Most big cities in the UK have at least one and often multiple private hire firms, who you can call to book a vehicle to take you somewhere. Usually there are a

Most big cities in the UK have at least one and often multiple private hire firms, who you can call to book a vehicle to take you somewhere. Usually there are also taxis that you can pick up without booking in advance, which are providing a different kind of service and normally regulated by the local authorities. In practice, the private hire firms often charge on a meter the same as local taxis for local journeys even if they're not technically required to, so a lot of people don't realise there's a difference. There are plenty of alternatives to Uber in most major residential areas of the UK.