I have a family member who is older and sometimes needs to leave a meal or activity in the middle to go home and rest. She doesn't drive.

She's planning on joining other family members in Santa Monica in a couple weeks, and would like to have a car service that can be available on short notice to pick her up from things and take her back to her hotel as needed.

How quickly can Santa Monica taxi companies typically dispatch a car? Is it usually possible to get one within 5-10 minutes? Or would she have to wait longer?

If longer, does anyone have a recommendation for a car and driver she could pay to be on standby when she needs them? It would be for a couple days, and she's willing to spend the money to make it happen, but would prefer to have a modest taxi-style service rather than a high-end luxury service like Boston Coach or whatever the big services in LA are.

There are a few cab combanies mentioned in this thread that we were thinking of contacting. Any other recommendations?