Booking transport in Pakistan from outside it is a different problem from booking it locally, and most of the difficulty has nothing to do with cars. It is that the tools you would normally use do not work for you: the apps need a local number and a payment method they accept, the rail booking system needs a Pakistani national ID, and the fare information you find online is frequently out of date by a year or more.
This page is about how to arrange it properly before you fly, whether you are a returning overseas Pakistani, a business visitor, or a family sending a relative.
Why the apps do not solve this
The Pakistani ride-hailing market is inDrive, Yango and Bykea. Uber left the country entirely on 30 April 2024 and Careem suspended ride-hailing on 18 July 2025, so any guide recommending either is stale and there are a great many of those still ranking well.
Of the three that remain, inDrive works by the passenger naming a price and drivers accepting or countering it, so there is no tariff to check and no way to know in advance what a journey costs. Yango gives upfront fares and is the most predictable, but like all of them it requires a working local phone, mobile data and a payment method at the moment you need it. An arriving international passenger typically has none of those, because there are no tourist SIM counters in Pakistani airport arrivals and airport cash machines often decline foreign cards.
Rail is closed to most overseas visitors for a similar reason. Pakistan Railways sells online tickets against a Pakistani national ID number and takes payment only from Pakistani-issued cards.
What to send us
The more of this we have, the less there is to resolve later.
- Pickup address and destination address, in full. For Rawalpindi, Karachi and DHA areas add a landmark or the phase and block.
- Date and time. For an arrival, the flight number and the scheduled arrival time; for a departure, the check-in time you want to make rather than the flight time.
- Number of passengers and number of cases. The cases decide the vehicle.
- Any stops you want on the way, and whether the car waits, returns empty or comes back later.
- A contact for the traveller in Pakistan, and one for you if you are booking on someone else’s behalf.
- Anything that changes the vehicle: a wheelchair, an infant seat, a musical instrument, commercial samples, or a passenger who cannot manage steps.
Booking for somebody else
A large share of what we arrange is booked by one person for another: a son in Manchester arranging a car for parents landing at Sialkot, a company arranging travel for a colleague arriving in Karachi. That works well, and it works best when both people are named on the booking. Give us the traveller’s own contact details as well as yours, and tell us who should receive the driver’s photograph and the vehicle registration before pickup. Usually the answer is both of you.
Time zones are worth a moment of care too. Pakistan Standard Time is five hours ahead of UTC and does not observe daylight saving, so the gap to the UK changes twice a year. Quote arrival and departure times in local Pakistani time to avoid a four-hour misunderstanding at one in the morning.
What is fixed and what is not
Once we have quoted a journey and you have accepted it, the price is fixed for the journey as described. If the route, the stops or the timing change, we requote before anything happens rather than adjusting the figure afterwards. A submitted request is not a booking until availability, price and terms are confirmed.
We do not advertise flight tracking or free waiting time. Other operators in this market do, and we would rather not put a commitment in writing that we have not put in place. If waiting matters for your arrival, say so and we will agree it explicitly.
The single most useful thing you can send
The flight number. It tells us which service to watch, which terminal to meet at, and, for Multan in fog season and Skardu in any season, where to look if the aircraft goes somewhere else.
Tell us the journey and we will price it. A submitted request is not a booking until availability, price and terms are confirmed.
Which vehicle actually fits
Seat counts are the manufacturer figures. The passenger and luggage numbers beside them are what the vehicle carries in practice, with the cases people really travel with. If your party is near the limit, tell us the number of bags rather than the number of people, because that is what decides it.
- Suzuki WagonR 3 passengers, 2 cases Short city transfers on a budget. The tall boot helps more than the engine does.
- Toyota Yaris or Corolla 3 to 4 passengers, 2 to 3 large cases The workhorse. City work, airport transfers and the motorway run between Lahore and Islamabad.
