Hourly chauffeur is the second pricing mode on the Fare 1 booking form. Instead of paying per-mile for point-to-point, you pay per booked hour for the driver and vehicle, with mileage included.
This article walks through how it works.
The three rules
Minimum hire: 3 hours. Even if you only need 1 hour, we bill 3. The driver and vehicle aren't viable to dispatch for less.
15 included miles per booked hour. A 4-hour hire = 60 included miles. You can drive them in any direction, in any order, with any stops.
Extra miles billed at half the per-mile rate. Beyond your included mileage, additional miles bill at 50% of the standard saloon per-mile rate (or the equivalent Executive / MPV per-mile rate at half). This makes long-distance hourly cheaper per mile than long-distance per-mile.
What's included
The hourly fare covers:
- Driver time for the full booked hours
- Vehicle for the full booked hours
- 15 miles per booked hour (60 for a 4-hour hire, 90 for 6-hour, etc.)
- Standard meet-and-greet
- Free waiting at any stop within the hire window (it's all "waiting time" by definition)
Not included:
- Airport drop-off surcharges (separate line, see airport surcharges)
- London Congestion Charge (where applicable)
- Tolls (Dartford Crossing, etc.)
- Parking at destination (if the venue charges for it)
Worked examples
4-hour Hampshire wedding (Lainston House to ceremony, photo stop, reception venue, end-of-night drop):
- Standard MPV: 4 × £55 = £220
- Included miles: 60 (more than enough for venue-to-venue)
- 15% volume discount (over £250 not triggered — under threshold)
- Total: £220
6-hour shopping day in London (pick up + drop in Knightsbridge area + waiting):
- Standard saloon: 6 × £45 = £270
- Included miles: 90
- 15% volume discount (over £250): -£40.50
- Total: ~£229.50
8-hour corporate roadshow (3 office visits across the south coast):
- Executive MPV: 8 × £70 = £560
- Included miles: 120
- Actual distance covered: ~150 miles (30-mile overage)
- Extra-mile charge: 30 × (£2.60 × 0.5) = £39
- Subtotal: £599
- 15% volume discount: -£89.85
- Total: ~£509.15
When hourly is the right pick
Three indicators:
You want the driver to wait between stops. Multi-stop trips where you're staying at each stop for 30+ minutes are hourly's sweet spot.
The schedule is loose. Sightseeing, weddings, shopping days. "Be back at the car by 2:30" is hourly. "Drop me at the airport at 9:00" is per-mile.
Same vehicle and driver across the day matters. Continuity of experience — same trunk space, same legroom, same driver familiar with your party — is part of what hourly buys.
When per-mile beats hourly
Point-to-point with no waiting. A 90-mile airport run with no stops is just the per-mile rate, no hourly benefit.
Single-leg drop and forget. You're being dropped at a destination and not coming back — no need to keep the chauffeur waiting.
Very short hires under 1 hour. The 3-hour minimum makes hourly expensive for very short trips. Per-mile applies even for short legs.
See per-mile vs hourly — which to pick for the comparison framework.
How to book hourly
On the booking form at book.fare1.co.uk:
- Select "Hourly" tab
- Enter pickup location and date/time
- Choose number of hours (3-12)
- Enter any expected extra mileage (optional — billed at half rate)
- Choose vehicle category and book
The quote shows your hourly base, included miles, and any expected extras. You see the breakdown before committing.
Hourly rates by vehicle category
Current 2026 rates:
- Standard saloon: £45/hr
- Standard estate: £50/hr
- Executive saloon: £60/hr
- Standard MPV: £55/hr
- Executive estate: £65/hr
- Standard minibus: £65/hr
- Executive MPV: £70/hr
- Accessible vehicle: £75/hr
- Executive minibus: £85/hr
Full table at /pricing.