Hourly Chauffeur Hire in Birmingham
Buy the Hours, Not the Route
Hourly chauffeur hire holds a licensed driver and a vehicle for a stretch of time rather than for a line between two postcodes. It is also called as-directed hire, and the name is accurate: you direct it as the day goes, and the rate does not care whether the car is moving or standing still.
A point-to-point transfer prices distance. This prices availability. The moment your day has a second stop, or a first stop you might still be inside an hour later, distance stops being the thing you are actually buying. Booking three separate transfers means paying to summon a car three times and waiting on the pavement three times for it to appear.
The threshold is two hours, and the rate opens at £65 per hour, each tier carrying a mileage allowance sized to it. Four hours is a half day, eight a full one, with twelve and twenty-four hour tiers above for programmes that need permanent standby.
One figure covers all of it. The chauffeur’s time, waiting at every stop, the mileage allowance, parking, the Clean Air Zone. Nothing is handed over in the car at the end, and account clients see the journey itemised on a monthly invoice instead.
What follows: the days that suit this, the fleet, where the arithmetic lands against separate fares, how groups use it, how far each tier reaches, what the rate already includes, and how a booking is placed. Fixed transfer pricing and the wider service range sit on our chauffeur services page.
- Rates from
- £65/hr
- Minimum booking
- 2 hrs
- Mileage and waiting
- Included
- Dispatch, every day
- 24/7
Where an As-Directed Day Earns Its Rate
Different reasons, one shared feature: at booking, nobody can say precisely when each stop ends.
Back-to-back meetings
Car holds between stopsRead moreAppointments across the City, Canary Wharf, and the West End with no parking to find and the materials staying in the boot.
Wait and return
One appointment, heldA hospital admission, a completion meeting, a site inspection. The chauffeur parks up and is at the door when you come out, however long that turns out to be.
Shopping Days
Bags in the boot.Read moreThe Bullring, Grand Central, the Mailbox, and Touchwood, where nothing can sit at the entrance, but a car can hold nearby and relieve you of the last three bags.
Property viewings
Several addressesAgents and buyers running a list of appointments, with the transit comfortable and the arrival discreet at every gate.
Our Fleet
Picking the Car for a Standing Day
Pick by the day rather than the badge. The E-Class covers standard as-directed work. The S-Class buys rear legroom and a cabin quiet enough to hold a call between appointments. The V-Class seats seven, and the Vito takes those same seven with a boot that survives an afternoon of shopping. Vehicle class moves the hourly rate, and the desk states which before you commit.
Business ClassMercedes E-Class
The everyday executive standard for airport runs and city meetings.
First ClassMercedes S-Class
Reclining rear seats, acoustic glass and near-silence at motorway speed.
Luxury SUVRange Rover LWB
Presence, privacy glass and room for golf clubs, kit or a film crew.
Group TravelMercedes V-Class
Conference seating for teams, families and long-haul luggage loads.
What Separate Fares Quietly Cost You
Against booking each leg on its own, hiring a chauffeur by the hour wins on more than comfort.
No waiting for a car
The gap between stops is the expensive part of any multi-stop day. Here it is inside the rate rather than added to it, and no meter runs while you are indoors.
The plan is not a booking
Insert a stop, abandon one, sit somewhere an extra forty minutes. Itineraries change on the fly without a new quote, a new reference or a call to dispatch.
One boot, all day
Coats, cases, samples and files stay with the vehicle instead of being hauled into every building and back out of it again.
A named, licensed chauffeur
Every driver holds a valid private hire licence, is background checked, and turns up in business dress. The same chauffeur stays with you for the whole booking rather than being swapped between jobs.
Groups, and Why the Blocks Suit Them
Hourly hire suits a group better than fixed fares do, for the plain reason that more people generate more stops and more delay.
Families and friends
Up to 7 seatsA single V-Class for the day, which is simpler than steering two cars through a plan nobody has committed to yet.
Client teams
Several vehiclesMore than one car held across the same block under one coordinator, so the whole party lands at each address together.
Wedding parties
Cars held throughoutRead moreVehicles wait through the ceremony rather than departing after the drop. Dressed cars and convoy timing live on our guide.
With children
Seats fitted freeChild seats in any stage free of charge and left in place for the whole booking, with step-in or mobility requirements arranged when you book rather than on the kerb.
How Far Each Block Reaches
The four-hour block
A concise block of meetings, a shopping excursion around Mayfair, or a focused sightseeing morning.- West End
- City
- Knightsbridge
- Mayfair
Full day, 8 hours
The most requested tier, for executives and visitors needing continuous availability across a whole day.- London-wide
- Windsor
- Oxford
- Hampton Court
Extended, 12 hours
Regional travel, multi-venue commitments and full-day wedding coordination that needs constant standby.- Bath
- Stonehenge
- Cotswolds
- Brighton
Round the clock, 24 hours
Multi-day VIP visits and intensive business programmes, quoted against the brief.- Quoted per programme
Nothing Added at the Kerb
- The chauffeur for the whole booking
- A mileage allowance matched to the block
- Waiting time at every stop, uncapped
- Clean Air Zone charges where they apply
- Parking at each destination
- Luggage and shopping carried to the car
- Wi-Fi, bottled water and device charging
- Child seats in any stage
Choose the Hours, Not the Route
- 01
Pick the tier
Four, eight, twelve or twenty four hours. Describe the day if you are unsure and the desk will say which block it genuinely takes, buffer for traffic included.
- 02
Sketch the stops
An approximate list is plenty. It helps with timing and parking, and it holds you to nothing once the day starts.
- 03
Set the start
The clock runs from your pick-up rather than a scheduled departure, so a 07:00 start costs no more than a 10:00 one.
- 04
Change it as you go
Add or cut destinations while it is running. Only hours past the booked block change the figure.
Extensions are normally available at the same rate, subject to the chauffeur’s next commitment. Mention it early in the afternoon rather than at 18:00 and it is almost always fine. To book, call 0800 020 9501.
What Our Clients Say
Frequently Asked Questions
What is hourly chauffeur hire?
It holds a vehicle and a licensed driver for a block of time rather than a journey between two addresses. You direct the stops as the day unfolds, and the agreed rate applies whether the car is driving or waiting.
What does it cost in Birmingham?
From £65 per hour on a two-hour minimum, with a mileage allowance built into every block. Vehicle class and collection point shape the final figure, which is fixed at booking rather than worked out afterwards.
Why is there a two-hour minimum?
Because anything shorter is really a transfer. Under two hours you are better served by a fixed point-to-point fare between two addresses, and the desk will tell you so rather than sell you the wrong thing.
Will the chauffeur wait and take us home afterwards?
Yes. Wait-and-return is a standard hourly booking. The car holds through your appointment and is at the door when you finish, with the waiting already covered.
Hourly hire or separate fixed fares, which costs less?
Hourly, as soon as the car would otherwise be waiting. Three transfers mean three summonses and three waits. Past one stop, the hourly rate almost always wins on both money and hassle.
In Summary
Hourly chauffeur hire reserves the car and driver for a block of time instead of a route, from £65 per hour on a two hour minimum with a mileage allowance in each tier.
The decision comes down to whether the car needs to wait. If it does, hourly hire beats separate fixed fares on cost as well as convenience, because three bookings mean three waits for a car to arrive.
Half days run four hours and full days eight, with twelve and twenty four hour tiers above. Waiting, mileage, parking, the Clean Air Zone are all inside the rate, and nothing is settled with the chauffeur at the end.