Glossary

Taxi and private hire terms, explained.

The words UK cab offices use every day, from PHV and plate to plot, settlement and rent. Where it helps, each entry says how DispatchMe handles it. Licensing terms are general information; your licensing authority has the final word.

Licensing and the law

Private hire vehicle (PHV): A licensed vehicle built or adapted to carry fewer than nine passengers that can only be hired by booking in advance through a licensed private hire operator. It cannot be hailed in the street or wait for fares at a rank. In London, PHVs are often called minicabs.
Minicab: The everyday name for a private hire vehicle, most common in London. A minicab is pre-booked through an operator, unlike a black cab, which can be hailed.
Hackney carriage: The legal name for a taxi. A hackney carriage can be hailed in the street or hired at a rank as well as booked in advance. It is licensed by the council, or by TfL in London, and the licensing authority can set the fares it may charge.
Plying for hire: Offering a vehicle for immediate hire by the public, for example by waiting at a rank or picking up someone who hails it. Only hackney carriages may ply for hire. The exact meaning comes from case law rather than a statutory definition.
Private hire operator: The business that accepts bookings for private hire vehicles and sends drivers to them. Every private hire journey must be booked through a licensed operator.
Operator licence: The licence a private hire operator needs to take bookings. In London it is issued by Transport for London; elsewhere in England by the district or unitary council. It lasts up to five years. Our guide to the operator licence.
Licensing authority: The body that licenses taxis and private hire: Transport for London in London, and the district or unitary council everywhere else in England. Each authority sets its own fees and licence conditions.
Same-authority rule: Outside London, a private hire operator, the drivers it dispatches and their vehicles must all be licensed by the same council. Drivers and cars licensed elsewhere cannot do the operator's work directly, though jobs can be subcontracted to another operator.
Fit and proper person: The test a licensing authority applies before granting an operator or driver licence: whether it is satisfied the person can be trusted to hold it. Authorities look at criminal records, conduct and how the business will be run.
Plate: The licence plate or disc a licensing authority issues for a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle to display, usually showing its licence number and expiry. A licensed car is often called a plated car, and the vehicle licence itself is often just called the plate.
Badge: The identity badge a licensing authority issues to a licensed taxi or private hire driver, to be worn or displayed while working. Drivers often call their driver licence their badge.
Booking record: The record an operator must make of each booking before the journey starts. In London it includes the booking date, customer name, pickup time and place, main destination, any fare quoted, the driver and the vehicle, and is kept for 12 months. Outside London the council sets what goes in it and for how long. How DispatchMe writes booking records.
Staff register: A list of everyone who takes bookings or dispatches vehicles for an operator, with their DBS details. TfL has required one since 1 July 2024, with a basic DBS check for each person; the national statutory standards expect operators elsewhere to keep one too. The staff register in DispatchMe.
DBS check: A criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. A basic check shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. A standard check adds spent ones. An enhanced check adds information held by local police and can include a check of the barred lists for work with children or adults.
NR3S: The National Register of Refusals, Revocations and Suspensions: a national record of taxi and private hire driver licences that councils have refused, revoked or suspended. Licensing authorities in England must use it under the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act 2022.
SERU: TfL's Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding assessment. New and renewing private hire drivers in London have had to pass it since 1 October 2021, and London taxi drivers have their own version from 1 October 2025.
Subcontracting: Passing a booking you have accepted to another licensed operator to carry out. Outside London, operators may subcontract to an operator in their own district, another district, London or Scotland, and the subcontracting is recorded with the booking. Passing jobs between offices.
PSV operator licence: The licence needed to run a vehicle for hire that can carry nine or more passengers, such as a minibus or coach. It is issued by the Traffic Commissioners, not by a taxi licensing authority.

On the desk

Pre-book and ASAP: A pre-book is a job booked for a later time, such as tomorrow's 05:30 airport run. An ASAP job is wanted now. All private hire work is booked, but offices handle the two differently: pre-books are allocated ahead, ASAP jobs go to whoever can get there soonest.
Dispatch (allocation): Choosing which driver does a job and sending it to them. Offices say allocate, dispatch or despatch for the same thing. The person doing it is the dispatcher or controller. How DispatchMe suggests a driver.
Auto-dispatch: Letting the system allocate jobs without a person choosing each driver. Offices often use it at quiet times, when one person is covering the phones and the board. Auto-dispatch in DispatchMe.
Offer and timeout: A job sent to a driver's phone to accept or decline within a set time. If the time runs out or the driver declines, the job moves to the next driver. This is sometimes called a cascade.
Plot and zone: Areas an office divides its patch into, often numbered on the office map. In a plot system, drivers book into the plot they're waiting in and take jobs in turn. A zone is the same idea in most dispatch software: an area used to decide who is closest or next. How zones count in DispatchMe's suggestions.
Rank: A place where taxis wait to be hired by the public. Private hire vehicles cannot use taxi ranks to pick up fares, because they may only carry pre-booked passengers.
Callsign: The number the office knows a driver by, used on the radio, the board and in the driver app. Often the same as the driver's car number in the office.
Dead mileage: Miles a driver covers without a passenger, mainly getting to the pickup. Less dead mileage means more of a driver's time is paid.
Caller ID (screen pop): Showing the caller's details on the dispatch screen as the phone rings, so the person answering knows who it is and can book their usual journey quickly. Caller ID in DispatchMe.
Meet and greet: When the driver goes inside to meet the passenger, usually at an airport arrivals hall or a station, rather than waiting in the car. Offices often charge extra for it.
Waiting time: Time the driver waits for the passenger after arriving. Offices usually give some free minutes and then charge for the rest.
No-show: A booking where the passenger doesn't appear. The driver reports it to the office, which may charge a no-show fee.
Overflow (job sharing): Passing work you can't cover to another office, or taking theirs when your drivers are free. Legally it is subcontracting between operators. Partner overflow in DispatchMe.

