Corporate transport RFQ checklist: 25 questions for a Dubai chauffeur or bus company

What should a transport RFQ include?

An RFQ only works if every vendor prices the same job. Write the scope once, in a fixed format, and send it to each vendor with the same deadline.

Scope item	What to write	Example
Services	Every kind of trip you buy	Airport pickups, hourly cars, Abu Dhabi day trips, a show-week shuttle
Volumes	Trips per month, by service	About 60 airport trips, 15 hourly bookings, 4 full days
Locations	Airports and emirates	DXB and DWC, offices in DIFC and Jebel Ali Free Zone, meetings in Abu Dhabi
Hours	When you need cover	24/7 for airport pickups, 7 am to 9 pm for hourly hire
Vehicle classes	Car class per traveller grade	First class sedan for directors, business sedan for staff
Term	Start date and length	12 months from 1 January, with a three-month review

Then add the 25 questions at the end of this page. Ask for answers in writing, numbered to match.

For the money side of an account, such as statements, credit terms and spend controls, see how a corporate chauffeur account works.

Which licences and documents should a vendor provide?

Licences come first, because a cheap quote from an unlicensed operator is worth nothing.

• Trade licence. Issued in Dubai by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) or a free zone authority. Check the licensed activities and the legal name.
• RTA permit. A Dubai operator carrying passengers in luxury vehicles needs the RTA permit for Passenger Transport by Luxury Motor Vehicles. It rests on Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2016 and Executive Regulations No. 516 of 2022.
• Permits for other emirates. RTA’s rules point operators to the Federal Authority for Land and Maritime Transport for work outside Dubai. Abu Dhabi issues passenger bus operation permits, vehicle permits and driver permits through its Asateel platform. In Ras Al Khaimah, RAKTA licenses limousine and employee transport companies, and out-of-RAK companies with transport contracts there.
• Insurance. Ask for the motor insurance schedule for the cars you will use, and check that it covers commercial passenger use.
• Vehicle list. Model, model year and seat count for every car proposed for your account.

Use the permit as a checklist of its own. A Dubai permit holder has already given RTA a guarantee, a fleet headquarters, a system link to RTA’s platform and a commitment to its service levels. Ask the vendor for the permit page that lists the approved vehicle categories and numbers. Our explainer on RTA-licensed limousines covers the permit in plain terms.

Fleet questions: vehicle age, models, capacity and partner cars

RTA approves the categories of luxury vehicle an operator may run, how many, and the maximum time each may stay in service. Ask each vendor for the model year of the oldest car it would send in your class. That one figure says more than a brochure photo.

Capacity questions need two numbers. A Mercedes-Benz V-Class seats 6 passengers and takes about 4 large suitcases with every seat in use, while a GMC Yukon seats 6 but takes about 3. Ask for both numbers for every model. Our guide to chauffeur car seats and luggage explains how to read them, and the chauffeur car guide compares the common models.

Then ask about partner cars. Many operators add coaches, exotic cars and extra sedans from partners in busy weeks. RTA introduced its Takamul permit in March 2025. It lets a limousine company and a car rental firm with a shared member on their commercial licences supply a luxury car with a chauffeur for up to one month. Each chauffeur supplied that way has to be registered in RTA’s Transport Activities Rental System (TARS).

Partner cars are normal. Not knowing which cars they are is the problem. Ask the vendor to mark each proposed car as own fleet or partner, and name the licence it runs under. At Assure, coaches and the rarer cars are available through our partner network, subject to availability, and the proposal says so car by car.

Chauffeur questions: permits, training, languages and dress code

The chauffeur is the part of the service your traveller sees. Ask for evidence, not adjectives.

• Permits. Which permit each chauffeur holds for the emirate where they drive. Abu Dhabi bus drivers need a driver permit through Asateel, and Takamul chauffeurs must be listed in TARS.
• Training. Airport meet and greet, confidentiality for board members, and driving standards on long runs such as Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah, about 109 km.
• Languages. Which languages the chauffeur pool speaks, and whether you can request one for a delegation.
• Dress code and conduct. What the chauffeur wears, the phone rule while driving, and the smoking rule for the car.
• Continuity. Whether the same chauffeur can stay with a visiting executive for a whole week.

Service level questions: response time, punctuality, replacement cars and the 24/7 desk

A service level agreement turns promises into numbers. Ask each vendor to commit to figures, and to say how it measures them.

