Airport work, told to you straight
We're taking on licensed private hire drivers for pre-booked Bristol Airport work. You need a current private hire driver licence, an enhanced DBS, a medical and a plated vehicle. Most of the money is between 03:30 and 09:00 and again between 20:00 and midnight. Airport runs carry a minimum fare of £35 on the day shift, and you keep your tips.
We won't print an "earn up to" figure, because every operator quotes a good week as though it were a normal one, and a driver who joins on an inflated promise leaves in six weeks. Ring us and we'll talk through what the work realistically pays for the shifts you can cover.
The work
Pre-booked airport transfers, mostly Bristol to the terminal and back. Almost no street work, almost no short hops. Long runs, fixed fares, allocated the day before.
The terms
Self employed. You keep your tips in full. We take a commission from the fare, never from a tip, and there's no weekly rent to find before you've earned anything.
The hours
You pick your shifts a week ahead. The airport money is early and late. If you can't do a 03:30 start most weeks, this particular job won't pay well for you.
Money
What the work pays
Long runs at fixed fares, not a screen full of short hops. Here is what we will put in writing, and what we would rather talk through on a call.
Airport runs carry a minimum fare of £35 on the day shift, so even the shorter city centre jobs are worth doing. Most runs are longer than that, and Bath, Portishead and the far side of the city pay more per job because they take more time.
You are self employed and you keep your tips in full. Our commission comes off the fare only, never off a tip, and there is no weekly rent to find before you have earned anything, so a quiet week costs you nothing in standing charges to us.
What we will not do is print an average weekly wage on a recruitment page. Any figure we published would be an average of very different drivers working very different hours, and it would flatter the page rather than tell you anything useful. Ring the office and we will talk you through what the work realistically pays for the shifts you can cover, with the quiet January and February weeks included rather than left out.
Why there is no earnings table here
Because every operator's "earn up to" figure quotes a good week as though it were a normal one, and a driver who joins on an inflated promise leaves in six weeks. We would rather tell you the real range on the phone, tied to the shifts you can actually work.
What we will commit to in writing is the £35 minimum on airport runs, that you keep your tips, and that there is no weekly rent to pay up front. The rest is a conversation, and an honest one.
How the work reaches you
How jobs are allocated, and what you can turn down
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01
You put your shifts in a week ahead
Tell the office which mornings and evenings you're available. We build the rota around pre-booked work, which we already hold days in advance, so both of us know what's coming.
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Jobs are allocated the evening before
You see the pickup, the destination, the time and the fare before you accept. Nothing lands on your screen at 04:20 as a surprise, because the passenger was told your name at 21:00 the night before.
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03
You can decline, within reason
Decline anything you don't want, we won't punish it. What we do ask is that once you've accepted a named airport job, you do it, because the passenger has your name and a 6:15 flight. Repeatedly dropping accepted airport work is the one thing that ends the arrangement.
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Arrivals work runs off the flight, not the clock
We track the flight number, so a delayed landing moves your pickup rather than leaving you sitting there unpaid. Passengers get 45 minutes free from the actual landing time, and any waiting beyond that is charged to them and passed on to you.
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You're paid weekly
A weekly payment run into your bank account, with an itemised statement of every job and every deduction. Card and account fares are included in the same run.
What you need
The licences, checks and vehicle standards
This is a regulated trade. Most of the list below is set by the licensing council rather than by us, so we can't waive any of it, and nor can anyone else who tells you otherwise.
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A current private hire driver licence
Issued by a council. If you're licensed by a council we don't already work with, ring before you apply and we'll tell you honestly whether it works.
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Enhanced DBS check
Required for the badge, so if you hold a current badge you already have one. Most councils want you on the DBS update service so it can be re-checked without starting again.
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Group 2 medical
From your GP or a licensed medical examiner, to the DVLA group 2 standard. How often it has to be renewed is set by the council and by your age.
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Right to work and English language
Proof of the right to work in the UK, plus whatever English language standard your licensing council sets. Both are checked at the licence stage, and we check them again.
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A licensed vehicle with a plate
Council plate on the back, valid MOT, council test to their schedule, and hire and reward insurance. Ordinary car insurance won't do. Vehicle age limits are set by the licensing council.
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Boot space that fits an airport job
Four passengers with a case each is a normal booking. A saloon with a small boot will cost you work, because we allocate by what actually fits.
The vehicle question
Do you need your own car?
Most of our drivers use their own licensed vehicle. It's the cheapest way to do this if you already have a plated car, because there's no weekly rental coming out before you've earned anything.
