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ARWest Midlands · West Midlands

Chauffeur service in Birmingham, from B1 to the airport at Bickenhill

Birmingham is the one place in the Midlands where an airport, an exhibition centre and a main-line station sit on the same patch of ground. Most of what we do here begins or ends at that patch.

9 miles of road to Birmingham AirportBags carried to the car at Birmingham AirportBirmingham and Sutton ColdfieldBirmingham to Birmingham Airport, priced up front
Diplomatic embassy arrival

Written quotation, usually within the hour

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Chauffeur service in Birmingham — summary

Chauffeur service in Birmingham, West Midlands, booked mainly for airport runs, hourly hire and long-distance driving. The car is held where it can legally stand near Brindleyplace, the chauffeur walks in to meet you, and the boot is loaded before you reach the kerb. From here Birmingham Airport is an indicative 20-40 minutes, roughly 9 miles on M6 Junction 6; A38(M) Aston Expressway carries the return. Regular collection points include The NEC, Resorts World Birmingham and Five Ways, and the same standard of welcome applies whether the pick-up is a house in Birmingham or a hotel forecourt. No standing price list is published, and a written quotation confirms the price for your journey out of Birmingham.

Driving area

Birmingham, West Midlands

Sits within

West Midlands, England

Airport nearest Birmingham

Birmingham Airport

Planned drive to Birmingham Airport

20-40 minutes

Districts covered in Birmingham

B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B15, B16 and B18

Main approaches to Birmingham

A4540 Middleway, A45 Coventry Road and A456 Hagley Road

Local stations in Birmingham

Birmingham International and Five Ways

Just along from Birmingham

Solihull and Sutton Coldfield

01Reading Birmingham

Chauffeur service in Birmingham

Ground time in Birmingham divides neatly. There is the city inside the Middleway, where the streets are one-way, the tunnels are unforgiving and a car cannot linger; and there is the Bickenhill cluster nine miles east, where the airport, the NEC, Resorts World and Birmingham International share one set of approach roads. We work both, and they need different habits.

The city centre sits inside a Clean Air Zone bounded by the A4540 Middleway, a fact of the place rather than a claim about any particular booking. Outside that ring the pattern loosens fast: Edgbaston, Harborne and the Jewellery Quarter are all straightforward collections, and the Aston Expressway funnels you onto the M6 in a couple of minutes when it is behaving.

02The essentials

Driving area
Birmingham, West Midlands
Sits within
West Midlands, England
Airport nearest Birmingham
Birmingham Airport
Planned drive to Birmingham Airport
20-40 minutes
Districts covered in Birmingham
B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B15, B16 and B18
Main approaches to Birmingham
A4540 Middleway, A45 Coventry Road and A456 Hagley Road
Local stations in Birmingham
Birmingham International and Five Ways
Just along from Birmingham
Solihull and Sutton Coldfield

03The area

The ground plan of Birmingham

What a chauffeur learns by the third collection in Birmingham.

Two ring roads govern the city and they behave nothing alike. The A4540 Middleway is a proper orbital with roundabouts and long queues at Belgrave and Camp Hill; the inner Queensway is a sequence of tunnels and underpasses where a missed exit costs a full circuit. Add the Aston Expressway, whose tidal-flow lanes change direction morning and evening, and Spaghetti Junction stacked above the Tame at M6 junction 6, and you have a city that rewards knowing which lane you want half a mile early. West of the centre the A456 Hagley Road is the reliable spine. East, the A45 Coventry Road runs all the way to the airport.

04Demand

What gets asked for around Brindleyplace

The shape of a Birmingham week, stated plainly.

The Bickenhill cluster generates most of it. A trade show at the NEC, a concert at Resorts World, a flight out of Birmingham Airport, a train into Birmingham International — four things within a mile of each other, all producing people who would rather have a car waiting than queue for one. In the city itself the work is different: professional firms around Colmore Row, delegates at the ICC and Symphony Hall, families heading down to Heathrow because the long-haul connection is there rather than here. Edgbaston adds a cricket crowd twice a summer.

05Road time

The Birmingham clock

Road time in Birmingham, stated plainly rather than optimistically.

