A car and chauffeur, for as long as you need.

When an hourly booking beats a transfer.

A point-to-point transfer is the right answer for one journey. Short-term hire is the right answer for a day that has several. A client visiting New York for two days, a wedding party that needs a car from the hotel to the church to the reception, an investor touring three properties in Miami, a family attending a graduation in Boston: each involves waiting, changes of plan and stops that are hard to predict. With hourly hire the car and the chauffeur stay with you for the time you reserve, your bags stay in the boot, and the schedule bends without a new quote every time it does.

It is also the simplest way to try BlackRyde before committing to a monthly chauffeur service. Many of our longer-term clients started with a single day.

Rates by vehicle class.

Short-term hire is billed at the same hourly rates used for every programme on this site. A Business Sedan is $155 an hour, an SUV Business $185, an SUV First $235 and a First-Class Sedan $285, all in US dollars and all including taxes and a 20% gratuity. If you would rather be driven in your own car, a chauffeur alone is $95 an hour within the city with a four-hour minimum.

Each day includes 93 miles. Extra miles are $3 in a Business Sedan, $4 in an SUV and $8 in a First-Class Sedan. Tolls, parking and Wi-Fi are added at actual cost. If the day runs long, the extra time is billed at the same hourly rate; there is no penalty for overtime, and the chauffeur will not hurry you to the car because the reservation is ending.

Every figure includes taxes and a 20% gratuity. 93 miles a day are included with company vehicles. Out of town adds 50% to the hourly rate, plus the chauffeur’s hotel and a flat $100 travel allowance, with your car or ours. Tolls, parking and onboard Wi-Fi are passed on at actual cost. Overtime is simply billed at the same hourly rate.

A day, a weekend, a week.

A single afternoon of meetings in Manhattan or downtown Toronto might need four or five hours. A full business day with an airport arrival and a client dinner is usually eight to ten. For a conference or a trade show we often reserve the same car and chauffeur for three to five consecutive days, which keeps the driver familiar with the venue’s loading areas and your hotel’s entrance. Weekend hire is popular for weddings, milestone birthdays and golf trips.

If the week turns into a month, the same rates apply on a reserved block, and your chauffeur can usually stay with you. Ask your coordinator and they will move the booking across.

Leaving the city.

Short-term hire works well for out-of-town days: New York to the Hamptons, Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, Toronto to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Washington to Annapolis. Time spent outside the city is billed at the hourly rate plus 50%. If the trip needs an overnight, the chauffeur’s hotel is added, together with a flat $100 travel allowance, whether the car is yours or ours. Your coordinator will confirm the estimate in writing before you leave.

Cross-border journeys are planned with the crossing built into the schedule; the U.S. Customs and Border Protection site lists current wait times and document requirements, and our intercity service covers the regular routes in more detail.

Airport days.

Hourly hire often begins at an airport. Give us the flight number and the chauffeur will track it, re-time the pickup if it lands early or late, and meet you inside the terminal. The car then stays with you for the rest of the day. We cover the major hubs listed on our airports page, from JFK, Newark and LaGuardia to O’Hare, LAX, Pearson and Heathrow. Before you fly, the TSA publishes current security guidance and the FAA posts national airspace status when weather is affecting departures.

Typical short-term bookings.

A partner flying into Newark for two days of client meetings in Midtown books the car from the arrivals hall to the last dinner reservation, then again for the return. A family in Toronto for a graduation keeps an SUV for the weekend so grandparents, cousins and luggage travel together. A film producer in Los Angeles takes a First-Class Sedan for a day of studio meetings between Burbank, Culver City and Santa Monica. A wedding planner in Miami reserves three cars for six hours to cover the ceremony, the photographs and the reception. In each case the client knows the hourly rate, decides the hours, and pays for what they use.

Short-term hire also covers the unglamorous days: moving an elderly relative between appointments, a house-hunting tour with an estate agent, a day of property inspections, or a jury of visiting executives touring a new office. The chauffeur waits, carries, helps and keeps to the plan.

Booking it well.

The more we know in advance, the better the day runs. Send the first pickup, the rough order of stops, the flight number if there is one, the number of passengers and bags, and any timing that cannot move. We will suggest a vehicle class and a sensible number of hours. If the plan changes on the day, tell the chauffeur directly; they will adjust the route and let the coordinator know, and the only consequence is the time used. When you are done, the car is released and the bill reflects the hours, not a guess made the week before.

Short-term hire for visitors.

Visitors to a city they do not know get the most from hourly hire. The chauffeur knows which hotel entrance is quicker at rush hour, where a car can wait outside a museum without being moved on, and how long the drive to the airport really takes on a Friday afternoon. Ask for restaurant or venue suggestions and you will get honest ones. For international visitors arriving at JFK, LAX or Pearson, the chauffeur also helps with the practical things: a SIM card, a pharmacy, a currency exchange, or a quick stop for something left behind.

What is included, and what is not.

Included: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, taxes, a 20% gratuity, 93 miles a day, waiting time inside the reservation, bottled water and phone charging. Not included: miles beyond 93 a day, tolls, parking and Wi-Fi, which are passed on at cost with receipts, and the out-of-town supplement where it applies. Special-request vehicles such as an Executive Sprinter, Jet Sprinter, minicoach or Rolls-Royce are quoted separately.

Cancellation and change terms for short-term hire are shown on your booking confirmation before you pay. If you need something more structured, such as a fixed weekly schedule, ask for a written agreement and we will set the terms there.