Industry glossary
Forty-nine terms every transfer company owner, dispatcher, and new chauffeur should know — from dispatch jargon to the licence categories and registers that shape how this industry works across Europe.
A pre-booked, fixed-price ride between an airport and a hotel, home, or office. Unlike a street-hailed taxi, the vehicle and chauffeur are assigned in advance, the pickup is scheduled against the flight's actual arrival, and the price is agreed at booking time.
Airport transfer softwareA booking where the client keeps the vehicle and chauffeur for a set number of hours and directs the route as they go, instead of a fixed A-to-B transfer. Usually billed at an hourly rate with a minimum duration (commonly 2–4 hours).
The North-American term for professional chauffeured transport in unmarked premium sedans and SUVs — the equivalent of what European markets call chauffeur, VTC, NCC, or Mietwagen service. "Black car" refers to the discreet, unbranded vehicle, not a specific make.
An embeddable booking form that lets a transfer company take reservations and payments directly on its own website. A good widget quotes a price instantly from the operator's own price list, so the company keeps 100% of the fare instead of paying marketplace commissions.
TransferWidgetThe per-booking data a UK private hire operator must keep before each journey starts — passenger, pickup, destination, fare, driver and vehicle, and in London since July 2024 also who took and who dispatched the booking — retained for twelve months for inspection.
UK software comparisonA professionally trained driver providing premium service: meeting passengers with a name board, handling luggage, opening doors, and driving to a high standard. The distinction from "driver" is service level — chauffeurs are the client-facing face of a premium transport brand.
A standing arrangement where a company books transfers for its staff or guests against agreed rates and receives one consolidated invoice — usually monthly, with net payment terms — instead of paying ride by ride. The backbone of B2B revenue for most chauffeur companies.
Corporate transfer softwareThe French driver's professional VTC card, issued by the préfet and valid five years; renewal requires fourteen hours of continuing training. Individual to the driver — the operating company registers separately in REVTC.
Becoming a VTC operatorThe Dutch taxi driver's card, required for commercial passenger transport in the Netherlands and tied to a conduct declaration (VOG) and medical fitness. The vehicle and company carry their own permits alongside it.
Portugal's TVDE driver certificate: a 50-hour approved course, an IMT exam and group-2 medical checks, valid five years with a nine-hour refresher on renewal. One of the three licensing layers alongside the operator's IMT licence and the vehicle's requirements.
Software de transfersA journey the vehicle makes with no paying passenger on board — typically the return after a drop-off or the run out to a distant pickup. Deadhead kilometres carry full cost and zero revenue, which is why dispatchers chain jobs geographically and price long one-way transfers accordingly.
The process of assigning booked rides to specific vehicles and chauffeurs and managing them through the day — covering last-minute changes, delays, driver swaps, and live progress. In a premium operation, dispatch is where margins are protected or lost.
Dispatch featuresSoftware that centralises bookings, vehicles, chauffeurs, and schedules on one board, so a dispatcher can assign, monitor, and adjust rides in real time. Modern systems add flight tracking, driver mobile apps, client notifications, and invoicing on top of the core board.
See the dispatch boardA local agency that organises transport, activities, and logistics for groups and events on behalf of foreign tour operators and corporate clients. DMCs book transfers in volume, expect net rates, and need itinerary-level coordination across many vehicles and days.
DMC transport softwareThe mobile app a chauffeur uses to receive assignments, see pickup details, update trip status (on the way, on location, passenger on board, done), and capture signatures or photos. It replaces phone calls and paper run sheets, and feeds live status back to dispatch.
TransferCRM Driver appAn organisation's obligation to keep travelling employees and guests safe. In ground transport it translates to vetted chauffeurs, insured vehicles, live trip visibility, and an auditable record of who travelled where and with whom — a frequent requirement in corporate RFPs.
Passing work between operators: farming OUT means giving a booking you can't cover to a partner company; farming IN means executing rides received from other operators or international networks. Both rely on agreed net rates and clear service standards.
Automatic monitoring of a booked flight's live status, so the pickup time moves with the actual landing instead of the schedule. Good systems adjust for early arrivals and delays and alert the assigned chauffeur — eliminating both wasted waiting and missed pickups.
Airport transfer guideThe suitability test UK licensing authorities apply to private hire operators and drivers — criminal-record, conduct and business-integrity checks that condition granting and renewing a licence.
The Italian NCC service sheet documenting each job: vehicle, driver, times, kilometres and client. The obligation covers the contents; the centralised electronic format remains in flux after the courts annulled the 2024 implementing decree.
Opening an NCC businessA staff member who meets passengers inside the terminal — at arrivals, with a name board — and walks them to the waiting vehicle. Used for VIP services, large groups, and airports where vehicles cannot wait at the kerb.
An optional or pre-agreed tip for the chauffeur, either left to the passenger or added to the invoice as a fixed percentage. Corporate contracts often prefer an "all-inclusive" price with gratuity built in, so travellers never handle payment in the car.
The UK licence category for taxis proper: vehicles that may ply for hire — pick up street hails and wait at ranks — with a taximeter and regulated fares. The counterpart to pre-booked-only PHV work.
The Spanish VTC route sheet: the per-service record — origin, destination, times, vehicle, contract details — whose data must be reported electronically to the state RVTC register before every ride begins.
Software VTCThe German operating licence for Mietwagen and taxi companies, granted by the local licensing authority for at most five years. Rests on three pillars: personal reliability, financial capacity and professional competence (IHK exam).
