Booking a ride for somebody who is not you

A surprising share of trips are booked by somebody who is not travelling. A daughter arranging her mother's hospital appointment. An office manager sending a client back to their hotel. A parent getting a child home from training.

Topsy treats this as a normal case rather than an awkward one. When you book, you can put the rider's name and phone number on the trip. The driver then sees who they are actually collecting, which is the information that matters at the kerb, and the trip stays on your account for payment and tracking.

Why the name matters more than you would think

A driver arriving to collect someone will call the number on the trip. If that number is yours and you are across town, the call achieves nothing. If it is the rider's, the two people who need to find each other can speak directly.

The name matters for the same reason. "I am here for Ama" is a workable opening. "Are you the Topsy customer?" is not, particularly at a busy pickup point where three cars are waiting.

The trip is still yours

You keep everything. The fare settles on your payment method. The live tracking is in your account. The receipt goes to your history. If plans change, you cancel it, not them. The person travelling does not need a Topsy account, an app, or a way to pay.

Share the trip with them and they can watch the car approach on their own phone without signing up for anything. The link expires by itself.

For a child specifically

If the person travelling is your child, Topsy Teens is built for exactly this and does more than a one-off booking. You add the child once, save the places they travel between, and set the days and times. The car is then booked for each of those days from your account.

It also gives the driver more than a name: your number as the guardian, the handover note you wrote, and the emergency contact you set. That is the difference between a driver who knows what they have been asked to do and one who is guessing.

For an older relative

The same arrangement works. Someone who would rather not deal with an app can still be met by a named driver in a known vehicle, with you watching the route from your own phone and paying for it without cash changing hands at the door.