Limo HireLimousine and Wedding Car Weblog

Over a period of two years, the BBC has had to pay out more than £500,000 on limo hire bills. Now the bosses at the BBC are being criticised for splashing the cash on what is said to be unnecessary expenses.

The main problem is that the money is not coming out of the four top boss’s wages. Instead it is considered to be an expense that they can claim back. This is on top of £14 taxi fares that the company pays out for its employees each year. The criticism is that such benefits should be taken away whilst the UK is in such poor financial state.

It was The Sun newspaper that revealed the full extent of the limo hire costs. However, the BBC has defended the use of the cars by stating that the bosses use them as workstations. When travelling to and from meetings they keep in touch with clients and prepare in the back of the limo. Still, members of the public and the Taxpayer’s Alliance are understandably not happy with the use of taxpayer’s money.

Of course it doesn’t help that the cars are only used by four of the top bosses. Whether the use of chauffeur driven limos will be reduced in the future remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure – the company has definitely faced a lot of criticism since the news broke out.

A private limo driver in Somerset has been caught out by Somerset Licensing officials for driving without insurance or a valid license. The Somerset District council received reports from members of the public after they noticed the driver speeding. Some passersby even worried that the vehicle was not roadworthy. 

Following up on the complaints, the local council did a thorough investigation into the driver and his company, only to find that he did not have the right paperwork. All official limousine drivers need official paperwork to prove that they can carry passengers and this one didn’t! However, the problems didn’t just stop there. The council also uncovered a number of other problems too.

Eventually the driver was caught out by police and the council as he was transporting a passenger from Yeovil to Heathrow Airport. He was found to have no insurance documents, no license for the vehicle and no private hire license.

The driver has now been given a 12 month conditional discharge as well as a criminal record and a £1,500 fine along with 6 points on his license. This should come as some warning to all limousine drivers. You need to ensure that you have the necessary documents and you are insured if you want to avoid getting into serious trouble!

We recently discussed the presidents new Cadillac limo. It is recently made an appearance in Ottawa. The scenes in Ottowa are very similar from a Hollywood film. Accompanying the presidents limo was blacked out SUV, sniffer dogs, FBI and secret service agents and police snipers on the roof tops.

There were rows of barricades to keep the thousands of fans away from the presidents limousine. Home owners and business owners along the route were asked to keep their windows and doors shut as the motorcade went by.
“He is an international superstar and a head of state who will receive the highest level of security,” said a senior security source, who asked not to be identified.

The idea is to see President Obama as he emerges from his limo. The Cadillac limousine was lifted by air for this event especially. As we discussed before this vehicle was specially designed by General Motors at their HQ in Detroit and is based on the famous Cadillac chassis. It has many feature such as bulletproof glass and armoured plating as well as the latest communication technology.

Its been impossible to miss on the news. The latest icy weather conditions have brought many of the British roads to a stand still. Many of the UK schools have been closed as teachers and parents struggle to get into work.

However, for many people and companies business has to go on. For example limo hire companies and wedding car hire companies have to make arrangements to ensure the bride gets to the church or a birthday boy gets to his party in style. This often involves doing research before the day. A great resource is the Highways Agency web site to check for road closures. Also, many limo hire companies work with their client to check the local road and make arrangements for a specific route or change of pick up address to make sure the wedding car or limousine can arrive on time and safely.

If you are planning a limo hire our suggestion is to plan the details with your limo hire company of choice. This way you will ensure that the night out will be one you won’t forget!

News updates on the the current economic situation are every where and impossible to miss. A country that you wouldn’t expect to be effected by the financial situation is Dubai. However, there have been reports that limo hire in Dubai is suffering.

Dubai is often seen as the capital of luxury and where money is no object with countless ground breaking and ground making property developments on the go. Dubai has been very popular with many tourists and a major hub for trading and finance.

However, with less tourists flying into the emirates the demand for limousines from visitors is at an all time low. Many argue that the leisure industry is struggling more than business. However, business is also cost cutting and looking at cheaper modes of transport compared to limo hire.

Many people are now looking at cost cutting by reducing the number of limos being hired, looking at cheaper limousines and also by looking at other modes of transport.

Recently the Queen had delivery of her brand new Bentley limousines worth £10 million each. She was given this as a gift for her Golden Jubilee. She liked the limousine so much she managed to convince Bentley to complete an earlier prototype so she could have a matching pair. This enables her to always have one available where ever she happens to be in the country.

It has now been announced that these limos will be converted to envoronmentally friendly bio fuel. The Bentley brand has been a keen part of the british motor history includes models such as the Bentley Arnage, Bentley Flying Spur and new Continental GT Coupe.

The engineering work is done by Wolkswagon with now owns the crewe based Bentley brand.  The plan is to have an improved fuel economy of up to 40% but 2012. Mr McCullough, Bentley director for sales and marketing commented ‘We have the ear of some very influential people at a level lobbyists can’t reach – not just in this country but abroad.’

This follows Prince Charles decision to to have his Austin Martin, Range Rover and Audi also converted to greener Bio fuels.

After a survey the NLA have announced that they expect over 3,600 sedans and limousines are arriving into DC for Inauguration Day with special permits. These are from a range of states as far as Connecticut, North Carolina and Ohio. An average company is actually sending 3 limos.

This is one of the times of year when the the DC Taxicab Commission allow chauffeur companies to use rental cars for carrying passengers. There are many events taking place where limos are hired such as balls and partys. The most popular vehciles are the SUV type including Hummers and Escalades with one company having cars at 8 out of the 10 events.

Richard Kane’s is the president of the National Limousine Association and his family has been in the limo trade for a long time. He commented.

“I’ve had lots of fun doing it. I’ve talked to more operators in the past five days than in the last nine months. All want to know how to become legal in town.”