Mobile phone systems for taxi and private hire firms
THE BOOKING LINE RANG.
THE DRIVER WAS ON A JOB.
When the booking number rings one driver's personal mobile, every job depends on that one handset. He is mid-fare, the phone is on the seat, and by the fourth ring the customer has hung up and dialled the next firm in the search results.
ONSIM puts the booking line on the network, natively ON-A-SIM. Hunt groups ring the whole rank at once or in turn, failover passes unanswered calls to the next driver, and timed routing hands the nights to the night shift.
The number belongs to the firm, not the driver - and every call is logged, answered or not.
A missed booking is a booking for the firm next door.
Tailored Phone Solutions for Taxi and Private Hire Firms
Key Features Built for the Rank:
A booking line that lives on the handsets your drivers already carry. No apps, no dispatch hardware to bolt on - the firm's numbers, on the drivers' SIMs, with routing and records behind them. It works the same for taxi firms, private hire operators, chauffeur services and small courier fleets.
A Booking Line That Rings the Whole Rank
One advertised booking number, behind it a hunt group of every driver on shift - ringing simultaneously or in sequence, in an order you choose. The customer never knows or cares which driver picks up; they know someone answered. Hunt groups are included on 2+ user accounts.
Failover When a Driver Is on a Job
A driver mid-fare cannot and should not answer. Failover on busy or no answer passes the call to the next driver, the base, or the duty controller - so a booking never dies in one person's voicemail while the customer rings your competitor.
Timed Routing for Night Shifts
Route the booking number by rota: the office by day, the night controller or duty drivers after dark, a different pattern for weekends and bank holidays. Change it yourself in the dashboard when the rota changes - no tickets, no engineer.
Every Call Logged, Answered or Not
Real-time call logs include attempted calls - outbound calls that rang unanswered. When a customer insists nobody rang them back about the pickup or the bag left on the back seat, you have a timestamped record. Most mobile networks cannot show you this at all.
Recording for Dispute-Prone Calls
Fare quotes, lost property, complaints about a driver - the calls that turn into arguments. On-network call and SMS recording (an optional paid add-on) captures them at network level, with nothing for drivers or controllers to remember to press.
The Booking Number Belongs to the Firm
Drivers come and go; the number every regular has saved must not go with them. When a driver leaves, reassign their number in minutes - to another driver's SIM, a hunt group of the rank or an IVR menu, with incoming texts delivered to email, no SIM required.
"No one answered, so I rang someone else."
Nobody redials a taxi firm. A customer standing in the rain gives you four rings, hangs up, and calls the next number in the search results - and if that firm answers, they save that number instead. A regular who books twice a week is worth hundreds of fares a year, and the whole relationship hangs on whether one call got answered. The booking number is the business; a booking line that depends on one driver's personal mobile is a business that closes every time he takes a job.
It gets worse when that driver leaves. If the number your regulars have saved is his personal mobile, the customer base drives off with him. On ONSIM the numbers belong to the firm: when a driver moves on, the number is reassigned in minutes - to another driver's SIM, a hunt group of the whole rank or an IVR menu, with incoming texts delivered to email, no SIM required. Existing numbers - including mobile numbers your customers already have saved - can be ported in and managed the same way.
For private hire operators there is a records angle too. Operator licensing generally comes with duties to keep records of bookings, and the detail varies from council to council. Timestamped call logs - including attempted calls that rang unanswered - and optional on-network recording give you a contemporaneous phone-side record to sit alongside your booking system. This is not legal or regulatory advice: your licensing conditions are set by your own licensing authority, and what you must keep is a question for them and your advisers.
What our customers say.
" One of the best services I have ever received! "
Mubasher
Small business owner
" Amazing company the service is second to none! Support staff are great and have helped me so much. Really polite and helpful. "
Smith & Sullivan Ltd
Small business owner
" My name is John Morrison I have two businesses and the staff at ONSIM were brilliant.....instant replies and very polite couldn't ask for more from them. Thanks for everything "
John Morrison
Small business owner
Still have doubts?
Our drivers already take bookings on their own mobiles. How do we get that under control?
Two routes, and most firms use both. Drivers get a firm-owned number on a Landline SIM (physical or eSIM), so customers only ever save a number the firm controls. And for numbers already in circulation, existing mobile numbers can be ported in - customers keep calling the number they have saved, while the firm decides whose handset it rings and gains the same logs, routing and optional recording.