Rush hour on the Aston Expressway is genuinely bad in whichever direction the tidal flow is running, and the M6 between junctions 4 and 6 can take forty minutes off you without warning. For anything at Bickenhill before nine we leave the city early and favour the A45, because the airport approaches clog from the Coventry Road side later. Big NEC show days change the whole east of the city from mid-morning; the motorcycle show in November is the worst of them. Friday evening westbound on the M5 towards Worcestershire starts backing up around three.

06The kerb

Access and loading in the B1 district

The practical business of finding each other outside Brindleyplace.

Colmore Row and Temple Row are red-lined for most of the day, so a city-centre collection works better from a side street or a hotel forecourt — the Hyatt Regency on Broad Street has a set-down under its canopy. New Street has no forecourt of its own: it sits beneath Grand Central and its entrances open onto pedestrian streets, so we usually meet arrivals at Moor Street instead, two minutes away with a proper station approach off Moor Street Queensway. At the airport, private cars use the drop-off decks; for collections we park in the short stay and meet you inside the arrivals hall rather than phoning from a car park.

Collection notes for Birmingham

  • 01Moor Street rather than New Street for a car meet: it has a station approach where New Street has none.
  • 02At Birmingham Airport we meet in the arrivals hall by the exit from baggage reclaim, not at the kerb; the short-stay decks are two minutes away on foot.
  • 03Broad Street becomes a bus and taxi corridor on event nights, so for Symphony Hall and the ICC we use the Brindleyplace side streets.
  • 04For NEC halls we approach from Pendigo Way and meet you at the hall entrance rather than on a service road.

07Included as standard

What comes with the car in Birmingham

  • 01

    Met at the Birmingham Airport barrier

    The measure of a Birmingham Airport meet is how little of it you notice before Birmingham. Doors, board, cases, car, M6 Junction 6, home. In Birmingham that sequence takes about as long as it takes to read.

  • 02

    A suit, a held door and a Birmingham address

    Long-distance work asks for something different again: pacing a five-hour drive out of Birmingham so that it arrives on time without anyone in the back noticing the effort that took.

  • 03

    Birmingham Airport delays, handled quietly

    Cancellations at Birmingham Airport happen. When they do, the car is either rebooked against the replacement flight into Birmingham Airport or released back into Birmingham, and the position is confirmed in writing before it costs anything.

  • 04

    School gates and pharmacies in Birmingham

    Plans change halfway out of Birmingham more often than anyone admits. The chauffeur drives where you ask in Birmingham, and anything that alters the price is requoted in writing rather than added quietly at the end.

  • 05

    A Birmingham price fixed in writing

    You get a written quotation naming the vehicle, the chauffeur's arrival time in Birmingham and what the figure covers, before anything is booked. Nothing on this page carries a figure; the Birmingham quotation is the price.

  • 06

    The car sized to the cases, not to Birmingham

    Where the collection is at The NEC rather than a private address, the chauffeur takes the cases from the porter or the front desk, and they are in the boot before the goodbyes are finished.

08Terminals

Flights, terminals and drive times from Birmingham

Drive times from Birmingham vary more by hour than by route. The figures below are the ones we would quote for a mid-morning run out of Birmingham, and the confirmation adjusts them for a pre-dawn departure or a Friday afternoon return.
Birmingham
Indicative drive
20-40 minutes
Distance
9 miles

Waiting from touchdown at Birmingham Airport is part of the Birmingham transfer, not an extra line.

Heathrow
Indicative drive
2 to 3 hours
Distance
110 miles

Left early enough to clear M6 Junction 6 before it fills.

Manchester
Indicative drive
1 hour 45 to 2 hours 30
Distance
88 miles

Drop at Manchester, then the car can carry on to Solihull on the same booking.

The same runs are quoted from Solihull and Sutton Coldfield, adjusted for the extra distance rather than reused unchanged.

09In detail

The ground half, from Birmingham outwards

Met, not telephoned, at Birmingham Airport

LF-01Met, not telephoned, at Birmingham Airport

Met, not telephoned, at Birmingham Airport

By the time you clear customs at Birmingham Airport the chauffeur has been in the building a while, has the board up, and knows roughly what the 20-40 minutes back to Birmingham will cost at that hour.