• How fast a booking is confirmed, by day and at 2 am.
• How an on-time pickup is defined and recorded.
• How long a replacement car takes if a car fails, in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi.
• How long the chauffeur waits after the real landing time.
• Which channel the 24/7 desk uses, and who handles an escalation at night.

The Assure desk is on WhatsApp and phone at +971 56 684 8148, 24 hours a day. Its other service figures are set in each written proposal for a corporate account.

Commercial questions: rate validity, surcharges, VAT and payment terms

Ask how long the rates hold and what can change them, such as fuel or a new toll gate. Tolls are the usual example: a rate card written before 4 May 2026 may not allow for the round-the-clock charge at the Ghantoot Darb gate on the Dubai to Abu Dhabi road.

List every surcharge you want quoted: night trips, public holidays, waiting time, parking, Salik and Darb tolls, and extra stops. In Dubai, the RTA permit requires a luxury operator’s tariff to be higher than the taxi tariff. A quote below the taxi meter should prompt a licence check.

On VAT, the standard rate is 5 per cent. A valid tax invoice shows “Tax Invoice”, the supplier’s TRN and the VAT charged. Ask each vendor how it treats VAT on each trip type, and get its payment terms in writing.

Safety and data questions: tracking, incidents and passenger data

Abu Dhabi grants bus permits only for vehicles with a working on-board tracking device. Ask every vendor, in any emirate, whether its cars are tracked and whether your travel desk can see a live trip.

Ask how an accident, a breakdown or a complaint reaches you, and how fast. A good answer names a person, a channel and a time.

Passenger manifests hold personal data: names, flight numbers and phone numbers. Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data has been in force since 2 January 2022. It bars processing without consent, with limited exceptions, gives people the right to correct their data and sets rules for sending it abroad. Ask who sees your manifests, where they are stored and when they are deleted.

How do you score vendor answers?

Score in two stages, so a low price cannot hide a missing licence.

Stage 1, pass or fail. Trade licence, permits for every emirate in scope, insurance schedule, TRN. A vendor that fails any of these is out.

Stage 2, weighted score. Score each answer from 0 (no answer) to 3 (specific, with evidence), then weight the sections.

Section	Questions	Weight
Service levels	15 to 19	30%
Fleet and capacity	6 to 10	25%
Commercial terms	20 to 22	25%
Chauffeurs	11 to 14	10%
Safety and data	23 to 25	10%

Price sits inside commercial terms on purpose. Then run a trial month with the top two vendors before you sign. Travel agencies and DMCs buying for their own clients ask most of the same questions; our page for the travel trade covers what changes for them.

The printable 25-question checklist

Licences and documents

1. Please send your trade licence, with the licensed activities listed.
2. Which RTA permit do you hold for passenger transport by luxury vehicles, and when does it expire?
3. Which permits cover trips that start and end in the other emirates in our scope, such as Abu Dhabi or Ras Al Khaimah?
4. Please send the motor insurance schedule for the cars you would use, showing commercial passenger cover.
5. What is your Tax Registration Number, and which legal entity will invoice us?

Fleet and capacity

6. Which cars are your own, and which come from partners? Under whose licence does each partner car run?
7. What is the model year of the oldest car you would send in each class?
8. What are the passenger and large-bag counts, with every seat in use, for each model you propose?
9. How many cars of each class can you supply on one day of a peak week, such as GITEX?
10. What replaces a car that breaks down, and how long does it take to arrive?

Chauffeurs

11. Which permits does each chauffeur hold for the emirates they drive in?
12. What training do chauffeurs get in meet and greet, confidentiality and long-distance driving?
13. Which languages do your chauffeurs speak, and can we request one?
14. What is the dress code, and can one chauffeur stay with a traveller for a multi-day visit?

Service levels

15. How fast do you confirm a booking sent at 2 am?
16. How do you define and record an on-time pickup, and what was your figure last quarter?
17. How long does the chauffeur wait after the real landing time before a no-show is recorded?
18. How late can we change or cancel a booking without charge?
19. Who is our account contact, and who handles escalations out of hours?

Commercial terms

20. How long are the quoted rates valid, and what can change them?
21. Which surcharges apply for night trips, public holidays, waiting, parking and tolls?
22. How is VAT treated on each trip type, and what payment terms do you offer?

Safety and data

23. Are your cars tracked, and can our travel desk see a trip’s live position?
24. How, and how fast, do you report an accident, a breakdown or a complaint?
25. Who can see our passenger manifests, where are they stored, and when are they deleted?

For how Assure books cars by the trip or by the hour, see our chauffeur service page. The corporate ground transport guide sets these questions in the wider buying process.