What happens to a number when a driver leaves?
You reassign it in the dashboard, typically within minutes - and it does not need a SIM waiting for it. Point calls at another driver's SIM or eSIM, a hunt group of the rank or an IVR menu, and have incoming text messages delivered to email while you recruit. The number never goes dark, and the regulars who saved it keep booking with your firm, not with the driver's next employer.
Can one booking number ring several drivers at once?
Yes - that is a hunt group, included on accounts with 2+ users. Put the advertised booking number in front of a hunt group and every on-shift handset rings, simultaneously or in sequence, in an order you set. First to answer takes the booking; if a driver is mid-fare, the call simply carries on to the next.
How do we handle nights, weekends and the drivers who work them?
Time-of-day routing sends the booking line to the office by day and the night controller or duty drivers after dark, with separate patterns for weekends and bank holidays. Holiday routing covers time off without anyone forwarding a phone. You change all of it yourself in the dashboard when the rota changes.
A customer says we never rang them back. Can we prove we did?
Yes. ONSIM's real-time call logs include attempted calls - outbound calls that rang unanswered - timestamped against the number dialled. When a customer claims nobody called back about a booking, a quote or lost property, the record exists whether or not the call connected. Read why other networks don't log attempted calls.
Does call recording help with fare disputes and complaints?
Fare quotes, lost-property claims and complaints about drivers usually come down to what was said on a call nobody wrote down. On-network call and SMS recording (an optional paid add-on) captures those conversations with nothing for drivers or controllers to press. For licensed private hire operators, recordings and call logs can also sit alongside the booking records your licence requires - though licensing conditions vary by council, so this is not legal or regulatory advice; check your own conditions with your licensing authority.
Do we have to tell customers calls are recorded?
If you enable recording you are responsible for using it lawfully - in practice UK businesses typically inform callers, for example with a short announcement or a line in your terms. Recording is off by default and only enabled if you opt in. See mobile call & SMS recording.
What happens to our office booking line at the PSTN switch-off?
The UK's copper phone network is being switched off, and traditional office landlines will stop working. ONSIM is PSTN-safe: port your booking number to ONSIM and it lives on the mobile network instead - ringing the drivers' SIMs, not a box in the office. See our PSTN switch-off guide.
We cover several towns - can each keep its own local number?
Yes. Each town keeps or picks its own local number - see local numbers for every UK area code - with its own routing and hunt group, all under one account. A SIM can carry more than one number, so the same drivers can answer the Chester line and the Wrexham line, and outbound calls display whichever number fits the job.
What does it cost for a typical firm?
The Landline SIM is £10/user/month + VAT with unlimited UK calls and SMS under fair use, hunt group included on 2+ user accounts, and UK data bundles from £2. A Virtual Landline at £5/month + VAT suits a single booking number forwarded to a mobile. Call and SMS recording is an optional paid add-on - most smaller firms that take it pay £20/user/month + VAT all-in - and AI Insights transcription is a further opt-in add-on. Monthly rolling, cancel any time. Port-in is included on Landline SIM and a one-off £20 + VAT on Virtual Landline.
Flexible pricing plans
Virtual Landline
Start simple - inbound calls forwarded to your mobile
- Inbound calls forwarded to your mobile
- No SIM swap needed
- Pick new landline number or use existing
- Up to 2,500 forwarding minutes/month
- No app, no VoIP
- Cancel any time
Landline SIM
The booking line on every driver's handset
- UNLIMITED UK Calls & SMS**
- Numbers owned by the firm, reassignable in minutes
- Hunt groups, failover and time-of-day routing
- Standard or eSIM
- UK Data Bundles (2GB,4GB,10GB,20GB,40GB @ £2,£4,£6,£8,£10)
- Pick new numbers or port existing
- Cancel any time
- Trusted by 7,500+ UK businesses
Want to speak to our sales team? Call us now on +443338804008
All prices shown are ex VAT
**UK Mins are outbound calls to major (O2, Vodafone, EE and Three) UK mobiles (07), landlines (starting 01, 02, 03) and freephone numbers (0800, 0808). Unlimited call and SMS allowances are subject to our fair usage policy (5,000 mins and 1,000 SMS). Usage outside of these allowances are charged at 5p/min & 5p/sms. By default we only allow calling to inclusive numbers (excluding non-standard 07 numbers) to avoid incurring additional charges. You can request that these restrictions are removed at our sole discretion.