Hire a driver for the day in Toronto: how it works

The short answer

Yes. You can hire a licensed driver with a car to drive you around Toronto for the day, and the product is called an hourly chauffeur booking - a full day of eight to ten hours, or a half-day of three to five. You book the start address, the time and the hours; a black car and a licensed chauffeur arrive; the car stays with you all day, waits at every stop, carries your things, and takes you home. You pay a flat hourly rate for the hours used, shown before you confirm.

This page exists because people search for it in plain words - "hire a driver for the day Toronto", "can you hire a driver to drive you around", "where can I find a private driver in Toronto" - and the industry answers in jargon. So: the driver is a chauffeur, the car comes with the driver, the booking is by the hour, and the rest of this page is the practical detail.

What you get

A licensed chauffeur - City of Toronto vehicle-for-hire licence, Ontario G with a clean abstract, criminal record check - in a suit. A late-model black car of the class you chose: an Executive Sedan for one to three people, a Mercedes S-Class if you want the flagship, a Luxury SUV for up to six and a lot of bags, an Executive Sprinter for up to twelve. Commercial passenger insurance on the vehicle. Fuel, however far you go. Unlimited stops. All waiting time. Bottled water, phone charging, help with doors and bags. A dispatcher on the phone all day. A receipt by email.

What you do not get, because it is a different product: a driver for your own car (that is a designated-driver service, and we do not offer it); a rental car (that is BookingWorldwide.net's car-rental desk, on our travel desk page); or a ride-app trip that ends at the door.

What it costs

A flat hourly rate by vehicle class, with a three-hour minimum for the sedan, S-Class and SUV and five for the Sprinter, plus 13% HST and a gratuity you set, shown before you confirm. Tolls only if you choose the 407; parking only where a venue charges it. The rates page explains what moves the rate and what other Toronto operators publish per hour so the number has context. For a day of eight to ten hours in a sedan, the total is usually less than the same day taken as separate rides on an app once the third or fourth ride is counted, and the comparison page shows the arithmetic.

The days people hire a driver for

A visitor's day. Parents, in-laws or a friend in town who want to see Toronto without a bus tour: the Distillery District, St. Lawrence Market, the waterfront, Casa Loma, the Bluffs, dinner. The sightseeing page has three itineraries. A day of appointments. Hospital row, the specialist in North York, the pharmacy, the bank, the optician - a day that would be five rides and five waits becomes one car. The medical page covers the hospital version. A shopping day. Yorkville, Yorkdale, Vaughan Mills, the outlets in Halton Hills, with the bags in the boot between stores; the shopping page plans it. A day out of the city. Niagara Falls, the wineries, Muskoka, Blue Mountain, Stratford; the day-trip board gives the drive and the block. A day you cannot drive. After a procedure, with an injury, without a licence, or simply because you do not drive in Toronto and would rather not start on the 401. A day you want to work. Calls and email from the back seat between meetings across the GTA; the as-directed page is the executive version.

How to book it, step by step

1. Open the reservation engine on any page of this site and choose By the hour.
2. Pick the vehicle class. One to three people: Executive Sedan. Up to six or lots of bags: Luxury SUV. Seven or more: Executive Sprinter.
3. Enter the pickup address, the date and the start time.
4. Enter the hours. Count the stops, allow the driving, add a margin, round up - eight for a 9-to-5 day, ten for a day that ends with dinner or a day trip.
5. Add anything useful in the notes: the stops if you know them, a flight number, a child seat, a wheelchair, a destination out of town.
6. Confirm the rate shown. The confirmation arrives by email; the chauffeur's name and the car's plate follow closer to the day.

On the day the chauffeur texts about twenty minutes before the start and is at the door on time. From then on, direct the day by speaking to the chauffeur; if plans change, they change. If you would rather book by phone, the desk answers 24 hours a day and will build the day with you.

Common questions from first-time clients, answered plainly

Do I sit in the front or the back? The back, by convention, though nobody minds if you prefer the front. Do I tip? A suggested gratuity is shown at booking and you can change it, including to zero if you prefer cash on the day; chauffeurs are paid a wage regardless. Can the driver wait while I shop or eat? Yes - that is the whole product. Can I bring a dog? In a carrier, in any class; a large dog, in the SUV; say so at booking. Can children ride? Yes, with a child seat fitted at no charge if you note the age; Ontario requires a booster until 8 years, 36 kg or 145 cm. Can the driver take me to Niagara and wait? Yes; that is a full day. What if I need to cancel? The terms set out the notice window; inside it a charge applies, outside it none. Is it safe? The chauffeur is licensed and checked, the car is commercially insured and City-plated, and the dispatcher knows where the car is all day.

Hiring a driver for someone else

Many bookings are made for a parent, a visiting relative, a teenager to a tournament, or a colleague. Book it in your name on your card, put the passenger's name and phone in the notes, and the chauffeur meets them by name at the door. The engine can send the confirmation to both of you. For an elderly passenger the SUV's higher seat is easier to get into than a sedan's, and the chauffeur will walk them to the door at each stop; say so in the notes.

Hiring a driver for more than a day

Two days to two weeks is the multi-day booking, with the same chauffeur and car for the run. A standing arrangement - the same chauffeur every week for the school run, the club and the airport - is the personal chauffeur product. A driver in another city on the same account is the Canada or worldwide network.

What a first-time day looks like

Here is the shape of a typical first booking, the kind the desk takes every week: an Executive Sedan for eight hours on a Saturday, booked by a daughter for her father, in from Halifax for the first time. The chauffeur texted the plate at 9:40 and was at the door of the condo on the Esplanade at 10. St. Lawrence Market until 11:15; the car waiting on Front. The Distillery District until 12:30. Lunch at the harbourfront, the car on Queens Quay. Casa Loma at 2:30; the car in the lot on Austin Terrace. The Bluffs at 4, a slow drive along Kingston Road. Dinner on the Danforth at 6. Home at 7:45. Nine hours and forty-five minutes used; ten billed; the father spent the day looking out of the window rather than at a phone, and the daughter, who was at work, followed it by text from the chauffeur at each stop. That is the product, and it is why the ten hours are worth more than the sum of the rides.

When to book

For a weekday sedan in the city, a day or two ahead is comfortable and same-day is often possible. For a Saturday, a day trip, a Sprinter, or anything in TIFF week or on a playoff night, a week ahead. Peak dates - prom season, wedding Saturdays, New Year's Eve - a month. The desk will tell you honestly if the engine shows nothing for the date you want.

If English is not your first language

Chauffeurs who speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Farsi, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French are available on request; note the language in the booking and the dispatcher assigns accordingly, subject to availability. The confirmation and the plate text can be sent to a second phone - a son or daughter arranging the day - so the passenger is never the only person who knows where the car is.

From our network: LAI article - private chauffeur services · LimousineWorldwide.Directory - Canada · HotelsWorldwide.Directory - Ontario · VWD - approved limousine affiliates in Toronto · BookingWorldwide.net - Toronto hotels, flights and activities.

Official sources for planning: Destination Toronto · Ontario 511 - road conditions.