If you hold a driver badge but no vehicle, we sometimes have a rental car available. Availability is limited and there's usually a wait, so ring and ask rather than assuming one is free, and we'll tell you the terms honestly on that call.
What we won't do is put you in a rented car at a weekly rate high enough that a slow week leaves you owing us money. If the arithmetic doesn't work for you in January, it doesn't work, and we'd rather say that at the interview than three months in.
On electric and hybrid: the airport run is a long steady route with predictable mileage, which suits an EV well. Check the airport's current charging and access costs before you commit to a vehicle, because those are set by the airport and they change.
The honest part
What this job is actually like, including the bits nobody advertises
Read this before the application form rather than after. A driver who knew what they were signing up for stays, and the ones who leave in a month cost everybody money.
The alarm goes off at 03:15
For a 04:40 city centre pickup you're up at 03:15 and out at 03:50. Most of the good airport money is before 06:00. If you're not a morning person, this is the wrong specialism and no amount of money fixes it.
Waiting is part of the job
Arrivals work means sitting at the terminal while a passenger clears baggage. The free waiting period is free to them, which means it's unpaid time for you. We track flights to cut it down, but we can't remove it.
January and February are thin
Airport work follows the holiday calendar. Mid January to late February is the quiet stretch every year, and a driver who budgets on August money has a hard winter. Put something aside in the summer.
Self employed means all of it is yours
No holiday pay, no sick pay, no pension from us. You handle your own tax and National Insurance through self assessment, and your own insurance, servicing and tyres. Take advice from an accountant before you start.
Some passengers are having a bad morning
People who've slept badly, who are late, or whose flight has been cancelled while they were in your car. Most are fine. The ones who aren't are the reason we ask about temperament at the interview.
The airport has rules and charges
Where you can pull in, how long you can wait, and what the access and car park charges are, all set by the airport rather than by us, and they change. Check the current rates before you rely on them, and we'll go through how they work in our arrangement at the interview.
Apply
Four questions, then a phone call
No CV, no online assessment and no waiting a fortnight to hear back. Tell us where you stand on the licence and the car, and a person rings you.
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01
You send the form
Takes about a minute. We only ask for what we need to know whether there's a conversation worth having.
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02
We ring you back
A ten minute call about your licence, your vehicle, the shifts you can genuinely cover and what you want to earn. If we're not right for each other we'll say so on that call.
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03
You come in with the paperwork
Badge, DBS or update service number, medical, driving licence, vehicle plate, MOT and hire and reward insurance certificate. We copy it, check the expiry dates and put it on file.
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04
You do the run with someone who knows it
Before you take passengers on the airport job you go out with a driver who does it daily. Where to pull in, which door, how the queue behaves at 04:50. We'll talk you through how that shift is paid on the call.
Apply to drive
Four fields. We reply by phone, and we don't add you to a mailing list.
Driver questions
What drivers ask us before they join
How much can I earn driving airport transfers in Bristol?
We don't publish an average weekly wage, because every operator's "earn up to" figure quotes a good week as though it were a normal one. What we will put in writing is a £35 minimum fare on airport runs on the day shift, that you keep your tips in full, and that there's no weekly rent to pay up front. Ring the office and we'll talk through what the work realistically pays for the shifts you can cover.
Do I need my own car?
Not necessarily, but it's cheaper if you have one. Most of our drivers use their own plated vehicle. Rental cars are sometimes available, availability is limited, and there's usually a wait.
Is it commission or weekly rent?
Your choice. Commission is a percentage of the fare with nothing to pay up front. Rent is a fixed weekly amount with no commission after that. Rent suits high hours, commission suits fewer, and you can switch between the two. We'll go through the actual figures on the call.
What licences and checks do I need?
A current private hire driver licence from a council we work with, an enhanced DBS, a group 2 medical, proof of the right to work, and a plated vehicle with a valid MOT and hire and reward insurance. The council sets most of that, not us.
Can I do this part time or around another job?
Yes, and several drivers do. You set your shifts a week ahead. The one thing that doesn't work is being available only in the middle of the day, because that's when there's least airport work to give you.
Do I keep my tips?
Yes, all of them. Commission comes off the fare only, and any card tips are paid through with your weekly payment run rather than held back.
Am I employed or self employed?
Self employed. You choose your shifts and you can decline work, and in exchange there's no holiday pay, no sick pay and no pension from us. You handle your own tax and National Insurance through self assessment.
What if I have a driving conviction or points?
Tell us at the phone call rather than letting us find it. The licensing council makes that decision, not us, and if they've issued your badge with points on your licence we'll talk about it rather than rule you out on the spot.