unreliable for advance bookings! I pre-booked a taxi to take…read moreme to an event, allowing over half an hour leeway for a 20 minute journey, just in case of delays. The taxi arrived 50 minutes late so I missed the event. When I complained, I was advised that when you make an advance booking, central taxis guarantee a taxi but not what time it will arrive!! (kinda defeats the point of booking a taxi in advance!) Not the service you would expect of a company that calls itself 'Edinburgh's most reliable taxi company'!

Waited a long time after ordering a taxi. Was told 5 minutes more 3 times. Uber worked a lot betterread more

I recently used Midlothian Taxi Company for a pickup after a family wedding and was very impressed…read more The driver was punctual, actually he arrived slightly earlier than planned which was good. The car was clean, the service was 1st class, the driver friendly and professional. I would highly recommend them for anyone needing a reliable taxi service in Midlothian. Many thanks, Derek.

From the owner: Local taxi service covering all area of Midlothian.Edinburgh Airport from £25read more

I've used this company probably about a dozen times. Each time they've been on time and very…read morehelpful. A couple times (like today) I had several bags and they were very nice about it even though it was a pain. I've found this company very reliable and friendly.

I rarely use a car service when traveling, but this trip, we had a lot of luggage and knew it would…read morebe a struggle to get to the taxi stand after 14 hours of air travel. I chose Edinburgh Executive Carriages (ECC) because they were listed on the Edinburgh Airport Web site. I booked a driver from the airport to our hotel through the ECC Web site. The site requires you to submit your arrival date and time as well as the number of passengers and your preferred vehicle (sedan or van). According to the site, the company will contact you by e-mail with payment instructions if the timeslot is available. Having been through this sort of thing before, I was somewhat concerned about the length of time before I'd hear back. My concern was unnecessary since I received a reply within minutes with a link to worldpay to prepay the booking. We were going to be in Edinburgh for two weeks and had a lot of luggage, so I'd requested a van because I didn't think the sedan would have enough trunk space. There was some confusion on my part because the reply email specified a Mercedes as the vehicle. After a very quick back-and-forth series of emails, ECC confirmed that it was a V-class (van) with plenty of luggage space and we'd be fine. Whole point of sharing these details is to illustrate how refreshingly quick ECC is with email communicate. 5-stars for communication. I'd been to the Edinburgh airport only once before and since I couldn't find any details on international pick-ups with ECC (they go into detail about their planeside pickup, but that's only for UK travel), I had some uncertainty about where we'd meet our driver. We found him immediately upon exit from the Customs area. He introduced himself took my wife's bags as well as some of mine and led us out the door to the van, which was maybe 100 feet from the airport exit. The van was the most comfortable van I'd ever sat in and had no problem holding all of our bags (including our carry-ons) in the back. Our driver was quite personable and during the 15-20 minute drive to our hotel, we had a pleasant conversation. He seemed genuinely happy that we were visiting Scotland and made us feel welcome from the start. When we arrived at the hotel, he unloaded our bags and helped us inside to the desk where we parted ways. I have zero complaints about ECC, their staff, or the driver. On the contrary it was a great experience and the next time I need transportation from the Edinburgh Airport, I won't hesitate to use Edinburgh Executive Carriages.

From the owner: Chauffeured Transfers, Executive Travel, Airport Transfer serviceread more

I cannot recommend ECPH highly enough. 6 of us (3 couples) travel to Musselburgh Races every June…read morefor the last 3 years and stay at the Best Western Kings Manor. We've always used ECPH and I book via the App a 6 seater car to take us too and from the races then another to take us to and from a restaurant later that evening. The cars have always been on time, the communication via text is excellent and the drivers are courteous and professional. On our last visit our friends were late arriving and the driver was happy to wait 10 minutes for them. Excellent service every time and will use them again!