For late arrivals the practical question is whether anyone in Birmingham is still awake at the other end. The chauffeur will carry the bags to the door in Birmingham rather than leaving them on the pavement, which at one in the morning matters more than it sounds.

  • Groups gathered at one point inside Birmingham Airport, one chauffeur per car into Birmingham
  • A quiet cabin for the 9 miles back into Birmingham
  • Aircraft tracked into Birmingham Airport from the tail number, so Birmingham is reached on time
  • Chauffeur inside the Birmingham Airport arrivals hall with a board naming you and Birmingham
Working backwards from check-in at Birmingham Airport

LF-02Working backwards from check-in at Birmingham Airport

Working backwards from check-in at Birmingham Airport

Weekend departures out of Birmingham behave differently from weekday ones. M6 Junction 6 is quieter and the Birmingham Airport drop-off is busier, and the two do not cancel each other out as neatly as people expect them to.

On a very early start the streets around Brindleyplace are the easiest they will be all day, which is why a five o'clock collection is quoted with more confidence than an afternoon one.

The Birmingham handover, in order

LF-03The Birmingham handover, in order

The Birmingham handover, in order

The car does not circle Birmingham. If the kerb outside is not available it holds somewhere legal nearby, often on A38(M) Aston Expressway, and comes forward when you say you are ready. None of that costs you a minute in Birmingham.

From there the drive out of Birmingham is quiet unless you want it otherwise. Water in the door, a charger that fits your phone, and a chauffeur who has already decided whether M6 Junction 6 or A38(M) Aston Expressway is the better way out of Birmingham this morning.

  • Pick-ups at Five Ways made on the side that tolerates a stationary car
  • Collections from The NEC arranged through the desk, not the forecourt
  • The car holds on A38(M) Aston Expressway when the kerb outside your door will not take it
  • Cases carried from the door in Birmingham rather than watched

10The cars

Vehicles for a Birmingham booking

Four classes, quoted per journey out of the B1 district. A run from Birmingham to Birmingham Airport is priced against the car, not the head count.

Cabin MPV

Mercedes-Benz V-Class

Passengers
Up to 7
Large cases
5, plus cabin bags
Cabin class
Cabin MPV
Get a quote

First Saloon

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Passengers
Up to 3
Large cases
3, plus cabin bags
Cabin class
First Saloon
Get a quote

First SUV

Range Rover Autobiography

Passengers
Up to 4
Large cases
4, plus cabin bags
Cabin class
First SUV
Get a quote

Suite

Mercedes-Maybach S-Class

Passengers
Up to 3
Large cases
3, plus cabin bags
Cabin class
Suite
Get a quote

For Birmingham the relevant number is the drive to Birmingham Airport, which we price directly rather than deriving it from the London columns.

11Longer bookings

Beyond a single transfer out of Birmingham

When the Birmingham diary is the itinerary

LF-04When the Birmingham diary is the itinerary

When the Birmingham diary is the itinerary

Two fixed points in Birmingham is a transfer. Four is an hourly Birmingham booking. Somewhere between them the sums change, and in Birmingham the crossover usually arrives at about the third stop.

Most hourly bookings in Birmingham start as something smaller. A transfer becomes a transfer plus a wait, then plus a second Birmingham address, and at that point holding the car is simpler and usually cheaper.

Platform to kerb in Birmingham

LF-05Platform to kerb in Birmingham

Platform to kerb in Birmingham

A station collection in Birmingham is a small piece of choreography: the right entrance, the right side of the barrier, and a chauffeur who is standing on the concourse rather than sending a location pin.

The reverse out of Birmingham works too. A car from Birmingham to Birmingham New Street for an early departure means you are on the platform rather than in a taxi queue, and the chauffeur carries the bags to the barrier.

12Local reference

The reference points we use in Birmingham

The geography a chauffeur working Birmingham carries in their head, written down for the rest of us.

