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Any fixed-fare route price quoted below was a limited-time promotion and is not running at the moment — we will be opening them again. Everything else in this article still stands, and every journey is quoted upfront on our standard rates before you book.
Two pricing modes, same booking form. Per-mile transfer or hourly chauffeur. Which is cheaper depends entirely on the trip shape.
This article runs three worked examples both ways.
Example 1: Short point-to-point — Southampton to Heathrow
Trip shape: 75 miles, no waiting, no return.
Per-mile: £99 (fixed-fare rate on this specific Heathrow route, Standard saloon)
Hourly: 3-hour minimum × £45 = £135
Per-mile wins by £36. This is the classic point-to-point case where the per-mile fixed fare is structurally cheaper than the hourly minimum.
The hourly math doesn't help: included miles are 45 (3hr × 15mi/hr), trip is 75 miles, so you'd pay extra-mile charges of 30 × £0.835 = £25 on top of £135 = £160 total. Per-mile beats this comfortably.
Rule of thumb confirmed: point-to-point with no waiting → per-mile.
Example 2: Multi-stop wedding day — 6 hours, ~75 miles total
Trip shape: Prep hotel → ceremony venue → photo stop → reception → end-of-night transfer. ~75 miles total across 6 hours.
Per-mile (Executive MPV):
- 75 mi × £2.72 = £204
- Waiting time at venues: ~3 hours × £20 = £60
- Subtotal: £264
- 5% volume discount (over £250): -£13.20
- Total: ~£250.80
Hourly (Executive MPV):
- 6 hr × £70 = £420
- Included miles: 90 (more than enough for 75-mile day)
- Total: £420 (volume discount doesn't apply to hourly)
Per-mile wins by ~£169.
Wait — per-mile wins this wedding-day case? Yes, because waiting time is included for hourly but billed at £20/hr for per-mile, and the trip's total mileage is moderate. The 6-hour hourly is buying you 3 hours that aren't really being used.
This is a common surprise. The intuition that "long multi-stop = hourly" isn't always right. Check the math.
Counter-example: if the same wedding involved 200 miles instead of 75 (e.g. venue is far from prep hotel), the math flips — extra-mile charges on hourly are 50% of per-mile, which beats raw per-mile distance at scale.
Example 3: Long-distance hourly — full day London → Hampshire tour
Trip shape: Pickup London hotel 09:00, drive through Hampshire countryside (Lainston, Beaulieu, Highclere), back to London hotel by 19:00. ~10 hours, ~200 miles total.
Per-mile (Executive saloon):
- 200 mi × £2.25 = £450
- Waiting time at sites: ~6 hours × £20 = £120
- Subtotal: £570
- 5% volume discount: -£28.50
- Total: ~£541.50
Hourly (Executive saloon):
- 10 hr × £60 = £600
- Included miles: 150 (10 × 15)
- Extra mileage: 50 mi × (£2.25 × 0.5) = £56.25
- Total: £656.25 (volume discount doesn't apply to hourly)
Per-mile still wins by ~£115.
Hmm. Per-mile keeps winning even on long-day trips. What's going on?
The pattern: per-mile with waiting fees is competitive with hourly across most realistic trip shapes. Hourly's advantage isn't price — it's continuity and predictability.
When hourly's real advantage shows up
Hourly genuinely beats per-mile in two cases:
1. The waiting time is much longer than the per-mile math allows.
If you're booking a chauffeur for a 4-hour wedding ceremony with 50 miles of driving, per-mile would be: 50 × £1.67 + 4hr × £20 = £163. Hourly would be: 4 × £45 = £180. Close, but per-mile still wins.
If you're booking a chauffeur to wait while you're in a 6-hour meeting with 30 miles of driving, per-mile: 30 × £1.67 + 6hr × £20 = £170. Hourly: 6 × £45 = £270. Per-mile wins by £100.
The break-point: when waiting hours dominate driving miles. Per-mile is structurally fairer here.
2. The driver schedule matters for predictability.
This isn't a price advantage — it's a non-price one. Hourly locks in the same driver, same vehicle, predictable end time. Per-mile is "driver completes the trip and leaves" — if the trip extends, dispatch may not have the same driver available for re-engagement.
For high-stakes days (weddings, executive transport, important meetings), the predictability of hourly is worth the modest premium.
The general rule
Per-mile + waiting fees is usually the cheapest option for most trips. Choose per-mile by default.
Choose hourly when:
- You value driver continuity above the cost difference (typical premium £60-160)
- Your itinerary is too loose to estimate distance accurately (hourly is flat regardless of how far you actually drive within included miles)
- The trip is short enough that the 3-hour minimum still fits the use case
For more on when each mode applies, see per-mile vs hourly — which to pick.
Booking
The booking form at book.fare1.co.uk lets you toggle between modes — easiest way to compare exact quotes for your specific trip.
For complex multi-leg bookings where it's not obvious which mode applies, email us with the trip shape and we'll quote both.