The Fare 1 hourly chauffeur rule: minimum hire is 3 hours, even if you only need 1. We bill the full 3.
This article explains why, and when the rule still leaves you ahead.
Why the 3-hour minimum exists
Two reasons.
Driver-side viability. Dispatching a chauffeur is overhead-heavy. The driver drives to your pickup (often 15-30 minutes), runs the trip, drives back to base. A 30-minute pickup-drop-return cycle generates 30 minutes of paid work but 60 minutes of driver time. We can't dispatch profitably for under 3 hours' worth of work.
Vehicle-side viability. Cleaning, refuelling, and presentation between trips takes 20-30 minutes. A 1-hour booking generates 1 hour of paid time but 80-90 minutes of vehicle utilisation. Multiply across a fleet and you can't sustain coverage.
The 3-hour minimum is the threshold where the math works for the company. Operators that offer 1-hour hires are usually either:
- Pricing it at a premium that recovers the overhead (so "1 hour" actually costs ~3 hours worth at base)
- Subsidising it from longer hires (which means longer-hire customers pay more to cover it)
- Operating unsustainably (which catches up with them)
We chose to publish the minimum honestly rather than disguise it in the per-hour rate.
When 3 hours is still cheaper than per-mile
The first thing to check before assuming the 3-hour minimum is wasteful: would the equivalent per-mile trip have been cheaper?
For point-to-point trips: yes, per-mile usually wins.
For multi-stop or wait-around trips: the 3-hour hourly often beats per-mile + waiting fees.
Example: a 1-hour shopping trip — drop in central London, shop for 30 minutes, drive back.
- Per-mile (Standard saloon, 50 miles round trip + 30 minutes wait): ~£90
- Hourly (3 hours at £45): £135
Per-mile wins by £45. The 3-hour minimum doesn't help here.
Different example: a 2-hour shopping trip with 90 minutes of waiting at the destination.
- Per-mile (Standard saloon, 50 miles + 90 minutes wait at £20/hr): ~£113
- Hourly (3 hours at £45): £135
Per-mile still wins, but the margin narrows. By 2.5 hours of total trip, hourly catches up.
For genuinely 3+ hour trips, hourly is structurally cheaper.
When 3 hours is enough actually-3-hours
Several trip types fit neatly into 3 hours:
Short corporate trip (drop at office, wait, return). 1 hour drive each way + 1 hour meeting = 3 hours. Hourly is the right shape.
Half-day sightseeing. Pickup, 1-2 sites, lunch, back home. Fits in 3 hours with included mileage.
Family doctor / hospital appointment with elderly relative. Drive there, wait through the appointment, drive home. 3 hours covers most NHS appointment cycles.
Local event drop-pickup pair. Drop at the start of an event, pickup at the end. If the event is 2 hours and the venue is 30 minutes away, hourly = 3 hours.
Short multi-stop errand day. Bank + opticians + post office + supermarket + home. Multiple short stops are exactly what hourly is built for.
When you should NOT use hourly
The reverse cases:
Single-leg airport drop. 60-90 minute drive, you're not coming back. Per-mile is much cheaper than 3-hour hourly.
Single-leg long-distance trip. Southampton to Manchester one-way at 3.5 hours of driving doesn't benefit from hourly. The included-miles math doesn't help on a single long leg.
Same-day return trips with hours apart. If you're dropping someone in London at 9am and picking them up at 5pm, hourly doesn't help — the driver isn't being used for those 8 hours. Better to book two separate per-mile legs.
What 3-hour hourly costs
Current 2026 hourly rates × 3:
- Standard saloon: £135 minimum
- Standard estate: £150 minimum
- Executive saloon: £180 minimum
- Standard MPV: £165 minimum
- Executive estate: £195 minimum
- Standard minibus: £195 minimum
- Executive MPV: £210 minimum
- Accessible vehicle: £225 minimum
- Executive minibus: £255 minimum
Plus airport drop surcharge if applicable, plus tolls.
Reading on the alternative pricing mode
Per-mile pricing is laid out in /pricing and the article how fixed fares work. For the side-by-side comparison hourly vs per-mile.
For the cases where hourly fits, hourly chauffeur explained walks through the full mechanics.
Booking
Book hourly or book per-mile. The quote screen shows both modes side by side if you toggle the tab — easiest way to decide.