To be honest I thought most cab services were the same, but this is the only one I have been…read moregenuinely impressed with. I mean you'd be surprised how hard it is to get from A to B without going via C,D,E and then Falkirk because the cabbie wants to wring an extra couple of quid out of you. Fear this no more though, as Edinburgh City Private Hire are here, like a superhero arriving to save the day...in a cab. They have cheaper rates than both City Cabs and Central Taxis by quite a bit, and although most cab journeys in Edinburgh don't last very long, if you are heading out of town they save you a fair amount. As well as this they actually turn up when they say they will, whether you want them in half an hour, or more impressively if you say you want one right away, they are always there within 5 minutes. The cabbies are all pretty cool from my experience as well, having a bit of a chat with you. Also all the cabs are good cars, a few mercs and audis and the like being used. If you are stuck without a lift, who're you gonna call??? Edinburgh City Private Hire!! (admittedly not as catchy but more practical than Ghostbusters). Oh yeh, as a rather inexplicable extra, if you get one of their cards, you get 30% off entry at Cab Vol and half price and queue jump at The Hive before 12. No idea why but not a bad bonus to have

An update to a previous review. We needed a taxi 4 times during a Saturday in August for the Fringe…read morefestival and the tattoo. We downloaded the app this time and booked all 4 via the app, two ahead of time, two for instant pick-up. The app was easy to use and the taxis arrived nicely on time.

We only used them once for a 2:30am ride from our hotel just off Princes Street to the airport. It…read morewas arranged by our hotel. We had always wanted to ride in one of these iconic cabs with the distinctive look! We were picked up on time, the driver was pleasant and helpful but thankfully, not talkative at that unholy hour, and we felt safe the whole time. There wasn't much traffic at 2:30am so we got to the airport in about 25 minutes. Our fare was £23 and we paid by credit card. Since we were leaving the UK, I emptied my wallet of all my coins and gave it to the driver. It came out to be about £5. I know they don't expect a tip but I didn't want to carry home any change and he was helping me out by accepting it. A great ride experience overall that I will readily repeat next time I'm in Edinburgh.

This is customer service at its finest. If you have any worries about managing to secure your…read moreluggage (b/c you packed everything including the kitchen sink), then these guys are glad to help. Located at the arrivals gate, just a mere few meters from the escalators, Onward Travel has its own door and fleet of taxis (think silver cars, wagons, mpv's, etc....). You can book in advance (online or over the phone) and should you have any questions, the guys here are fantastic. Think response turnaround time of a few minutes. For a mere 5 pounds, they will even meet you at the greetings area (perfect if you're wanting them to guide you through the airport, collect your luggage so you do not have to lift, etc...) Did I mention that the guys are super personable and friendly? Their cars are impeccably clean and well-maintained (unlike those that you might find in New York City, LA, DC, Chicago, etc...) As for a first impression, they make a smashing one and will be the only airport transfer service that I will have all of my family and friends use. My driver was so kind to give a tour of the city as we drove into the City Centre -- are you kidding, 80% of the drivers in Chicago are too busy talking on their cell phones or finding ways to rack up the meter. Not Onward Travel - you know exactly how much it'll cost (on avg. a metered cab will run about 20 pounds or more and they'll only fit a certain amount of luggage as UK cars are generally smaller than in the US). I much prefer having the service that I received and pay a tad more (i.e. 30 pounds). Will definitely use again - keep up the good work, gentlemen!

Indeed, the Airlink city to airport buses are far cheaper than the taxi alternative, however,…read moreoccasionally your flight may be really early in the morning and in this case the bus times can be less frequent. Allow me to flesh out my case: I need to be at the airport for 6am, I live in Bruntsfield ( a fair distance away from the nearest Airlink bus stop), no conveniently timed buses run at such an early time in the morning in order for me to get to the Airlink bus stops. Solution: book a taxi with Onward travel the night before your journey. They will always call when approximately 1-2 mins away and, from my experience, always pick you up exactly on time. If your circumstances meet the above, than paying £15-20 is not such a bad idea for the punctual traveller.