The survey which was first given out at the Royal Ascot event has been distributed to thousands of chauffeurs and limousine operators and the result have certainly raised a few eyebrows. Questions such as the way you operate, the vehicles you use and other topics like insurance, cleaning and views on the industry are all covered in the biggest survey of its kind ever conducted.

However, there are some results that were expected such as the most popular vehicles both in the executive area and the limousine business. So far the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the most used executive car and the Lincoln Town Car limousine also comes out on top.

Most of the results will not be published until the end of the survey period which is expected to be around the middle of 2007, but some of the obvious facts such as 94% of the industry is male dominated and 79% of those surveyed are company owner/drivers.

Other interesting facts have been discovered, such as a very small percentage of the industry use computerized booking systems for their business and less than 10% of clients use a website to book their journeys — even though a massive amount of companies are geared up to take them through their websites.

The survey is a great opportunity to air your views and opinions about the industry as all of them will be compiled at the end of the survey period and published in the magazine which is read by all the appropriate authorities.

Managing Director of Today Publishing Limited which runs The Chauffeur magazine, Paul Gibson commented; “It is amazing and I thank all those who have taken some time out of their busy schedules to complete the survey and help compile the industries biggest record of exactly what the business is all about”.

H e added, “The magazine has invested a lot of time and money into developing this survey and I would like to also thank all the sponsors who have helped to make this happen. It proves that these companies like the magazine are dedicated to sorting out the problems the industry has and give those involved with it the opportunity to air them.”

Every completed survey will be in with the chance to win an excellent Clarion 360 GPS unit worth £300.