Hiring a driver for the day in London costs £600 for a 12 hour package including 120 miles, and the shorter blocks scale down from there: £120 for two hours, £220 for four, £420 for eight. That is the answer, stated first, because most articles on this subject take nine hundred words to avoid giving you a number.
The reason the number is hard to find is that the industry prices two different products and uses one word for both. A transfer is a journey from A to B at a fixed fare, starting from £80. Hourly hire is a car and a driver at your disposal for a block of time, going wherever you go, waiting while you are inside. They are priced completely differently, and asking what a chauffeur costs without saying which you mean produces a useless answer.
This guide gives the actual price list for hourly and daily hire, explains the included mileage that most people miss until it matters, covers what pushes a quote up, and works through the honest comparison against a taxi, an app and driving yourself. It also covers the one thing that genuinely saves money, which is booking the right block rather than the cheapest one. Westway Ride holds Transport for London licence 73850301 and 4.8 from 109 Google reviews.
The price list
Hourly hire is sold in blocks, each with an included mileage allowance. The rates are these:
- 2 hours, 20 miles included: £120
- 3 hours, 30 miles included: £175
- 4 hours, 40 miles included: £220
- 5 hours, 50 miles included: £270
- 6 hours, 60 miles included: £320
- 8 hours, 80 miles included: £420
- 10 hours, 100 miles included: £520
- 12 hours, 120 miles included: £600
Every block includes ten miles per hour, which is a deliberate figure rather than an arbitrary one, because ten miles an hour is roughly what a car achieves in central London traffic across a real day. Rates are confirmed when you book, so the number you agree is the number you pay.
The pattern worth noticing is that the rate per hour falls as the block lengthens, and that is where the actual saving lives.
Why the long block is the cheap one
Run the division. Two hours at £120 works out at £60 an hour. Twelve hours at £600 works out at £50 an hour. So the full day is a sixth cheaper per hour than the short block, and every step up the list improves the rate slightly.
The reason is not generosity. A two hour job costs the operator a driver's whole morning once you count getting the car to you and getting it away afterwards, so the short block carries all of that overhead in a small number of hours. A twelve hour job spreads the same overhead across a full day.
What this means practically is that the instinct to book the smallest block you can get away with is usually wrong. If you genuinely need five hours, booking four to save £50 and then overrunning costs more than booking five did. Be honest about the day rather than optimistic, because optimism is the expensive option here.
What the mileage allowance actually means
The included miles are the part people miss, and they only matter in one situation. Ten miles per hour is generous for a London day and restrictive for a day that leaves London, and that distinction is the whole story.
A day of central London stops, a few meetings across town, a museum, lunch, a theatre, will not come close to 120 miles. You would struggle to drive 120 miles inside the North Circular in twelve hours even if you tried. The allowance is effectively unlimited for city work.
But a day out to Oxford and back is 120 miles before you have driven anywhere once you arrive. Bath is 230 miles round. The Cotswolds is comfortably 200. So for out-of-town days, the mileage rather than the clock is the binding constraint, and the honest thing is to say where you are going when you book so the quote reflects it. For long runs, out-of-town journeys are often better priced as a fixed fare than as an hourly block.
The vehicle changes the number
The package rates cover a standard executive saloon. Move up or across the fleet and the hourly rate moves with it, and the spread is wider than most people expect:
- Economy: £45 per hour, a Skoda Octavia, Toyota Prius or similar
- Standard: £55 per hour, a Mercedes E-Class or BMW 5 Series
- SUV: £80 per hour, a Mercedes GLE or BMW X5
- Van Standard: £85 per hour, a Mercedes V-Class
- First Class: £90 per hour, a Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 Series
- Van First Class: £120 per hour, a V-Class Exclusive
- Minibus: £140 per hour, a Mercedes Sprinter
The jump from Standard to First Class roughly doubles the hourly rate, which is worth knowing before you book the S-Class out of habit. If nobody is watching you arrive, the E-Class does the same job for a good deal less. If a client is watching you arrive, the S-Class is not an indulgence, it is the product. Look at what each vehicle holds before choosing on badge alone, since the V-Class exists for luggage rather than for status.
What is included, and what is not
Included in the rate: the driver, the vehicle, the fuel, the insurance, the waiting time between your stops, and the miles in your allowance. The driver loading your luggage is included. The car being clean is included.
Not automatically included: child seats, at £10 for a 0 to 4 seat and £8 for a booster, which must be requested at booking rather than on the day so the correct seat is fitted before the car arrives. The Congestion Charge applies in central London on weekdays and on weekend afternoons, and the ULEZ standard applies across every borough, and these appear on your quote where relevant rather than as a surprise afterwards.
Parking at your destinations, road tolls on a long run, and the Dartford Crossing are passed on where they occur. Gratuities are entirely at your discretion and are not added automatically. Nothing on this list is designed to catch you out, which is the main practical difference from a meter.
Hourly hire against a transfer
The two products suit different days and picking wrong is where money actually gets wasted.
Book a transfer when your day is one journey. Home to Heathrow. Hotel to a venue. A fare from £80, with an E-Class at £110 and a V-Class at £140, and you pay for the journey rather than the time. If your day has two clean journeys hours apart, two transfers usually beat an hourly block covering the gap.
Book hourly hire when your day is a sequence. Four meetings across town. A day of sightseeing with stops. An evening with dinner and a show. The moment your day has more than about three legs, or any leg where you need the car to wait, the block wins on both price and reliability, because each separate booking is a fresh chance for something to go wrong at exactly the wrong moment. Booking a car by the hour covers this shape of day, and the full day option handles the twelve hour version.
