I have learned from audacious experience that you should stick to firms that operate in your area…read morefrom Manchester. When staying at friends in Salford, this taxi firm was great and so responsive it always arrives on time when ordered. When you ring up the staff are friendly to talk to and normally only takes a ring for them to answer you. You can trust this firm to pick you up at club kicking at times when the streets are bustling with punters for taxis. However, Swan they never give in and stick to picking up there customers who have pre-ordered. I find swan to be one of the most reliable private hire in town

Lucky me, it was raining torrentially on my recent visit up north and I needed to get from Salford…read moreto Manchester Piccadilly to catch my late evening train. I debated the wisdom of heading towards the tram stop in my strappy sandals and realised, once I'd braved the elements, that was far from the most sensible option. Hooray for the cab I spotted, close to the entrance of the Lowry! I shook the water off and jumped-in, to be greeted - in a very friendly manner - by the driver who obligingly drove me a brief distance away, to the closest tram stop. He was pleasantly chatty with a good sense of humour and didn't bat an eyelid, or seem at all concerned, that it was such a short (and cheap) journey.

Middleton Cars is the newest taxi firm in Middleton, having been founded nearly 3 years ago now,…read moreso I feel after 3 years, it is time I finally write a review! I trusted Middleton Cars to pick me up from the Manchester City game, knowing that it would take something pretty spectacular, to put a frown on my face after defeating Chelsea 3-0, but Middleton Cars did it! I ordered my taxi at 12:06, giving them more enough notice, to pick me up from the ground at 18:10, however my taxi seemed to be running late, after making a phone call at 18:18, I was told that the driver had only just set off, which really upset me as he had to travel a good 20-30 minute journey from scratch again, in match traffic, when he had more than enough time to set off, hence missing the match traffic, and getting to me quicker. I later found out, that he had only just set off at 18:15, and had just started his shift minutes earlier. The man who I spoken to on the phone, didn't seem to be too pleasant, I did have to ring him many times, for a location update, which honestly seemed like he was exaggerating him to be nearer, despite the wait, he knew about the reservation straight away, and knew when he set off, so he should have definitely done more about it, such as getting someone to me sooner ; this is a shame as the woman who I spoken to on the phone, when placing the reservation seemed very nice and helpful. The driver didn't seem too friendly, or even make basic conversation, such as asking about the game, or making an apology, as most other drivers who picked me up from the Etihad had done. When my taxi finally arrived, I had been waiting for a good 3/4 of an hour, with 36 minutes of that being over the waiting time, and I received no apology from the driver. I strongly feel Middleton Cars deserves 1 star, strongly because they are disorganized, with poor phone support and my taxi arriving 36 minutes late, especially considering I prebooked hours in advanced, and they set off, after the time I requested them to arrive.

The other night around a quarter past midnight, a friend and I were in need of a knight in shining…read moresteel. We were at Heaton Park Metrolink Station and we had two bad situations: 1. The ticket machine that accepts notes wasn't working and I only had two crisp ten pound notes. Plus my friend had already bought a ticket - bummer. Also, we weren't sure which was the last tram going in to Manchester. 2. A boy (he shall remain nameless) was relieving himself in the station and shouting out my friend's name. Acquaintances from a long gone era, you see. He had had way too much to drink and demonstrated this by practically concussing himself on the broken ticket machine and dropping all his belongings. So, we literally ran round the corner to Prestwich Cars to order a cab. To get out of there. It was only around £8 anyway so if my friend hadn't bought her tram ticket first it would have been much more cost efficient. Plus the driver turned a blind eye as we drank our 'blackcurrant' from an Evian bottle.

Following a bad experiance with Connect, I decided Diamond One would be the new firm to take me…read morehome from football, as one of the biggest taxi companies in Middleton since the merger of Diamond One, I had high expectations. The driver came in, a way which no other drivers tend to do as that route always has heavy traffic on match days, he did ring me to say where he was when he was about 5 minutes late and I ended up having to walk up the road to find him, I finally got in the car 10 minutes after the proposed time of his arrival. The phone company were very slow, I was at the Etihad when I rang the taxi but still it shouldn't of taken that long to book a taxi, he kept asking which street when I told him the city stadium and what exact exit which was really annoying. Due to the taxi drivers traffic getting to us, we ended up setting off in a ton of traffic, if he would of been just minutes earlier we would of flown home, but we got stuck in traffic near enough to my back garden and the taxi fair cost 50 percent more than the average price. The taxi drivers reponce to me was simply laughable and a bit cocky he said "Sorry the traffic cost you more money" and laughed when we were stuck in it saying "This is costing you money", it wouldn't of cost him 1/6 of what he charged us in petrol and he still charged us the full amount, I don't understand why he couldn't of give us a discount, he mentioned the overpricing and he said sorry but I laughed it off really as if he was sorry, he could of knocked me a good few pound off, after all taxi drivers have more flexibillity in their fares to be able to do this, he should of done a good will jesture instead of charging me so much more for something that isn't my fault, they was no traffic at the time he was scheduled to arrive and by the time we got in the car, 10 minutes later, the traffic was miles down the road. This disgrace with Diamond One is the main reason why I will not be choosing them for my taxi needs in the near future and they certainly deserve a downgrade to a single one star. UPDATE: I feel Diamond One deserve an upgrade from 2 stars, from my original 1 star rating as they have the largest base of black cabs in Middleton, meaning that is probably one of the only reasons I use them now, despite really poor service from the call centers, I still can't help feel this is slightly generous so I may re review this rating in the near future.

