Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of Devon Transfers Private Hire
- Nick
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
When most people book an airport transfer, the journey itself looks fairly simple.
A vehicle arrives. The luggage goes in. You settle into your seat. A little while later, you're at the airport ready to start your holiday.
But for me, that journey often started hours earlier.
As the owner and driver of Devon Transfers Private Hire, specialising in pre-booked airport transfers across Mid Devon, some summer working days can begin in the middle of the night and finish with wedding guests heading home many hours later.
So, what actually happens behind the scenes?
The Night Before
In reality, preparation for an airport transfer often starts well before the night before.
For journeys booked in advance, I'll usually be keeping an eye on planned roadworks, motorway closures and anything else that could affect the route a week or more before I'm due to travel. This is particularly important for early-morning Bristol Airport transfers, when overnight closures or diversions can make a significant difference to the journey.
The evening before is really the final check.
I'll look again at:
Planned roadworks and overnight motorway closures
Latest traffic and travel information
Flight schedules
Weather conditions
Any disruption affecting the route or airport
If I've already identified something that could cause a problem, I'll have factored it into the collection time or planned an alternative route well in advance.
Most journeys are straightforward, but at 2am I'd much rather already know about a motorway closure than discover it with passengers and their luggage in the vehicle.
Once I'm happy with the plan for the morning, the alarm is set. Sometimes it's set very early.
01:30am – The Day Begins
For some Bristol Airport transfers, my working day can begin at around 1:30am.
Before leaving for the first collection, I'll check the latest traffic conditions and make sure nothing has changed overnight.
Then it's time to prepare the vehicle.
Daily vehicle safety checks are part of every working day before carrying passengers.
Where possible, rather than carrying these out outside a customer's home in the early hours, I'll move away from residential properties before completing the inspection.
Tyres, lights, fluid levels, seatbelts, doors, mirrors, warning lights and the general condition of the vehicle are all checked.
The vehicle is maintained and inspected regularly, of course, but this final check gives me reassurance that everything is exactly as it should be before the day's first passengers step aboard.
Then it's time for the first collection.
02:30am – Starting Someone's Holiday
There's something quite different about an airport collection in the middle of the night.
The roads are quieter. Most houses are dark. Somewhere in Mid Devon, a family is standing by the front door surrounded by suitcases, probably wondering whether they've remembered their passports.
For them, the holiday is beginning.
I'll help load the luggage, make sure everyone is comfortable and then we're on our way.
By this point, I've already checked the route, traffic and timings, so my customers don't need to think about any of that.
They can sit back, perhaps catch another hour of sleep and look forward to their trip.
That's exactly what I want an airport transfer to feel like.
04:00am – Bristol Airport
Once my passengers and their luggage are safely dropped at Bristol Airport, that particular journey is complete.
However, the working day isn't necessarily over.
Far from it.
Back in Mid Devon there may be WhatsApp messages and emails waiting, quotations to prepare, invoices to send and future journeys to organise.
Because Devon Transfers Private Hire is owner-operated, when someone sends an enquiry, changes a collection time or asks a question about their booking, they're speaking directly to me.
There isn't a separate booking office behind the scenes.
The person answering the message is the same person who'll eventually arrive at the door.
Later That Day – An Aircraft Leaves Zante
While I'm dealing with the day's other work, another journey is already on my mind.
A family is due back into Exeter Airport that afternoon from Zante.
Their booking might simply say what time the flight is scheduled to arrive, but I don't just wait for that time to appear on the clock.
I'll normally start monitoring the flight before the aircraft has even departed for Devon.
Is it leaving on time?
Has the scheduled arrival changed?
Is it making good progress?
Could it arrive earlier than expected?
That information helps me plan the collection around what is actually happening rather than relying solely on the original timetable.
Whenever possible, I'll also send my customers a quick message to reassure them that I'm monitoring their flight and everything is in hand.
They've got enough to think about while travelling.
Finding out whether their driver knows the flight is delayed shouldn't be another thing on the list.
Arriving Before The Aircraft
For Exeter Airport collections, in most cases I aim to be there before the aircraft lands.
