If you need a taxi now, or your pickup is within the next two hours, call Ash Cabs on 01383 333333. The team can check the journey and confirm any pickup it can offer. The map and online request form help you describe the trip; neither shows live vehicle availability.
For a later journey, the online planner helps you explain where, when and how you want to travel. Separating pickup time, driving time and your arrival deadline makes that request much more useful.
The road duration shown by the planner starts from your selected passenger pickup. It is not a countdown to a driver's arrival and does not include a driver's journey to collect you. Ash Cabs is based in Dunfermline and accepts requests across Fife; a town appearing in the selector is not a promise that a vehicle is already waiting there.
Work backwards from the commitment
Identify the event you cannot miss, then separate the time needed at the destination from the road journey. A train departure is later than the time you should be at the station entrance and ready to reach the platform. An airport flight time is not a suitable taxi arrival target. Use the airline's and airport's own check-in, bag-drop and boarding instructions when planning.
Add the complete itinerary, including passenger collections and planned stops. The calculator combines modelled driving with the stop minutes you enter. For example, thirty minutes of driving plus two planned three-minute stops produces a thirty-six-minute itinerary before any allowance you decide is needed. Use that calculation as a planning outline; actual conditions can alter the journey.
Discuss a sensible pickup with the team when the deadline matters. There is no single buffer that is suitable for every road, weather condition, group or appointment.
Make collections easier to understand
Give the actual entrance and explain anything likely to affect meeting the vehicle. Several passengers coming from different buildings, a large amount of luggage or a gated workplace can need a different plan from one person waiting outside a straightforward address.
- State the number of passengers and the luggage travelling with them.
- List each household or collection point in order.
- Give a contact number that can be answered around the requested time.
- Include entrance, gate or station meeting instructions.
- Explain any assistance or accessibility requirements so the team can discuss suitability.
Requesting six or eight seats does not by itself confirm a vehicle or luggage capacity. The team needs to check what is suitable and available for the actual group.
Know what an estimated arrival includes
The planner's road times do not use live traffic or guarantee conditions on the day. Planned stops are included in the itinerary, but walking to a building, reaching a platform or completing airport procedures is not automatically added. Map data are a dated view of the road network; temporary changes may need a different arrangement.
If the road route cannot be calculated, the team needs to review the journey rather than provide a made-up arrival time. A price estimate and a timing estimate are also different: waiting, parking and tolls need staff confirmation, and entered stop minutes are not a free waiting allowance.
Check the date and tell us about changes
Use UK local time and check the calendar date carefully for journeys around midnight. If you expect to travel home on a later date, explain the return requirement separately. Adding the starting point at the end of one itinerary does not book an independently timed return taxi.
A changed pickup time, extra stop or different vehicle can change the fare and the available arrangement. A trip reaching a day/night pricing boundary may need staff review. Contact the team with your request reference rather than assuming an edited personal plan changes an existing booking.
Choose the right next step
For advance travel, request a planned pickup in Fife with your arrival deadline and entrance notes. Keep the reference and wait for the team's confirmation. For urgent travel or a pickup within two hours, call 01383 333333 to discuss availability. Our station-transfer guide and airport guide can help you prepare the details.
Before you travel.
What does your requested pickup time mean?
Enter the time you want passengers to be ready at the agreed meeting point. This is different from the time you need to reach a station, workplace, appointment or airport. Put a fixed arrival deadline in your notes as well, so staff can consider the complete requirement.
How much notice does each vehicle need?
4-seater — at least 2 hours ahead; 6-seater — at least 2 hours ahead; 8-seater — at least 4 hours ahead. Every request is subject to availability and confirmation by our team.
Is a deposit taken online?
No initial deposit is required with the current pay-at-pickup option. Arrange payment at the start of the ride with the team. Sending a request does not confirm a vehicle. The 8-seater has no initial deposit.