Money

Tariff: The set of prices an office charges: usually a base fare plus a rate per mile and per minute, with a minimum fare and different rates at night or on bank holidays.
Fixed price: A price agreed for a journey regardless of the route or traffic on the day, common for airport runs and account work.
Account job: A journey for a business customer that isn't paid in the car but charged to the customer's account and invoiced later, usually monthly. Account bookings in DispatchMe.
Credit limit: The most an account customer can owe before the office stops taking new bookings on account until they pay.
Commission: The office's share of each fare, usually a percentage, taken from what the driver earns on jobs the office gives them. Commission and rent in DispatchMe.
Rent: A weekly charge a driver pays the office for its work. Some offices charge a flat amount each week; others charge their share of the week's fares as rent. Drivers on rent usually see the full fare for each job. How DispatchMe shows rent to drivers.
Settlement: The regular reckoning between an office and a driver: what the driver earned, what they owe the office in commission or rent, and what is paid out to them. Driver settlements in DispatchMe.
Cash-out: A driver taking some of their earnings before the usual weekly payment. Offices often charge a small fee and approve each request.

Contract work

Home-to-school transport: Free travel to school that councils in England must arrange for eligible children, often run under contract by local taxi, private hire, bus and coach operators. Our guide to school transport contracts.
Passenger assistant: An adult who travels with children on school transport to look after them, often on routes for children with special educational needs. Also called an escort.
Dynamic market: A list of approved suppliers a public body can invite to bid for contracts as they come up, under the Procurement Act 2023. It replaced the dynamic purchasing system.

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Licensing and the law

Private hire vehicle (PHV)

A licensed vehicle built or adapted to carry fewer than nine passengers that can only be hired by booking in advance through a licensed private hire operator. It cannot be hailed in the street or wait for fares at a rank. In London, PHVs are often called minicabs.

Minicab

The everyday name for a private hire vehicle, most common in London. A minicab is pre-booked through an operator, unlike a black cab, which can be hailed.

Hackney carriage

The legal name for a taxi. A hackney carriage can be hailed in the street or hired at a rank as well as booked in advance. It is licensed by the council, or by TfL in London, and the licensing authority can set the fares it may charge.

Plying for hire

Offering a vehicle for immediate hire by the public, for example by waiting at a rank or picking up someone who hails it. Only hackney carriages may ply for hire. The exact meaning comes from case law rather than a statutory definition.

Private hire operator

The business that accepts bookings for private hire vehicles and sends drivers to them. Every private hire journey must be booked through a licensed operator.

Operator licence

The licence a private hire operator needs to take bookings. In London it is issued by Transport for London; elsewhere in England by the district or unitary council. It lasts up to five years. Our guide to the operator licence.

Licensing authority

The body that licenses taxis and private hire: Transport for London in London, and the district or unitary council everywhere else in England. Each authority sets its own fees and licence conditions.

Same-authority rule

Outside London, a private hire operator, the drivers it dispatches and their vehicles must all be licensed by the same council. Drivers and cars licensed elsewhere cannot do the operator's work directly, though jobs can be subcontracted to another operator.

Fit and proper person

The test a licensing authority applies before granting an operator or driver licence: whether it is satisfied the person can be trusted to hold it. Authorities look at criminal records, conduct and how the business will be run.

Plate

The licence plate or disc a licensing authority issues for a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle to display, usually showing its licence number and expiry. A licensed car is often called a plated car, and the vehicle licence itself is often just called the plate.

Badge

The identity badge a licensing authority issues to a licensed taxi or private hire driver, to be worn or displayed while working. Drivers often call their driver licence their badge.

Booking record

The record an operator must make of each booking before the journey starts. In London it includes the booking date, customer name, pickup time and place, main destination, any fare quoted, the driver and the vehicle, and is kept for 12 months. Outside London the council sets what goes in it and for how long. How DispatchMe writes booking records.

