One driver, one car, ten years on the road between West Yorkshire and the North’s two airports. This page exists so you know who is collecting you at four in the morning, and why he does it this way.
Imran, in plain Yorkshire English, with no commercial polish on top.
I started in private hire in 2015, working nights for a Leeds fleet. The money was alright, the hours were not. After a few years of being thrown a postcode at half past two in the morning and told to just sort it, I decided I would rather work for myself, on my own terms, with one car I knew inside out.
Now I take pre-booked airport runs only. No rank at Leeds Bradford, no app pinging at me on a Saturday night, no surge on a four o’clock Manchester run when there is a half-term on. If you book me in for Tuesday, the price you see on Tuesday is the price you pay. I quote it in writing, on WhatsApp, before you have committed to anything.
The car is a Toyota Auris Estate, hybrid. I went hybrid in 2018 and never looked back. It is quiet at four in the morning, kind to the wallet on the M62, and the boot has yet to refuse a suitcase. One driver, one car, named in advance. That is the whole offer.
Anyone driving you for hire in Leeds is meant to hold these. Some do, some do not. Mine are listed below and available to see in the cab on request.
Booking records are retained for twelve months under Leeds Condition 15. If you ever need a receipt for an old run, send the date over and I will dig it out.
Toyota Auris Estate Touring Sports · Hybrid · Photographed at LBA
I do not rotate vehicles. This is the only one. It gets valeted between jobs, serviced on schedule, and parked under cover at night.
Leeds Bradford is not a hackney rank. If you do not have a pre-booked car waiting, you are dependent on whichever fleet is shortest at that moment. Pre-booked means I am already in the Free Zone when your wheels touch the runway, with your name on the screen.
A fleet app at four in the morning is a fishing trip. The price moves with the queue. I quote you a fixed figure on WhatsApp before you book. If half of Yorkshire is also flying that day, it does not change your number. That is the entire point.
No app, no fleet, no dispatcher in between. You message me, I reply, we agree the price. Nobody else has your number, nobody else is taking a cut, and nobody is going to ring you at half past three to say the booking has been reassigned.
I collect from anywhere within these six postcode districts. If you are sat outside the patch, send the postcode and I will quote it honestly. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Booked Imran for a 4am run to Manchester from Roundhay. He was on the drive at ten to. Boot took both our cases, a holdall and the pushchair without a shuffle. Quiet car, calm driver, the price he quoted on Tuesday was the price on Saturday.
I do not use apps for airport runs anymore. Too many cancellations the night before a flight. Imran replies on WhatsApp, sends the plate, and turns up. The Auris is spotless. Third trip this year.
My mother is eighty and not a fan of strangers. She has had Imran twice now and tells everyone he is her driver. He carries her case in, waits until she is through the door on the way back. You cannot put a price on that, but he does, in writing.
Yes. Whiterose is a single driver, single car operation. The person who replies to your message is the person who turns up. If you book me three times a year, I will remember the name, the postcode, and the side of the road your front door is on.
If I am ill or the car is in for service, I will tell you the moment I know, and I will arrange a like-for-like replacement with a Leeds-licensed driver I personally trust. You will know the name and the plate before they arrive. I will not hand you to a fleet app.
Two reasons. At four in the morning a petrol engine wakes the street, and a hybrid does not. On a Leeds-to-Manchester run the Auris will do most of the town miles on battery, which keeps the fixed price honest and the cabin quiet. The Toyota hybrid drivetrain is also extremely reliable, which is what you want when the alarm clock is set for half past three.
Send the postcode, the airport and the date. A fixed price comes back, usually within five minutes during waking hours.
Pre-booked only · Leeds City Council Licensed Private Hire