Castle Cars

I booked a taxi an hour before I needed to leave for a 5 minute journey. Driver was 20 minutes late arriving. Fair pricing though.

To get the good stuff out of the way first of all, as a group of taxi drivers, the Castle Cars drivers are on the whole a good group, despite often charging more than the price quoted on the phone.
But don’t let this sole benefit fool you into using this absolute joke of a company. On numerous occasions, myself and my housemates have booked various excursions through them, sometimes days in advance in order to ‘ensure’ (I use the word extremely loosely) that we get to our destination on time. That is, we do our best to give ourselves any semblance of a chance of getting somewhere, because Castle Cars are about as reliable Nick Clegg’s political promises. We’ve had plenty of experiences in the past when a booked taxi has simply never turned up, and when we’ve called up to ask where it was, we’ve either been lied to (being told the taxi is two minutes away and then waiting another half hour) or been told our booking doesn’t exist. Ordinarily, this would be an inconvenience — however, Castle’s awful service and general failings as a taxi company are not restricted to just your everyday events, but also to special occasions, such as Graduation Ball. With the high number of people attending and poor weather in mind, we booked taxis several hours in advance, and were told that we would have two taxis at that time ‘no problem’. The first taxi turned up fifteen minutes late, with the driver sat outside honking his horn rather than calling us, as is their standard service, but what can you do? The first taxi left, and we waited for the second. And waited. And waited. And then we waited a bit longer. Half an hour later, we ring up to tell them that we’re still waiting, only for an unbelievably rude woman to tell us ‘well, we’re very busy’. Fast forward another half an hour, and another call with a slightly less rude woman informs us that no booking for our house exists, and that if we want a taxi, we’ll have to book again and go to the back of the queue. When I asked how long said taxi would take, the woman systematically avoided telling me how long the taxi would take, presumably so they could avoid another call when their woeful service once again inevitably failed. We ended up walking to the ball in the soaking rain, and never received word that the taxi was outside.
I would recommend Castle Cars to anyone who enjoys terrible service, dealing with bare-​faced liars, and being treated as sub-​human. My only regret about this review is that I have to give this affront to the word ‘company’ any stars whatsoever.

What do you do with all the Taxi cards that come through your door? You probably chuck them in the recycling and moan about junk mail. Then, a few nights later, a friend will ask for a cab number, or you’ll be late for an evening out, and you’ll need a cab. That’s when you remember that you chucked them in the bin. Ooops.
Living around these parts, all my addled brain needs to remember is «All the 2s» and I can dial Castle from memory. They generally arrive very quickly and their rates are pretty much what you’d expect from a mini-​cab firm.
We went on holiday last week and had to be at the airport for 5.30am, which meant a very early start and a cab journey at 5am. I booked a cab with Castle the night before and the driver arrived at 5am on the dot, so I have no hesitation in recommending this firm. We also agreed a price in advance, £20, which is fairly competitive for an early morning airport run. I only wish I’d booked them on the way home when we arrived back at International — a black cab cost me £30.

I have used this company a handful of times when I have not had access to my car, or when I have been coming home after a night out in town. I never have to wait long if I call for a cab immediately, which is good as I cannot stand waiting around, especially if I am on my own. The drivers are always quite pleasant and most of them make casual chit chat, which is nice. The prices are also quite reasonable too and if you are a student they do have set rates for getting to and from certain places like Selly Oak into town and such. The only thing that I do not like is that some of the drivers have the tendency to drive like maniacs and it makes me feel a little queasy, especially when I have had too many cocktails! Although, this may just be cab drivers in general, and at least they get me to where I want to go quickly.

Castle Cars is a taxi company which is local to the Selly Park/​Selly Oak area and as such I have been a regular customer for quite a few years. Loyalty seems to pay off as my taxis arrive quicker than with most other cab companies and they always have an extremely friendly demeanour. Taxis in Birmingham are not exactly cheap but Castle Cars certainly manage to keep their prices competitive and I would recommend their services to anyone. They cater well for those with extra requirements too, my mother is disabled and Castle Cars drivers are always on hand to help her in and out of their cars as well as sometimes walking her to the door. Such service is rare in the modern day and I think Castle Cars deserve a nod of recognition for doing such sterling work. So if you’re stuck for a lift in Brum give these guys a ring, they’ll be more than happy to help you out.

I only ever use Castle Cars and they have never let me down.