11/06/2026
📱 Understanding App Wait Times
We'd like to explain how the estimated arrival times shown in our app work.
The time displayed is generated using historical booking data and journey patterns for your area. In simple terms, if the app shows a 5-minute wait, that's because customers booking from that location would typically receive a vehicle within around 5 minutes.
However, the estimate does not take into account live operational factors such as:
🚖 Current driver availability
📅 Existing bookings already allocated
⏰ Future bookings due to take place shortly
🚦 Traffic conditions and road delays
📈 Unexpected spikes in demand
As a result, actual wait times can sometimes be longer than the estimate shown, particularly during busy periods.
We also believe in treating customers fairly. If we have several bookings due around the same time, priority will generally be given to customers who booked first. For example, a customer who booked their journey yesterday, last week, or even several weeks ago will take priority over a booking received a few minutes beforehand.
This helps us honour commitments we've already made whilst still working hard to accommodate new bookings whenever possible.
If you require the most accurate waiting time during busy periods, we recommend calling our booking office where our team can provide guidance based on current demand, driver availability and upcoming bookings rather than relying solely on the app's estimate.
Most importantly, every booking matters to us.
Whether you book through the app, by phone, online or in person, our team works hard behind the scenes to get every customer collected as close to their requested pick-up time as possible.
Whilst pick-up times are requested times rather than guaranteed times, we are constantly monitoring bookings and doing everything we can to provide the best service possible.
Thank you for your understanding and for continuing to support Ideal Cars. 💙
