Starting an Airport Shuttle Business in the United Kingdom

Beginner’s Guide on Starting an Airport Shuttle Business in the United Kingdom

Starting an airport shuttle business in the United Kingdom may sound easy on the surface. Nevertheless, you must consider many things carefully, such as registration, operations, and licenses.

In this article, 3E Accounting provides you with a guide to company registration in the United Kingdom. Firstly, we will help you in forming a business strategy and guide you through the necessary steps toward starting your own airport shuttle business. You will find valuable knowledge on how to get started, what type of vehicle best suits your needs and cost, and taking into account any emergency preparedness or safety measures you will need in case anything unexpected happens!

What is an Airport Shuttle Business?

An Airport Shuttle Business will provide shuttle services between two specific locations in the same metropolitan area. This means that the vehicles will be traveling between two locations, parking and picking up or dropping off passengers at another location. A typical airport shuttle service will offer services regularly between two major airport terminals. And so, Airport shuttles can be customized in many ways so that they meet the needs of individual travelers.

While different cities have different standards and regulations, airport shuttle businesses generally meet these requirements with little to no problem at all. Furthermore, any company offering transportation within a specific city’s limits must have the appropriate permits in place to operate within that particular area’s aviation guidelines.

In the past decade, the popularity of airport shuttle services has increased worldwide. This is because airport transportation can offer quick and convenient access to many destinations along with the comfort and safety of an on-the-spot handled by trained professionals.

How to Start an Airport Shuttle Business?

Firstly, starting an airport shuttle business can be a great way to provide transportation for people who cannot afford a private vehicle. You can also help people who would otherwise struggle with finding affordable rides. However, there are many steps and considerations before you officially start your business. We list 9 essential things you should do before starting your own business offering transport to travelers.

Conduct a Market Research

The first step for starting an airport shuttle business is to find out if it’s a required service in your area. This means visiting the nearest airports and looking at how much the shuttle services are used. In some parts of the world, very few commercial facilities provide regular service. If your goal is to provide regular customer service, then finding out what other people do is essential.

Before starting an airport shuttle business, you should learn as much as possible about running one from the ground up. Do you plan to pick up passengers at the airport? Or will you be taking people directly to their final destination? How many people will be in each vehicle? What sort of vehicle will you be using? These are some of the questions that can be answered to determine if it is a profitable business idea, and therefore one worth pursuing; however, it is not always clear-cut.

Plan Your Business

After researching the market, design a marketing plan that describes everything you intend to do and accomplish. It does not need to be detailed. But it should provide clarity around the critical aspects of your business. Planning helps you avoid creating obstacles that can keep you from succeeding.

Form a Legal Entity

Picking the correct entity for your company can be essential to its success. More importantly, it can help minimize the risk of being sued. Establishing a legal entity can be as simple as setting up a bank account and signing a paper. For these purposes, it’s best to avoid creating a company without first ensuring that you have all the necessary information installed and operational in your company’s accounting software.

Register for Taxes

It doesn’t matter if you are a non-resident or a resident of a particular country. You will need an EIN (individual tax identification number) for your business. Before you even start your business, it is best to register for all applicable taxes.

The process of getting an EIN can be either time-consuming or straightforward. It depends on the work you want to put into it and which country requirements you need to fulfill. Contacting a corporate service provider may prove helpful in this step.

Set Up Business Accounting

Accounting is an indispensable function of any company. Not only is it necessary to keep track of income and expenses, but it’s also crucial to prevent fraud and improper expense reporting. Without proper bookkeeping skills, it can be challenging to ensure that your business follows the rules that govern tax collection—and it could lead to big trouble if you fail to act quickly enough.

Get Insurance

Business insurance is designed to protect a business owner’s financial assets and is an essential investment for an airport shuttle business. All businesses, regardless of industry, face risks that should be covered by insurance. The most common and comprehensive type of policy business owners invest in is general liability insurance (or CGL).

CGL insurance covers:

Bodily injury
Property damage
Medical payments
Legal defense and judgment
Personal and advertising injury

Research Costs and Equipment

The minimum cost for running a shuttle service includes the driver’s regular expenses, plus any equipment costs required to run the service, such as advertisements on buses and taxi cabs. Once you know how much this will cost, you can work out whether you can afford to cover it yourself or need to get someone to cover these costs for you.

Define Your Brand

A solid brand image will allow your business to stand out from competitors. In this sense, a strong marketing message is key to establishing a reliable brand. Your statement should be concise, easy to remember and reflect the core values of your business. Your message should be able to reach customers both inside and outside your company.

The key is communicating clearly and consistently with your brand message throughout all marketing channels. 3E Accounting, however, is more than willing to assist you to deliver your message to the public. Contact us for our assistance.

Create a Website

There are three reasons why people go to websites:

To learn about products or services.
To interact with others who are knowledgeable about a subject.
To get advice from people who can direct them to the best source of information or product.

In addition, a decent website will have all of these things on it. Because it will explain things clearly, and make it easy for people to get what they need without looking all over the place. Moreover, if you don’t have a business website, don’t worry about it. Because it doesn’t mean that you can’t build one. Lastly, just know that having one will help you create a stronger argument for why people should work with you.

What are the Licences Needed for Starting an Airport Shuttle Business?

In addition, you need all the necessary licenses to operate an airport shuttle service. Similarly, this step will involve a lot of paperwork and may be difficult for a starter.

Here are some of the licenses you’ll need: