Business transfers from Canterbury: executive cars for London meetings, flights and visitors

When business transfers beat the train from Canterbury

Since December 2009 Southeastern's high-speed trains have run from Canterbury West to St Pancras, and Canterbury East has trains to London Victoria. For a single meeting near one of those stations, the train is hard to argue with.

A car pays off when the day is less tidy. Think of a meeting in the City at nine followed by an afternoon flight from Heathrow, a set of samples or display stands that will not go on a train, three colleagues setting out from different villages, or a return from London long after the last convenient service.

It also removes a step for anyone who lives outside the city. A director in Bridge or a consultant in Chartham can be collected at the front door rather than driving in and parking at the station.

Executive cars and the people behind them

The executive class seats up to 4 passengers with 2 to 3 large cases; a saloon takes 4 with 2 cases, and an MPV carries up to 6 with 4 or more, which suits a small team travelling to a trade show together.

Every driver holds a current private hire driver's licence issued by a local authority, which requires an enhanced DBS check. The vehicles are licensed and inspected by the council and carry hire and reward insurance, with public liability cover as well.

London meetings: routes and river crossings

From Canterbury the car takes the A2 and the M2, joined at Brenley Corner, then the A2 again into south-east London. For addresses across the river in the east, and for London City Airport, the usual line is the Blackwall Tunnel.

The Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels are charged per crossing in each direction during charging hours, with weekday peak rates from 6am to 10am heading north and from 4pm to 7pm heading south, and nothing between 10pm and 6am. Tolls and parking fees on the route can be added to a fare where they apply, so tell us the meeting addresses when you book.

Keeping the car and driver for the day

Some days do not fit a single journey. With as-directed hire you book the car and driver by the hour or by the day: the driver takes you to the first meeting, waits, moves you on to the next, and brings you home to Canterbury when you are done.

It suits a round of client visits, a site tour, an interview day or an evening event in London with a late finish. Give us the outline of the day when you book, and say if any part of it may run long.

Collecting visitors who fly in to Canterbury

Hosting a speaker, an examiner or a new colleague? The flight is tracked and the collection is timed to the real landing at no extra charge. The driver waits in the arrivals hall with a name board, so your visitor walks straight out to a named person rather than a rank.

Tell us exactly where they are going. The main Christ Church University campus is on North Holmes Road (CT1 1QU), beside the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey, and Kent and Canterbury Hospital is on Ethelbert Road (CT1 3NG). Hotels inside the city walls may sit behind the automatic bollards that have kept most vehicles out of the centre since October 2020, in which case a set-down point close by is agreed beforehand.

Flights at either end of the working day

Typical drives from Canterbury are 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes for Gatwick, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes for London City, and 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes for Heathrow. Give the airport and terminal when you book, and the pickup time is set from your flight.

Coming home late from a conference abroad? The same tracking and arrivals meeting apply, and the service runs 24 hours a day, so a midnight landing is no different to book from a midday one.

Booking, paying and changing plans

Book online, by phone on 01843 247247, on WhatsApp or by email. The online system shows the fixed fare for the car before you confirm and takes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and Revolut; the code ExpressTravelKent gives 10% off.

Meetings move. Cancellation is free more than 24 hours before pickup; between 6 and 24 hours it can cost up to half the fare, and inside 6 hours, or once the car has set off, the full fare may be charged. Extra stops, waiting beyond the free time and big route changes asked for on the day can be added.