Hourly Chauffeur & Party Bus Charter NYC | As-Directed Car Service

Hourly rates and minimums by vehicle

Executive sedan (1-3 passengers): $120/hr with a 3-hour minimum, so $360 is the smallest sedan charter. Cadillac Escalade ESV (1-6): $150/hr, 3-hour minimum, $450. Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1-3): from $175/hr, 3-hour minimum, from $525. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van (10-14): from $200/hr, 3-hour minimum, from $600. Stretch limousine (8-10): $200/hr, 3-hour minimum, $600.

Party buses carry longer minimums because they are built for full evenings: the 20-passenger bus is $250/hr with a 4-hour minimum ($1,000), the 30-passenger bus is $325/hr with a 4-hour minimum ($1,300), and the 40-passenger executive coach is $400/hr with a 5-hour minimum ($2,000).

S-Class and Sprinter figures are starting rates; the booking form confirms your final price, which can vary with taxes, tolls and availability. Every hourly rate includes the chauffeur, fuel and standard insurance. Gratuity of 18-20% is customary and paid separately, and tolls are passed through at cost.

How the hourly clock runs

The window starts at your scheduled pickup time, not when the vehicle leaves the yard, and it ends at your final drop-off. If the chauffeur arrives a few minutes early, that time is not billed. If the night ends before the booked window is up, the minimum still applies; we do not pro-rate below the booked hours.

While you are inside a venue, the chauffeur stays on-site at a pre-cleared curb and the clock keeps running on your booked window regardless of miles driven. If the evening runs past the reservation, overtime is billed at 1.5x the hourly rate in 30-minute increments, so it is worth booking an extra hour up front for anything with an encore, a late dinner or a speech-heavy reception.

Up to 6 pickup stops are included in each rental, which covers the usual pattern of collecting friends from two or three apartments before the first reservation.

What people use an hourly charter for

Nights out: dinner in the West Village, drinks on the Lower East Side, a late set in Williamsburg. The group stays together in one vehicle, with the chauffeur holding at each curb. This is the everyday use of the Sprinter and the 20-passenger party bus.

Business days: a sedan or Escalade on standby for a series of Midtown and Financial District meetings, a client dinner near Hudson Yards and a late drop at LaGuardia. Corporate accounts with 3+ runs per month qualify for monthly invoice billing.

Wedding days: the couple in the S-Class, the bridal party in the Sprinter, with photo stops at places like Central Park's Bethesda Terrace, the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront in DUMBO, or Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City between the ceremony and the reception.

Visitors and families: a few hours seeing the city from a comfortable seat, with stops at Rockefeller Center, the High Line, the 9/11 Memorial and a view of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park, without working out subway transfers with children or luggage.

Planning your charter window

Work out the time between the first pickup and the last drop, then add a buffer for Manhattan traffic. A dinner-and-drinks night with two pickups typically fills 4-5 hours; a bar crawl with a club finish usually needs 5-6. Crossing into New Jersey or out to Long Island adds meaningful driving time, especially on weekday evenings when the Lincoln Tunnel and the Long Island Expressway back up.

Tell us every stop you know about when you book, including the entrances you will use, and send changes as early as possible. The chauffeur receives your itinerary in advance and plans the order of stops around one-way streets and pickup restrictions.

For party buses, alcohol is permitted when all passengers are 21 or older; coolers with ice are provided and you bring the drinks. Prom rentals are strictly no alcohol.