Landmarks

  • The Bullring
  • Library of Birmingham
  • Symphony Hall
  • Brindleyplace
  • The Jewellery Quarter
  • Gas Street Basin
  • Victoria Square
  • Spaghetti Junction

Venues and hotels

  • Hyatt Regency Birmingham
  • Utilita Arena Birmingham
  • Edgbaston Cricket Ground
  • Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
  • The NEC
  • Resorts World Birmingham

Stations

  • Birmingham New Street
  • Birmingham Moor Street
  • Birmingham Snow Hill
  • Birmingham International
  • Five Ways

Roads

  • A38(M) Aston Expressway
  • A4540 Middleway
  • A45 Coventry Road
  • A456 Hagley Road
  • M6 Junction 6

B1 · B2 · B3 · B4 · B5 · B15 · B16 · B18

13Practicalities

What it takes to get a car to Birmingham

The fleet, in Birmingham terms

LF-06The fleet, in Birmingham terms

The fleet, in Birmingham terms

Group travel out of Birmingham splits two ways. Two saloons out of Birmingham gives everyone a door and a share of the boot; one larger vehicle keeps the party together. Both get quoted for Birmingham so the choice is yours.

Accessibility needs change the vehicle and sometimes the Birmingham collection point as well. Mention them when you enquire and the car that arrives in Birmingham is one that actually works for you.

Four things we need, and a Birmingham price back

LF-07Four things we need, and a Birmingham price back

Four things we need, and a Birmingham price back

Four things make a quotation possible: the date, the address in Birmingham, where you are going and how many of you there are. Everything after that about the Birmingham journey is refinement rather than requirement.

Cancellation terms are set out on the Birmingham quotation you receive, in plain terms, before you commit to anything. There is nothing buried in a document you have to go looking for after the car has left Birmingham.

14Services

Chauffeur services available in Birmingham

Weddings, roadshows, meets at Five Ways and airport runs. All of them start somewhere in Birmingham.

15What it costs

How a Birmingham booking is priced

Half days, full days and transfers, priced by vehicle class rather than by Birmingham postcode.

Hourly, as directed

By the block

The car held for you between stops, with a minimum block named on the quotation.

Airport transfers

Quoted per journey

Priced against the drive from Birmingham, not against a zone map. Searching for a chauffeur service near me in Birmingham? This is that local service, quoted in writing before you travel.

Long distance

By the route

One car and one chauffeur from Birmingham to the far end of the run.

No standing price list. Send the journey on WhatsApp and the written quotation confirms the price, what it includes and any applicable tax. The pricing page sets out what moves a figure, and one message on WhatsApp fixes it for your journey.

16Nearby coverage

Areas next to Birmingham

Coverage continues past Birmingham in every direction. These are the first steps, starting with Solihull.

Birmingham sits in West Midlands. Every West Midlands area we cover is listed on one page, and the full coverage index runs to every town and district on the list.

17Answers

Birmingham chauffeur questions

Written for Birmingham rather than lifted from a general list.

Do you cover Birmingham city centre inside the Clean Air Zone?

Yes. The zone covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway and applies to vehicles entering it, which is a matter for the car rather than for you. Collections at Colmore Row, Brindleyplace, the Mailbox and the Jewellery Quarter are all routine.

How long should I allow from Birmingham city centre to Birmingham Airport?

Twenty to forty minutes for a clear run of about nine miles, and closer to an hour between seven and nine in the morning or when there is a large show at the NEC. We work the leaving time backwards from your flight rather than forwards from your door.

Can a car meet me off a train at New Street?

It can, but Moor Street works better. New Street sits under Grand Central and its entrances open onto pedestrian streets, so we normally arrange the meet at Moor Street, a two-minute walk away with a road a car can actually stop on.

Where do you collect from at the NEC?

It depends which hall your event is in, because each has its own set-down. We take the Pendigo Way approach and meet you inside the hall entrance, so you are not standing on a service road with a case while the car circles.

18Elsewhere on the site

Keep reading

FCReservations

Tell us the Birmingham journey. We will send the price in writing.

Message us the date, the pick-up and where you are going. You will get a fixed written quotation with the vehicle, the chauffeur’s arrival time and what the figure includes — no form to fill in, and no estimate that moves later.

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Email
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