TOA Taxis is one of the largest providers of black cabs in the Birmingham city area, due to the lifts being out at Aston station, West Midlands Railway ordered a taxi to replace the train so I could still travel. The communication from TOA was pretty awful, obviously, as the taxi was ordered for me I didn't know they were providing me with a taxi at first, it was running late so I had to end up phoning both the Railway company and checking with the station staff at Birmingham New Street to see where it is. Eventually, I received a call from the taxi company only for it to be disconnected a few seconds later, I thought it was one of those weird prank calls which call you and disconnects as soon as you answer: this was until I googled the phone number to find out it was TOA, I eventually phoned them back and I agreed to meet the driver at the travel office: but this was not the case. The driver phoned me a few minutes later (remember after all this he still arrived 10-15 minutes late), and told me he was waiting in a totally different area to what we agreed when the taxi was booked, and then they phoned me up (luckily the station staff agreed to take me). When I got in my car, the driver seemed friendly enough and we did start moving pretty quickly. I was heading to Villa Park and it would have been nice if he offered to point me in the right direction, rather than watching me walk the wrong way and waving when I realised and turned around. TOA is pretty much the largest black cab operator in the city, similar to Mantax in Manchester, so if it comes down to it they are okay as a last resort, but they do seem to be abusing their status to a certain degree. 2* read more

Warning to Wheelchair users. DON'T USE TOA Taxis! If you have a wheelchair they are UNBELIEVABLY USELESS. Last time my carer booked a taxi for me TOA kept us waiting on a cold, windy street corner for 1.5 hours and after all that time TOA STILL HADN'T GOT A TAXI ALLOCATED to my job and couldn't tell me when one would be available. After another 1.5 hours, perhaps? So rather than be kept waiting indefinitely we walked. Obviously it would have been much quicker to have walked in the first place. This wasn't even their worst performance. We were once kept waiting for 2.25 hours and ended up walkting It's not even as if they're cheap. You can reckon on paying around £5 per mile.- if they actually turn up. read more

TOA Taxis - where to begin? If I could write a mini novella on the advantages and disadvantages of bus travel in the West Midlands (and probably name most of the major bus routes) then I could probably write a short story or five based on my trials and tribulations in the taxi world. Tales of mobile phones lost and found, kebabs hidden under jumpers, puking passengers (not me btw...not me) and my Nan (who made such an impression on the TOA drivers that they still ask after her now - but then she was a rather generous tipper) would feature heavily but I suspect wouldn't be that useful. Instead I'll say that TOA provide an incredibly reliable and safe taxi service. Their fleet of cars are hackney carriage type vehicles and you can hire them for long journeys. You can either hail them in the street - either by flailing your arms around or for that 'I'm going to pretend I'm in New York' feel with a jaunty whistle, wait in one of the cities many and often rather lairy (after a certain time at night anyway) taxi ranks or give them a call. They aren't cheap but they are good. read more

Toa Taxis - Taxi for Green? - Taxis Near Me - Birmingham, XWM

Taxi drivers often act as ambassadors for the city, people get off at new street or international airport and rely on these chaps to take them to their destination, or I imagine make suggestions for the next stop of their Brummie adventure! Upon getting into a TOA cab on Saturday night, I really hope this particular taxi driver doesn't end up picking up much business from visitors wanting to experience the best of the city. We hailed a cab from John Bright street to take us to "Rico Libre just of Digbeth high st", now its a small venue, but given how popular it is I would probably expect a taxi driver to at least know of it. But there are a lot of places in brum so it would be hard to have a total knowledge of them all so it is understandable. The taxi driver then (rather shortly) asked him to give him the street name, at which point he said he had never heard of the street and had been doing this job 20 years (clearly not exactly paying attention for those 20 years if you ask me). Apparently he had no sat-nav either so relied on us to guide him there. What he would have done if we didn't have smartphones im not sure. Already a little miffed off by this guy's attitude (he was rude and condescending the whole journey), upon nearing our destination, the driver announces that 'this place will close down as quickly as it opened' and that he gives "them a month". I told him it had been open for about 6 months now and is going from strength to strength, and I received a mumbled response. What a terrible way to support local independent businesses in the city. If I was in his position I'd have wanted to know about what must be an interesting / unusual restaurant rather than trash talk its chances of flourishing. We got a private hire cab home, the driver was friendly and helpful, a world away from the TOA experience. read more

My sister booked 2 cabs with TOA taxis this morning around 3AM. One cab arrived on time and the other was late. The second cab kept calling her to find out her location. So, the first cab driver proposed to talk to his colleague to provide directions to their current location. My sister gave him her mobile phone to talk to the second driver. He never returned the phone back to her. After she got off the cab and was indoors, she realised that her mobile phone was missing. She called her phone but it was turned off. However, the phone was fully charged before she got in the cab. She has called TOA Taxis but they're saying that the company is not responsible for any of their drivers. That, all drivers are independent. They didn't even take the effort to investigate on their end. Instead, they just asked the driver and he told them that he didn't see the phone and a simply brush-off was their only response and that I my sister should take it up with the police. So, I wouldn't advise anyone to book a cab with TOA Taxis. Instead, download Uber. read more