The Mietwagen licence guideThe gap between when a booking is made and when the pickup happens. Premium transfer work is mostly pre-booked with hours or days of lead time — the opposite of on-demand ride-hailing — which is what makes careful dispatch planning possible.
An arrival service where the chauffeur or a greeter waits inside the terminal with a name board, helps with luggage, and escorts the passenger to the car. Typically includes a defined amount of free waiting time after landing and is priced as part of the transfer.
The German licence category for pre-booked chauffeured transport ("Mietwagenverkehr" under §49 of the Passenger Transport Act). Unlike taxis, Mietwagen companies may only carry out pre-booked rides and are subject to the return-to-base rule (Rückkehrpflicht).
Mietwagen softwareItaly's licence category for chauffeured hire — "rental with driver". NCC operators work on pre-booked rides from a registered base (rimessa) and document each job on a service sheet (foglio di servizio), distinct from the taxi licence system.
Software NCCA net rate is the operator-to-operator or operator-to-agency price before any commission or markup; the gross rate is what the end client pays. Partner work (farm-in/farm-out, DMCs, hotels) is quoted net; direct bookings are gross.
A booking where the passenger never appears at the agreed pickup. Professional terms define when a job becomes a chargeable no-show (e.g. after the included waiting time expires and contact attempts fail) — protecting the operator from absorbing the full cost.
A marketplace selling travel products — including airport transfers — to consumers (e.g. Booking.com). OTAs deliver volume but take commission and own the customer relationship, which is why operators balance OTA work against direct bookings via their own site and widget.
The UK licence category for pre-booked passenger transport. Every PHV ride must be booked through a licensed operator — no street hails — with the operator, driver, and vehicle each holding a licence from the local authority (in London, TfL).
Private hire booking softwareA fixed-price ride from a defined pickup to a defined drop-off — the standard product of transfer companies. Priced from a rate table (zones, distance bands, or a price-per-km formula) rather than a running meter.
Colloquial name for the German passenger-transport driving permit (§48 FeV): minimum age 21, two years of category B, medical and eyesight checks, valid at most five years. Every chauffeur needs one alongside the company's Konzession.
The Mietwagen licence guideOffering transport to passengers on the spot — cruising for hails or waiting at ranks. Reserved to licensed taxis in most European regimes; pre-booked categories (PHV, VTC, NCC, Mietwagen) are barred from it and must prove each ride was booked in advance.
The common core of Europe's chauffeured-hire regimes: every ride must be reserved before pickup, through the operator's registered channel. The timestamped booking is the legal evidence at a roadside check — and the reason a booking system doubles as a compliance record.
How bookings workThe chauffeur's job sheet for a shift or single ride: times, addresses, passenger name, flight number, vehicle, and special notes. Once paper, now typically delivered through the driver app, with status updates flowing back automatically.
France's national register of VTC operators. Companies (not drivers) enrol electronically for five years, showing insurance and financial standing of €1,500 per vehicle; operating without registration is a criminal offence with penalties up to three years and €45,000.
Becoming a VTC operatorThe Italian NCC garage base: an operating seat with at least one rimessa in the authorising municipality is a condition of the licence, and bookings are formally received there. Return after every single ride is no longer required when consecutive bookings exist.
Opening an NCC businessGermany's return-to-base rule for Mietwagen: after each ride the vehicle returns to the registered seat — unless a new order demonstrably arrived before or during the trip. The documented timestamp of order receipt is what makes a follow-on ride lawful.
Mietwagen softwareSpain's state register of VTC service communications: since February 2022 every ride must be reported electronically before it starts, carrying the route-sheet data. It enforces pre-contracting and territorial limits — and makes structured booking data a legal necessity.
Software VTCPortugal's national register of tourist animation activities, kept by Turismo de Portugal. Agencies and animation companies operate on an RNAAT entry, which in practice frames part of the tourist-transfer market alongside the TVDE regime.
Portugal's regulatory framework for pre-booked passenger transport in uncharacterised vehicles ("Transporte Individual e Remunerado de Passageiros em Veículos Descaracterizados"). Covers both platform work and, in practice, the licensing context around premium transfer operations.
Software de transfersThe Dutch company-level taxi permit required to carry passengers commercially, alongside the driver's chauffeurskaart and the vehicle's on-board registration equipment. The Netherlands regulates street/rank work and pre-booked work as distinct markets.
Taxi software (NL)The French (and Spanish) licence category for chauffeured transport. VTC drivers hold a professional card, companies register in the national registry, and rides must be pre-booked — VTCs may not pick up street hails or wait at taxi ranks.
Logiciel VTCTime the chauffeur waits beyond the agreed pickup moment. Airport transfers usually include a free allowance after landing (e.g. 45–60 minutes, tracked against the actual arrival); beyond that, waiting is billed per started period at a published rate.
The per-vehicle extract of a Polish passenger-transport licence that must travel in the car and be shown at a road inspection. Passenger cars and 7–9-seat vans require two separate licences — each with its own extracts.
Oprogramowanie dla przewozu osóbPricing transfers from a table of predefined areas — airport to city centre, airport to a resort zone — with one fixed price per vehicle class, regardless of exact route. Predictable for clients, fast to quote, and easy to publish in a booking widget.
Pricing plansBookings, dispatch, drivers, invoicing — one calm system, in 10 languages.