There's something quite satisfying about watching a flight I've been following throughout the day make its final approach into Exeter, knowing I'm already there waiting.
This is an important part of how I provide my airport collection service.
I don't ask passengers to call me once they're outside before I make my way into the airport. Nor do I arrange to meet somewhere away from the terminal to avoid airport parking or collection charges.
I'll already be at the airport, parked and waiting for you.
There's no need to call to tell me you've landed, no need to let me know when you've collected your luggage and no need to walk away from the terminal looking for your driver.
I'm already monitoring the flight, so I know when you've arrived.
For my passengers, it means that after a long flight and a day of travelling, there's one less thing to think about.
Simply collect your luggage, come through arrivals and your onward transport is already there waiting.
(Bristol Airport collections work slightly differently due to the considerably higher airport pick-up charges. I'll still be monitoring your flight and its arrival, but I'll normally ask you to give me a quick call once you've collected your luggage and are ready for collection.
I'll explain exactly where to meet me beforehand, so you know what to expect when you arrive.)
Whichever airport you're returning to, the aim is the same: to make the final part of your journey home as straightforward as possible.
I'll help with the bags, everyone gets comfortable and we head back towards Mid Devon.
One more journey safely completed.
Resetting for the Next Passenger
Once I'm home, the vehicle needs preparing again.
The passenger area is checked, any rubbish removed, surfaces cleaned where necessary and everything reset for whoever is travelling next.
Meanwhile, there may be more enquiries to answer and the next day's bookings to review.
That's one of the interesting parts of running a small owner-operated private hire business.
During the course of a day, I can switch between being a driver, administrator, customer service department, route planner and marketing department – sometimes within the space of an hour.
And the day might still not be finished.
Building Downtime Into the Day
A day that starts in the early hours doesn't mean I'm continuously driving from morning until night.
One of the less visible parts of planning my diary is making sure there's enough flexibility between bookings – not only to allow for delayed flights, unexpected traffic or journeys taking longer than anticipated, but also to allow proper downtime between periods of driving.
That might mean heading home for a few hours, having something to eat, stopping for a coffee or simply taking some time to relax before the next journey.
I deliberately avoid filling every available gap in the diary just because another booking could potentially fit.
Passenger safety will always come before squeezing in an extra journey, so making sure I'm properly rested and ready to drive is just as important to me as checking the vehicle, monitoring a flight or planning the route.
It also means that if a flight is delayed or something unexpected happens, I've allowed some flexibility rather than planning journeys so tightly that one delay affects every customer afterwards.
Sometimes, saying no to a booking is simply part of making sure the journeys I do accept receive the time and attention they deserve.
That Evening – A Completely Different Journey
The final booking of the day could be wedding guest transport at one of Mid Devon's beautiful local venues.
Instead of suitcases and departure boards, it's suits, dresses and wedding celebrations.
Guests might need collecting from their accommodation and taken to the venue, followed by return journeys later that evening.
It's completely different from an airport transfer, but many of the things happening behind the scenes are actually very similar.
Timings need planning.
Routes need checking.
Communication matters.
Most importantly, when somebody has booked me to be somewhere at a particular time, I need to be there.
Then It Starts Again
Not every working day looks like this.
Some are quieter. Some are considerably busier.
A summer day could include a Bristol Airport departure in the early hours, an Exeter Airport arrival during the afternoon and wedding transport that evening.
Another might involve Tiverton Parkway collections or regional travel elsewhere in Devon.
That's one of the things I enjoy about running Devon Transfers Private Hire.
No two days are ever quite the same.
Whether I'm collecting someone from home at 2:00am, waiting for an aircraft to land at Exeter or taking wedding guests back to their accommodation late at night, the aim doesn't change:
To provide a calm, reliable and well-organised journey from the moment you book until you arrive at your destination.
Because when an airport transfer goes exactly as planned, most of the preparation behind it is invisible.
You shouldn't need to think about road closures, flight delays, route planning or whether your driver will be there.
That's my job.
Your job is to enjoy the journey.
— Nick Sellick
Owner & Driver
Devon Transfers Private Hire