AVOID if you can - TOA are the most expensive taxi in the area and are dishonest. They usually cost approximately £2 per journey more than other providers, including Castle Cars & Amber cars (both of whom are very good.) For example; New Street to Harborne will usually be around £12 with TOA - a minicab costs about £7. I'd advise paying by cash ONLY. I attempted to pay by card (in Dec 2013) which the card reader declined (printed out proof was given) I then paid by cash, only to find on my next bank statement I had also paid by card! I spoke to the manager twice and heard nothing more. They couldn't care less. Now even when the black cab first in the "queue" in the city centre is a TOA, we refuse and get the second cab. The other black cab drivers were fine when I explained why. Now we don't get TOA at any time and don't recommend them. Hopefully with Uber, they'll be put out of business soon. read more

I have tried to prebook a ToA taxi twice now and both times they didn't turn up. The first time i phoned an hour before and asked for a taxi at 14:30. At 14:40 no taxi had arrived so i called them and they said they had no record of my booking but could send out a car straight away. Luckily i didn't have a specific appointment this time so i agreed. Admittedly the drive was nice and the cab was...well a black cab so i got there in the end. Second time i though i would try the app...I had an appointment at the vets for 15:40 so i booked a taxi to take me there at 15:30 and one to collect me again at 16:00 and take me home. 15:33, still no taxi so i check the app and it says eta 15 minutes...but if i start a new booking a car will be with me in 2-3 minutes...i call ToA, they find my booking but no taxi is coming because there are no taxi's available. How can you make a booking for a specific time and there be no taxi's available? She said she could send one when one was available but she didn't know when that would be...if people book for a specific time it usually means they have a specific time frame to stick to, not just whenever you can be bothered. And if there are no taxi's available when it told me on the app that one could be with me in 2-3 minutes if i booked now then that was completely wrong also. Moral of the story, i used uber instead. They turned up when they said, both there and back (i cancelled the return journey with ToA obviously) the cars were nice and clean, the drivers were nice and friendly, i got a text message to say who the driver was, the make of car and the vehicle registration and a text to say they were just pulling up so i didn't have to wait outside in the cold and as a final bonus not only were they cheap but i also didn't have to pay a tip as it was all done automatically...you don't need to mess about with cash or making sure they have a card machine in the cab it just gets processed automatically. read more

Toa are my go to cab co in Brum. I can't remember them ever letting me down. They're generally prompt, drivers are fine, it's all meters so no made up rates, the cabs are clean and the txt message saying they're outside just takes all the stress away. Even tho' I have a free Uber credit I've never bothered to use it as I trust Toa and they deserve my loyalty. Highly recommended. read more

Sometimes you have no choice; the last bus has long gone and you are stranded right in the heart of the city centre without a local cab firm in sight. So you will have to buckle and hail a TOA cab. Now, if you're a tourist you might instinctively go for this option. Look at them, Hackney Carriages like the ones you saw in that delightful Hugh Grant movie! But if you are a local you will already be close to tears knowing you are going to have to sell a kidney to pay for your journey. For instance, just last night I found myself having to take a TOA to get home, my usual journey (with a slight detour) which would normally cost between £6 and £10 in a private hire cab cost me £17 in a TOA. £17!! Now I know they operate on a meter and sometimes you can get trapped in traffic which can make the meter tick up and up, but this was late at night, no traffic to speak of... he even tried to take the long way around after I had dropped off my friend so god knows how much the fare could have been if I had sat back and let that happen! And while we are on the subject of the meter... seriously, is there any kind of logic to it.?OK, my fare is £8, he presses a couple of buttons and hey presto it just shot up to £13! I remember once the driver told me he had to put the meter on a higher tariff because my buddy was... heavy set. Seriously! We were being charged more because of my fat pal! I guess it's not all bad, they are almost always impeccably clean and you can get 5 people on board so that can cut down the cost if there's a gang of you. Also good if you have to transport big items (several times my band has done local shows and used TOA cabs to transport our gear when our van has been out of order). But really, unless you have money to burn use a private hire firm whenever possible! read more

very good taxis and the taxidrivers are always nice. not overly priced at all

I have never used TAO taxis and, after the attitude I encountered from one of their drivers today, I never will! At about 3.50pm as I drove along the A458 in the right hand lane, adjacent to McDonalds in Halesowen, I was aware of one of TOA's taxis ( a bright metallic blue, in case you ever have cause to use this particular cab) to the left of me. Without any initial indication, the driver then started to veer across into my path, upon which I blew my horn to warn him. He continued to bully his way across and I had to brake sharply to avoid him. He finally indicated to turn off to the right, stuck his two fingers up at me out of the window and drove off. This taxi driver put the lives of any passengers he had, his own, mine and anyone else's who could have been caught up in this, had there been a collision, by his inconsiderate and bullying attitude. I have since tried to contact the company to make them aware of this driver's attitude but there is no reply on the telephone. I know taxi drivers often get bad press for no good reason but on this occasion it is warranted! read more