I have heard the dodgiest things about Uber and would never use them for myself let alone young girls!! Some of the stories are shocking so be very very careful of you use this company!!!

I really like Uber and have not had problems with them. Using the upgraded cars is also fun (had a brand new 5 series last week)

It cost me £5 for a local journey back from wandsworth common train station last week with 4 suitcases and just myself ( the rip off Herald taxis based at Wandsworth common train station wanted £10 for the same 1m journey)

If you want to try Uber, they are doing a £20 credit for new sign ups at the moment :-
http://get.uber.com/invite/sbigg

taxis in London are getting very expensive, competition will help us all keep the costs down (hopefully!!)

Hi. It may be to late for this answer, but may be useful for the future.
You can try my husband. He is fully licensed and CRB checked.
You can check the post here called "Great taxi" to see reviews of our clients. It's always good to have someone who was already checked and who you can trust.
Please e-mail me if you would have any questions. If you would like to contact him directly, his number is: 07935791064 (Zbyszek).
Thank you,
Magda

After everyone's advice...and a bit of research...I've decided to use Hailo so will let you know how we get on over the exam period. Many thanks.

I would suggest Hailo, you can set it so a black cab picks them up and the majority of the time you see a picture of the person coming to pick you up when you book.

There's been some not so right things on this thread that I thought I would clear up.

But first I wanted to object against LP73's comment on "different nationalities" driving worse. Show us the proof? Its the sort of thing you expect from a UKIP politician.

Uber drivers need a a license from the Public Carriage Office, same line any minicab drivers. So in terms of background checks, they're the same standard as minicab drivers.

Addison Lee do not "employ" their own drivers. They force their drivers to rent the cars from them, and adhere to rules. So they're like mini franchises, like fast food outlets. Some of them are good, some can be bad.

Black cab is probably the safest of the lot, although I don't know how deep and how frequent the vetting of drivers are. But if you use the Hailo app, at least there's a record of which driver picked up your girls and car plate.

There really isn't a 100% safe option unless you use a trusted driver each and every time. If assault is your main worry, then using an app is better than not as it will dwter, given that there's a record of the driver and car registration, rather than "calling" a local minicab firm or hailing a black cab off the street.

I've never used Uber but in your position I think I'd use Keen - we've always found them very reliable. Or Addison lee (though I think they're a bit of a rip off) or Hailo.

Atlas cars have an app you can track journeys too. Based in clapham south

I would not suggest using Uber for children. As someone has already mentioned anyone can apply with a driving licence.
Addison Lee do trips and the cars can be traced online and on an app too.
Also local can firms are set up to do this type of thing although I would check out the drivers as some can firms employ a whole load of difference nationalities and their driving is not the best.
At least with someone like Addison they all have to take extra tests.

I always use Balham taxis for my kids to travel.Much better service and compare other big names they are very reasonably priced.
0208 673 7007 their number if you like to save bit of money and also have a good experienced driver

Thank you to everyone for all their advice. I will check out Hailo and Addison Lee.

If it was me I would get them to use the Hailo app on their phone - can't beat black cabs if safety is your priority. I use Uber for myself but when getting my nanny a taxi home I always use Hailo as it feels like the right thing to do.

I wouldn't trust Uber, especially with young girls as passengers.
My friend had her daughter and another friend in an Uber car by themselves, she was tracking their journey and suddenly the tracking stopped.
turned out the driver had switched off his tracker and was being really flirty and weird with the girls who thankfully decided to get off the car.

use your local minicab company if you have got a reliable one near you or use South West Cars, never had a problem with them.

I wouldn't trust Uber... I had some friends over for dinner recently, and they arrived in an Uber, very shaken. Their driver had got into an argument with another driver about the right of way on a street, got out and started threatening him. When he got back into the car, he told them he was a very dangerous man in his country.
They reported it to Uber and got a cheery 'thanks for using our service!' reply, as if they had complemented them!

What about Addison Lee? Their drivers are fully checked, all cars are tracked and they have very good customer support.