Diamond always turn up, very polite on the phone but not all the drivers know where they r going…read moreunfortunately so sometimes u have to direct them and watch they don't take u the long way round

Timely and professional. Much cheaper alternative to Uber. The driver was very good and got me to…read morethe airport on the fastest route during rush hour. I will definitely use Globe taxi again

From the owner: At Globe Taxis, we have a wealth of experience carrying out airport transfers for 1000’s of…read morepassengers a year, ensuring each and everyone reaches departures safely and in a timely manner. With our airport transfer service, we aim to make your experience at the airport seamless and stress-free. Whether you’re off on holiday with your family or setting out on a business trip, our airport transfer service will drop you outside departures on your way out, and pick you up outside arrivals on your return – comfort guaranteed. Also, if you’re in a larger party, don’t worry – we have 4, 6, 7 and 8-seater vehicles, all impeccably maintained. Thanks to our precision coordinated service, you can rest assured that you will arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare, on your return, you won’t be left waiting around. For more information about our airport transfer service, please get in touch. Book your Airport transfer with us today – we pick-up from a wide area including Bacup, Todmorden, Bury, Manchester and all airports.

I used Royal Crown Taxis to help transport me from my home, to Manchester Airport ahead of a recent…read moretrip to Manchester Airport, having been giving the cheapest quote from them in a mini-bus. Since the Uber revolution, I normally have hated using taxis but sadly with Uber's inability to prebook and with it being hard to get a taxi in Middleton on the best of days, let alone trying to get a mini-bus very early in the morning, I had to go with Royal Crown on this occasion. It might be useful to know they have two contact numbers, with both still being in action after Royal and Crown merged to create a larger taxi firm, which still seems to lack behind Connect Cars and Diamond Cars when considering the biggest firm in Middleton. The numbers for Royal and Crown are: 0161 643 0000 0161 643 6464 Using two numbers, helps to ensure you get through quickly as soon as possible which definitely beats other firms including the likes of Middleton Cars, a smaller rival to Royal Crown who seem harder to get in touch of, with only a single number in use. Royal Crown are based on Lakeland Court in the Langley area of Middleton, but they seem to have taxis all over the town. The driver who came to pick me up, getting there seemed a little rude and impatient, as when I was picking my friend up, also going to the airport he just got out of the car, walking up and down and staring into the window, which was quite rude considering they did only take literally minutes to get to the door, and it was a shame he didn't wait patiently, and try to build some conversation and show some good levels of customer service. I was also upset to have to also pay the £2 to get into the car park to drop me off, as well as the fare which was frustrating. On my way back, it was also concerning, I'd gave the details of my return journey to my driver, and I actually was not contacted by the company to update me on my taxi, so was sat outside the airport 10 or so minutes after arriving in Manchester from Paris on time, and going through baggage security, which shown they didn't track the flight as promised. The mini-bus picking me up, on both journeys didn't seem very nice, they were simply not nice vechiels and quite old, having used an UberXL before, which is like a mini-bus, I found them much nicer, cleaner and the drivers much nicer so this was a shame. Due to the level of service provided by Royal Crown and the quality of both the journey and the car, I sadly would not recommend them in the future, as they seemed to be less reliable and trust-worthy especially on services which are pre-booked and to Manchester Airport, which is a shame as especially at this time of the year, they should be trying hard to be the best, not the worst company transporting passengers from Middleton to the Airport.

One of their drivers, in a white Vauxhall Astra, MX09HYV just purposely drove into me on my bike to…read moreprevent me getting in front of him as the lights where changing over an advanced stop line. The action was clearly intentional, the driver beeped his horn and drove off. I rang Alpha Cars to tell them, the guy said, I quote, " Not our problem, we use self employed drivers". I'll leave this one in the hands of the police and I be sure to let them know of the companies attitude to the safety of the public also.

Always turn up and excellent value for money as the metre starts at £1.40. I used to use the big…read morelocal company CC but after being overcharged 3 times by drivers going the wrong way purposely, their office having no interest in dealing with my complaint, I changed to Alpha and wish I had done so a long time ago.

Just want to say thank you for the 2 minibuses we booked this weekend - one to Uppermill,…read moreSaddleworth and the other to Liverpool. Excellent service, notification of them being on the way, pickup spot on time. Thank you magnum, and please pass on our thanks to the two, lovely, helpful drivers. Christine Barrie

Amazing amazing. This is the taxi firm that my friends and I always use in Prestwich and further…read morebeyond. If you are just going across town it will only ever cost you two to three pounds and to Manchester (unless its in the am) you are looking at about seven pounds. On the way back after a night out we sometimes call ahead and they will come into town to get us - even then its only around fourteen pounds. Considering it can be up to twenty, we know and love this taxi firm. A shame that its office is in an old toilet block but I did see them sprucing it up the other day with some nice neutral paint and a few chairs. The people you see waiting around outside their central office (in the Prestwich precint, next to the Village Cobbler) are a testament to how reliable Magnum Whiteline are.