- Honda BR-V 5 passengers with luggage, or 7 with almost none Family airport transfers on paved routes. The third row eats the boot, so it suits children or short hops rather than seven adults with cases. Not a mountain vehicle.
- Toyota Fortuner 5 passengers with full luggage, 7 travelling light Rough road and mountain work: Skardu, Hunza, Naran, Babusar. Ask for the diesel four-wheel-drive, because the petrol version is two-wheel-drive.
- Toyota Land Cruiser 4 to 5 passengers with full luggage Protocol and expedition work, and a genuine choice for Skardu and Deosai. It returns 5 to 10 km a litre, which at Rs 343 a litre is the honest reason it costs what it costs.
- Toyota Hiace Grand Cabin 13 passengers plus the driver The group and family vehicle. Gulf arrivals into Sialkot and Peshawar with heavy luggage, tour groups, weddings, long intercity runs.
- Toyota Coaster 25 to 29 passengers with hold luggage Large groups, corporate shuttles and pilgrimage travel. Worth knowing that the motorway toll alone is Rs 3,350 each way against Rs 1,430 for a car.
How booking works
- 01 Tell us the journey Where from, where to, when, how many of you and how much luggage. Precise addresses matter more than you would think, because a Rawalpindi address and an Islamabad address twenty minutes apart are very different journeys.
- 02 We quote a fixed price One figure for the whole journey, with the vehicle class it assumes. If a motorway toll or a waiting period is part of it, you see that too.
- 03 You see the driver and the car Before the journey you get the driver photograph and the vehicle registration, so you know exactly who and what you are looking for.
- 04 You travel At an airport your driver waits inside arrivals with a name sign. Check the photograph and the registration plate against what we sent you before you get in.
Frequently asked questions
Can I book from outside Pakistan?
Yes, and that is what this service is built for. Send the journey details by email and we will confirm the vehicle, the driver and the price before you travel.
Why can I not just use an app when I land?
Because it needs a working local phone, mobile data and an accepted payment method at the moment you need it. There are no tourist SIM counters in Pakistani airport arrivals and airport cash machines often decline foreign cards.
Do Uber or Careem operate in Pakistan?
No. Uber left the country on 30 April 2024 and Careem suspended ride-hailing on 18 July 2025. The remaining apps are inDrive, Yango and Bykea.
Can I book the train instead?
Not easily from abroad. Pakistan Railways sells online tickets against a Pakistani national ID number and accepts payment only from Pakistani-issued cards.
What information do you need from me?
Full pickup and destination addresses, the date and time, the flight number for an arrival, the number of passengers and the number of cases, any stops, and a contact for the traveller in Pakistan.
Can I book on behalf of my parents or a colleague?
Yes, and it is common. Give both sets of contact details and tell us who should receive the driver’s photograph and vehicle registration. Usually it should be both of you.
How do you confirm the booking?
By email, with the vehicle class, the inclusions and exclusions, and the price. A request is not a booking until availability, price and terms are confirmed.
What time zone should I use?
Pakistan Standard Time, five hours ahead of UTC with no daylight saving. Quote arrival and departure times in local Pakistani time so nothing is misread by a few hours.
Will the traveller know who is picking them up?
Yes. The driver’s photograph and the vehicle registration are sent before pickup, and the driver meets arriving passengers inside the terminal.
Do you track the flight?
We do not advertise flight tracking, because we prefer not to put a commitment in writing that we have not put in place. Send the flight number and we will plan the pickup around the scheduled arrival.
Can you arrange several days of travel in one booking?
Yes. Multi-day and multi-city itineraries with the same driver are quoted as a whole, which is usually better value and always simpler than booking each leg.
Is the price fixed once I accept the quote?
Yes, for the journey as described. Changes to route, stops or timing are requoted before they happen.
Tell us the journey and we will price it
Send the route, the date, the number of travelling and how many cases you have. You will get one price for the whole journey and the vehicle class it assumes. If we cannot cover it properly we will say so rather than take the booking.