The two pricing models for chauffeured car service — hourly and flat-rate — exist because the underlying trips are different. Booking the wrong one is the single most common mistake we see clients make. An hourly booking for a one-way airport transfer overpays by 30-40%. A flat-rate booking for a multi-stop evening underpays the chauffeur and creates friction at every extra stop. Here is how to choose correctly, with example trips for each.
How flat-rate works
A flat-rate transfer is a single, known price for a single, known trip: pickup at point A, drop at point B, with no significant detours. The price covers the drive time, fuel, tolls, and a standard gratuity. For airport transfers, the price also covers a defined wait window — typically 15 minutes from a quoted pickup time, and 30-60 minutes from flight landing on the arrival side to allow for customs and baggage.
Flat-rate works because the route, the toll structure, and the drive time are predictable enough to price in advance. We do this for every airport transfer and for any straight transfer between two fixed addresses.
What flat-rate does not cover
A flat-rate quote does not cover extra stops, significant route changes, or extended waits. If you add a stop at a friend’s house on the way to the airport, the chauffeur will accommodate it but the price changes. If your flight lands four hours late and the wait window is exceeded, additional wait time is billed.
How hourly works
An hourly booking buys the chauffeur and the vehicle for a continuous block of time. You pay an hourly rate from when the chauffeur starts the meter — typically when they leave the garage or when they arrive at your pickup — until the trip ends. Most companies, including ours, set a minimum of 3 or 4 hours for hourly bookings to cover the round-trip from our base.
Hourly works for any trip where the route, the stops, or the duration is not fixed in advance. Wedding transportation, a corporate roadshow, a wine-tasting tour, a night out in the city with three stops and a midnight pickup — these are all hourly trips.
Three example flat-rate trips
Example 1: Mohegan Lake to JFK on a Monday morning
Pickup at 4:30am at your home in Mohegan Lake, drop at JFK Terminal 4 around 6:00am. One passenger, two bags, no stops. This is a textbook flat-rate transfer. The drive time is predictable, the route is fixed (Taconic to Sprain to Hutch to Whitestone to Van Wyck), and the price comes out in the mid-three-figures including tolls and gratuity. Booking this hourly would price closer to 4-5 hours at the hourly rate, well above the flat.
Example 2: White Plains to Greenwich for a business dinner, with a return
Pickup at your White Plains office at 6:30pm, drop at a restaurant in Greenwich at 7:00pm, return pickup at 10:00pm, drop at home in Scarsdale at 10:45pm. Even though there are two legs, each is a fixed transfer, and the gap in between is just a wait. We quote this as two flat-rate transfers with a standby in the middle, and it usually beats the hourly equivalent because the 3-hour dinner gap is not on the meter.
Example 3: HPN arrival to a hotel in Stamford
Flight lands at Westchester County Airport at 8:15pm, drop at a Stamford hotel by 9:00pm. One passenger, one carry-on, no stops. Flat-rate, lower three-figures including the airport pickup fee.
Three example hourly trips
Example 1: A wedding day from getting-ready to reception
Pickup the wedding party at a hotel in Tarrytown at 1:00pm, drive to the ceremony venue in Bedford for 2:30pm arrival, wait through the ceremony, drive to a photo location in Pound Ridge for 4:00pm, then to the reception in Greenwich for 5:30pm. Standby through the reception in case anything needs to move. End-of-night drop at hotels in two towns. This is a 9-10 hour hourly booking — there is no fixed route and no fixed schedule, and the vehicle stays with the party all day.
Example 2: A corporate client with three meetings in Manhattan
Pickup at your home in Chappaqua at 7:30am, drive to a meeting in midtown for 9:00am, wait, drive to a lunch in the financial district at 12:30pm, wait, drive to a 3:00pm meeting on the Upper East Side, then return home by 6:00pm. The route is not fixed, the wait times are not predictable, and the schedule can shift if a meeting runs long. Hourly is the only sensible model here, and it comes in around 250-300 percent of the equivalent one-way flat by the time you add three transfers and three waits.
Example 3: A night out with a group
Pickup six friends in Rye at 6:00pm, drive to a restaurant in midtown for 7:00pm, then to a show at 9:30pm, then to a bar for an after-party, then home at 12:30am. Flat-rate cannot price this because the bar is chosen at the restaurant. Hourly with a 5-hour minimum is exactly what this trip is built for.
The gratuity question
Almost all chauffeured car rates — both flat-rate and hourly — include a standard chauffeur gratuity in the quoted price, typically 20-22%. Always check the quote sheet to confirm. If gratuity is included, an additional cash tip is appreciated but not expected. If it is not included, plan on 18-20% on the base fare. We will cover tipping conventions in more detail in a separate post.
The simple decision tree
If the trip has a defined start, a defined end, and one route between them — book flat-rate. If the trip has multiple stops, an open-ended schedule, or any standby longer than the wait window built into a flat-rate, book hourly. If you are not sure, tell us the day’s plan and we will quote both and recommend the cheaper one.
Get a quote
Westchester Limousine writes both flat-rate and hourly quotes for every trip type — airports, weddings, corporate, nights out, and everything in between. Call 914-222-1919 or book online with your trip details and we will tell you which pricing model fits and why.