If you run a taxi or private hire firm, you don’t lie awake thinking about impressions or click-through rates. You think about one thing: is the phone ringing?

That’s exactly the question we set out to answer for the local taxi companies we work with across Hertfordshire and the surrounding towns. And in July, the answer was a resounding yes — 663 genuine customer enquiries, at a lower cost per enquiry than the month before, with more of those enquiries converting into real bookings than ever.

Here’s what actually happened, and why it matters if you run a taxi business in the area.

The Numbers That Matter

Forget vanity metrics. For a taxi firm, three numbers decide whether a marketing campaign is working:

• 663 total enquiries in July — calls, “Call Us Now” button taps, and online booking form submissions — up from 648 the month before
• 30.19% conversion rate — meaning nearly a third of everyone who clicked through went on to actually contact the business, up from 28.71%
• £3.65 cost per enquiry — down from £3.79, meaning every new customer lead got cheaper to generate, not more expensive

That last point is the one most agencies gloss over. It’s easy to get more enquiries by spending more money. It’s much harder to get more enquiries and pay less for each one — but that’s precisely what happened here.

The Phone Is Still King

If there’s one thing this data proves beyond doubt, it’s that taxi customers want to talk to a human. 96.8% of all July enquiries came through phone calls — either direct calls from the ad, or taps on the “Call Us Now” button. Text and app-based booking has its place, but for local taxi and private hire, the phone remains the primary way customers actually book a ride.

That said, there was a genuine bright spot for anyone hoping to grow other channels: online booking form submissions nearly tripled, rising from 8 to 21 month-on-month. It’s still a small slice of the pie, but it’s a clear signal that a segment of customers are increasingly comfortable booking without picking up the phone — worth nurturing, not ignoring.

Which Towns Are Driving the Best Results

Not every campaign performs the same, and that’s exactly why we run and optimise these at a town-by-town level rather than treating Hertfordshire as one big blob.

• Berkhamsted was the standout performer: 159 enquiries at a 43.35% conversion rate and just £2.30 per enquiry
• Hemel Hempstead posted the best conversion quality in the entire account — 46.95% of clicks turned into a genuine enquiry, at £2.81 each
• Tring matched Berkhamsted for the lowest cost per enquiry at £2.30, with 66 enquiries for the month

These towns show what’s achievable when campaigns are tightly targeted to a local audience that’s actively searching for a taxi right now, rather than broad, unfocused advertising.

Not every area hit those heights — Watford is currently the highest cost-per-enquiry campaign in the group, and it’s the area we’re actively optimising going into August. That’s the nature of local paid campaigns: some towns respond faster than others, and the job is to keep refining until every area performs like Berkhamsted and Tring.

Why This Actually Matters for Your Taxi Business

Strip away the marketing jargon and here’s what these numbers mean in plain terms:

• More phones ringing — real customers, actively looking for a ride, contacting the business directly
• Lower cost per new customer — growth that doesn’t require an ever-increasing budget
• Higher quality traffic — a rising conversion rate means the people clicking through are genuinely ready to book, not just browsing

For a taxi or private hire company, that combination — more enquiries, cheaper enquiries, better quality enquiries — is exactly what sustainable local growth looks like.

Want Results Like This for Your Taxi Business?

If you run a taxi or private hire company in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, or Buckinghamshire and you’re not seeing this kind of return from your marketing, it might be time for a second opinion.

We offer a free 20-minute review where we’ll look at what’s working, what isn’t, and where the quick wins are for your business — no obligation, no jargon, just straight answers.