The honest comparison
Against a black cab, hourly hire wins on a day with multiple stops and loses on a single short hop. A cab across Zone 1 will beat any chauffeur on price for one journey. Ask a cab to wait outside a meeting for forty minutes and the meter makes the comparison absurd.
Against a ride-hailing app, the app is cheaper on the base fare and unpredictable on the total. Five app journeys across a London day, two of them at surge times, frequently lands within reach of a block booking, and you carried your coat all day and waited five times. The app also fails precisely when you need it, which is when everyone else needs it.
Against driving yourself, be honest about the full cost. Central London parking runs to serious money per day, the Congestion Charge applies, your car must meet ULEZ, and you cannot drink, work or read. For a single trip you own the car anyway so it is cheaper. For a working day with four appointments, the twelve hours you spend not driving is the thing you are buying, and whether £600 is good value depends entirely on what your day is worth. Our piece on what a chauffeur is actually for covers that side, and chauffeurs against taxis sets out the trade for airport work.
How to spend less
Four things genuinely reduce the bill, and none of them involve haggling.
Book the right block rather than the small one, because overrunning a four hour booking costs more than a five hour booking did. Book the right vehicle rather than the impressive one, since the gap between Standard at £55 an hour and First Class at £90 is real money across a day and nobody is looking at your car at a meeting. Consolidate the group, because one V-Class carrying six beats three saloons on cost per head and on emissions. And book early, since the choice narrows as a date fills and the last vehicle available is rarely the cheapest one.
The thing that does not save money is being vague. An accurate passenger count, an honest case count, the real destinations and the actual timings produce a quote that holds. A rough outline produces a quote that changes, and changes are where the friction lives.
How much does it cost to hire a driver for a full day in London?
£600 for a 12 hour package including 120 miles in a standard executive saloon. That works out at £50 an hour, which is the best rate on the list, because the per-hour cost falls as the block lengthens. Shorter blocks run from £120 for two hours.
What are the hourly chauffeur rates?
The packages are £120 for 2 hours, £175 for 3, £220 for 4, £270 for 5, £320 for 6, £420 for 8, £520 for 10 and £600 for 12, each including ten miles per hour. Rates are confirmed at booking, so the figure you agree is the figure you pay regardless of traffic.
Why is a longer booking cheaper per hour?
Because the overhead is spread across more hours. Two hours at £120 is £60 an hour; twelve hours at £600 is £50. A short job still costs the operator a driver's morning once the approach and departure are counted, so it carries that cost in fewer hours. Booking a smaller block and overrunning usually costs more than booking the right one.
How many miles are included?
Ten miles per hour, so 120 miles on a 12 hour booking. That is effectively unlimited for London work, since covering 120 miles inside the city in a day is difficult even deliberately. It becomes the binding constraint on out-of-town days: Oxford and back is roughly 120 miles before you drive anywhere on arrival.
Does the vehicle change the hourly price?
Yes, substantially. Economy is £45 an hour, Standard £55, SUV £80, Van Standard £85, First Class £90, Van First Class £120 and Minibus £140. The jump from a Standard E-Class to a First Class S-Class roughly doubles the rate, which is worth thinking about if nobody is watching you arrive.
Are child seats included?
No, they are charged separately: £10 for a 0 to 4 seat and £8 for a booster. They must be requested at the time of booking rather than on the day, so the correct seat for your child's age and weight is fitted before the car arrives.
Is the Congestion Charge included?
It appears on your quote where it applies rather than as a later surprise. The Congestion Charge covers central London on weekdays and weekend afternoons, and the ULEZ standard applies across all boroughs. Tolls, the Dartford Crossing and destination parking are passed on where they occur.
Is hourly hire or a transfer cheaper?
It depends on the shape of the day. A transfer wins when your day is one journey, starting from £80. Hourly hire wins from about three legs onwards, or any leg where the car must wait, because a meter or a series of separate bookings punishes waiting and each rebooking is a fresh chance to fail.
Is a chauffeur cheaper than a black cab for a day?
For a day with several stops, yes. A cab beats a chauffeur on a single short journey and loses badly the moment you ask it to wait, since the meter keeps running outside your meeting. For one hop across Zone 1, take the cab.
Do I tip a chauffeur?
Entirely at your discretion. Gratuities are not added to the fare automatically and the quoted rate is complete without one. Many regular clients tip and many do not, and neither is remarkable.
What is the cheapest way to book a driver for a day?
Book the right block, the right vehicle, and book early. Booking four hours and overrunning costs more than booking five. Standard at £55 an hour does the same job as First Class at £90 unless someone is watching you arrive. And consolidating a group into one V-Class beats three saloons on cost per head.
What is the difference between a transfer and hourly hire?
A transfer is one journey at a fixed fare from £80; hourly hire is a car and driver at your disposal for a block of time. The industry uses one word for both, which is why asking what a chauffeur costs produces a useless answer. Say which you mean and the number becomes simple.
Can I use hourly hire for a day trip out of London?
You can, but check the mileage first. Ten miles per hour is generous in the city and tight outside it, since Oxford and back is roughly 120 miles before you drive anywhere on arrival and Bath is about 230 miles round. For those days a fixed long-distance fare is usually better priced than an hourly block.
What is included in the hourly rate?
The driver, the vehicle, the fuel, the insurance, the waiting time between your stops and the miles in your allowance. Luggage handling and a cleaned car are included as standard. Child seats, the Congestion Charge, tolls and destination parking are separate and appear on the quote where they apply.
Does the price change if we run late?
The agreed rate does not change with traffic, so a jam costs you time rather than money. Overrunning the booked block itself is a different matter and is charged for the extra time, which is precisely why booking the honest length rather than the optimistic one is the cheaper decision.
