Driver service - their house to mine- is this a thing?

[sydenhamhiller]

Hoping someone might be able to help.

I have tried to Google, but I get fancy limos in the sweet 16/ hen party/ wedding car hire vein!

My parents live in the NW and we live in SE London. They are in their late 70s and over the years the drive has got busier and busier and takes longer and longer, and I was contemplating alternatives.

They are coming down to us for Christmas (for various logistical reasons). I would suggest the train, as that it how I go up to visit them, but with all the train strikes, and mum being a bit frail if there were cancellations etc, I don’t think it’s a great fit.

They were going to break up the journey with a hotel on way down, and hotel on way back… so wondered how much it would cost to hire a driver? Is that a mad idea? (Have been hanging Xmas decorations up all afternoon, might be delirious on Christmas vibes..)

Many taxi companies do long distance as well - you may have wondered how people in the North still manage to fly from Gatwick, now you know

I'm so pleased to be able to explain to you the concepts of 'trains', 'coaches' and 'their own cars', as you seem to be labouring under an odd misapprehension here that the only way to get to Gatwick is to pay someone to drive you.

Definitely worth asking a taxi company for a quote. I used one a few years ago so we could attend a wedding with my wheelchair-user husband without having to try and change stations in London. It's pricey but given the state of the trains at the moment definitely worth thinking about. To save the driver having to cross London, could you meet them at a Thameslink station to the north of London and get them the rest of the way by train?

What about sharing the ride liftshare.com/uk

Local taxi firms were amazing with both of my grandmothers in their final years and my grandmothers lived in totally different bits of the country so I like to think of it as typical.
If you want to do the hotel stop, I'd do local taxi from near them to the hotel and then get a local taxi from near you to go & collect them. It may we worth asking the taxi companies to stop at services and whether that's just for a loo break or for a coffee too. One of my grandmothers used to get sat at a table in Starbucks and the driver would go & get a coffee for her (and him), the other grandmother would get parked in the most scenic bit of the car park so she got a nice view whilst they ate their sandwiches (she made ones for him too (meat obviously as he was a man and had a hard day's work to do!!)).
However, I would question whether the hotel might add too much faff, uncertainty and complexity to the whole thing and if it's easier for them to just come straight to yours.

I was assuming the parents are very NW making the journey a 7 or 8 hour one by car each way?

Yes to a taxi firm who do lots of airport runs. Mum used to do this with my Grandmother - all be it for a shorter journey.

You’ve made your point clear, you can probably go be condescending elsewhere now. I am sure there are many threads which are eager for you to treat them like idiots.

Addison Lee were very helpful when we were trying to avoid public transport when relocating long distance. They also had very reassuring Covid precautions.

Do they need the hotel stop if someone else is driving? Might be easier to organise without the overnight if so. You could arrange a decent stop for a meal break at services with the taxi company.