Staff register

A list of everyone who takes bookings or dispatches vehicles for an operator, with their DBS details. TfL has required one since 1 July 2024, with a basic DBS check for each person; the national statutory standards expect operators elsewhere to keep one too. The staff register in DispatchMe.

DBS check

A criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. A basic check shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. A standard check adds spent ones. An enhanced check adds information held by local police and can include a check of the barred lists for work with children or adults.

NR3S

The National Register of Refusals, Revocations and Suspensions: a national record of taxi and private hire driver licences that councils have refused, revoked or suspended. Licensing authorities in England must use it under the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Act 2022.

SERU

TfL's Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding assessment. New and renewing private hire drivers in London have had to pass it since 1 October 2021, and London taxi drivers have their own version from 1 October 2025.

Subcontracting

Passing a booking you have accepted to another licensed operator to carry out. Outside London, operators may subcontract to an operator in their own district, another district, London or Scotland, and the subcontracting is recorded with the booking. Passing jobs between offices.

PSV operator licence

The licence needed to run a vehicle for hire that can carry nine or more passengers, such as a minibus or coach. It is issued by the Traffic Commissioners, not by a taxi licensing authority.

On the desk

Pre-book and ASAP

A pre-book is a job booked for a later time, such as tomorrow's 05:30 airport run. An ASAP job is wanted now. All private hire work is booked, but offices handle the two differently: pre-books are allocated ahead, ASAP jobs go to whoever can get there soonest.

Dispatch (allocation)

Choosing which driver does a job and sending it to them. Offices say allocate, dispatch or despatch for the same thing. The person doing it is the dispatcher or controller. How DispatchMe suggests a driver.

Auto-dispatch

Letting the system allocate jobs without a person choosing each driver. Offices often use it at quiet times, when one person is covering the phones and the board. Auto-dispatch in DispatchMe.

Offer and timeout

A job sent to a driver's phone to accept or decline within a set time. If the time runs out or the driver declines, the job moves to the next driver. This is sometimes called a cascade.

Plot and zone

Areas an office divides its patch into, often numbered on the office map. In a plot system, drivers book into the plot they're waiting in and take jobs in turn. A zone is the same idea in most dispatch software: an area used to decide who is closest or next. How zones count in DispatchMe's suggestions.

Rank

A place where taxis wait to be hired by the public. Private hire vehicles cannot use taxi ranks to pick up fares, because they may only carry pre-booked passengers.

Callsign

The number the office knows a driver by, used on the radio, the board and in the driver app. Often the same as the driver's car number in the office.

Dead mileage

Miles a driver covers without a passenger, mainly getting to the pickup. Less dead mileage means more of a driver's time is paid.

Caller ID (screen pop)

Showing the caller's details on the dispatch screen as the phone rings, so the person answering knows who it is and can book their usual journey quickly. Caller ID in DispatchMe.

Meet and greet

When the driver goes inside to meet the passenger, usually at an airport arrivals hall or a station, rather than waiting in the car. Offices often charge extra for it.

Waiting time

Time the driver waits for the passenger after arriving. Offices usually give some free minutes and then charge for the rest.

No-show

A booking where the passenger doesn't appear. The driver reports it to the office, which may charge a no-show fee.

Overflow (job sharing)

Passing work you can't cover to another office, or taking theirs when your drivers are free. Legally it is subcontracting between operators. Partner overflow in DispatchMe.

Money

Tariff

The set of prices an office charges: usually a base fare plus a rate per mile and per minute, with a minimum fare and different rates at night or on bank holidays.

Fixed price

A price agreed for a journey regardless of the route or traffic on the day, common for airport runs and account work.

Account job

A journey for a business customer that isn't paid in the car but charged to the customer's account and invoiced later, usually monthly. Account bookings in DispatchMe.

Credit limit

The most an account customer can owe before the office stops taking new bookings on account until they pay.

Commission

The office's share of each fare, usually a percentage, taken from what the driver earns on jobs the office gives them. Commission and rent in DispatchMe.

Rent

A weekly charge a driver pays the office for its work. Some offices charge a flat amount each week; others charge their share of the week's fares as rent. Drivers on rent usually see the full fare for each job. How DispatchMe shows rent to drivers.

Settlement

The regular reckoning between an office and a driver: what the driver earned, what they owe the office in commission or rent, and what is paid out to them. Driver settlements in DispatchMe.

Cash-out

A driver taking some of their earnings before the usual weekly payment. Offices often charge a small fee and approve each request.

Contract work

Home-to-school transport

Free travel to school that councils in England must arrange for eligible children, often run under contract by local taxi, private hire, bus and coach operators. Our guide to school transport contracts.

Passenger assistant

An adult who travels with children on school transport to look after them, often on routes for children with special educational needs. Also called an escort.

Dynamic market

A list of approved suppliers a public body can invite to bid for contracts as they come up, under the Procurement Act 2023. It replaced the dynamic purchasing system.