guide:

There's a legal reason to avoid 084 and 087 numbers too. Regulation 41 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 says that where a trader runs a phone line for consumers to contact it about contracts they've made, the consumer must not be bound to pay more than the basic rate. A passenger ringing about a booking they've already made is exactly that call.

Is a local phone number or an 0800 number better for a taxi firm?

A local phone number is better for most taxi work, because people booking a taxi want a firm near them. An 0800 number is free for the caller, which Ofcom made the rule for mobiles as well as landlines on 1 July 2015, but you pay for the calls instead, and an 0800 number says nothing about where you are.

An 03 number suits a firm that covers several towns and wants one number for all of them. Ofcom says 03 calls cost no more than calls to 01 or 02 numbers and must count towards inclusive minutes in the same way.

Whichever you pick, own it. Google's guidelines say the number on your Business Profile must be under the direct control of the business. Don't let a web designer, an advertising agency or a call centre hold the number your regulars ring. If you part company, the number has to stay with you. More on the listing itself is in our guide to Google Business Profile for taxi firms.

Should a taxi firm use a landline, a mobile or a VoIP phone system?

A VoIP phone system suits a taxi office best once you have more than one person answering, and a mobile is fine for the first weeks. The old copper landline is going anyway. The government says all UK landlines need to be upgraded to digital by January 2027, and over two thirds have already moved to internet calling.

Power is the catch with any digital line. Ofcom says digital landlines need mains electricity and won't work in a power cut unless there's a battery back-up, and where a provider must offer back-up, it has to last at least one hour. For a taxi office, the answer is a charged mobile in the drawer and the codes to divert the line to it.

The good news from Ofcom: when your landline moves to digital, you can keep your phone number.

How many calls can your phone system take at once?

A single line takes one call at a time. The second caller hears the engaged tone and rings someone else. That's fine for a one-car firm and a problem by the third car.

There are three ways to take more:

• Call waiting. You hear a beep and can switch between callers, but it's still one person talking.
• A hunt group. Several phones share one number. On BT's Digital Voice for Business, a hunt group set to ring all phones at once connects the first person to answer, and if everyone is already on a call, the new caller hears a busy tone.
• A call queue. Callers hear a message until someone is free. A queue works for a minute at a busy time. At 2am with nobody in the office, it's just a recording.

Count your calls by hour before you buy anything. Our guide to missed calls in a taxi office shows how to read your provider's call log.

What happens to a call when nobody answers?

Nothing good, unless you've set a call divert. Without one, the caller hears ringing or a voicemail greeting and books with another firm.

The divert timing is set by your phone provider, not by you. BT's help pages say the no-answer divert on a standard business line (code \61\) sends on calls not answered within 15 seconds. Vodafone's business landline uses the same 15 seconds. The busy divert (code \67\) sends calls on when your line is engaged, without waiting, and the all-calls divert (code \21\) is the one for nights. A BT Digital Voice hunt group lets you set the wait yourself, between 5 and 30 seconds. Our guide to taxi call overflow has the full list of codes and what each costs.

The divert has to send the call somewhere that can book a job. That's you on a mobile, a second person, an answering service that books into your system, or an AI phone agent. Dispatch AI's phone agent answers your booking line when your office doesn't, quotes your own fixed prices and books the job into your Dispatch AI account. We put it on the calls your office can't answer, when the line rings out and overnight, or on your whole booking line if you'd rather. You choose the hours, and it works by a call divert on your own line. Night cover options are compared in covering nights without a night controller.

Can a taxi firm use call recording?

Yes, if you tell callers you're recording and why. The ICO says that when you record calls, you must tell the people on the call that you're recording and why, and that a recorded message is good practice. You can give the rest of your privacy information, such as how long you keep recordings, by email or a link on your website.

Two more rules apply:

1. Making reasonable efforts to tell people. Under regulation 4 of the Investigatory Powers (Interception by Businesses etc. for Monitoring and Record-keeping Purposes) Regulations 2018, recording on a business's own phone system is only authorised if the business has made all reasonable efforts to inform every person who may use the system that calls may be intercepted. A short greeting does that for callers. Tell your staff in writing.
2. Keeping them in London. Regulation 16 of TfL's private hire operator regulations says a London operator that records a booking call must keep the recording for 12 months, the same period as the booking record itself.

Outside London, councils set their own record rules. The Statutory Standards suggest keeping booking records for at least 6 months, and some councils want longer. Our guide to operator record keeping has the detail.

The ICO also says it isn't usually proportionate to record the content of calls in all cases, but that a business could record calls where it's necessary to provide evidence of business transactions. Checking a pickup address or settling a dispute about a booking fits that. Write your reason down in your privacy notice.

Can you keep your number if you switch provider or move office?

Usually, yes, if you ask. Ofcom says you can usually keep your phone number when you switch provider, for landlines and mobiles. If you've already cancelled, you can still ask to keep your number for free within one month of cancelling. Ofcom also says any loss of service during a switch must not last longer than one working day.

Moving office is the harder case. A geographic number belongs to an area code, so moving within the same town is normally simple, and moving to another area may not be. Ask your provider before you sign a lease. A VoIP phone system can make this easier, because the number isn't tied to a socket on the wall.

Never cancel your old service before the new provider confirms the number has moved. To keep your number, ask the new provider to port it, and don't let the old contract lapse while you wait.

How do you set up the phones for a new taxi firm?

You can set up the phones for a new taxi firm in a day:

1. Get a local number in your firm's name, on an account you control.
2. Choose the system: a mobile for the first weeks, a VoIP phone system once two people answer.
3. Record a greeting with your firm's name, and a line saying calls are recorded if they are.
4. Set the call divert for busy and no answer, and the all-calls divert for nights.
5. Decide where diverted calls go: you, a second person, an answering service or a phone agent.
6. Ring your own number from another phone: once normally, once while the line is busy, once at night.
7. Put the number everywhere, the same way: cars, cards, website and your Google listing.

Then check your provider's call log every week for the first month. A new firm that loses calls in week one rarely finds out why. Your first 90 days puts the phones into a week-by-week plan.