Airport Transfer Service: A Private Car from the Airport to Your Hotel or Home

An airport transfer is a pre-booked car between an airport and an address: a hotel, a home, an office, a cruise terminal. You know the price and the pickup point before you leave, the driver knows your flight number, and you do not stand in a queue deciding what to do next.

Onroutz.ca is a private-transfer desk in Toronto that books these cars worldwide. This page explains how the service works from booking to drop-off, how it compares with the train, the taxi and the rideshare, and when each is the right call. Specific airports are on the airport transfers hub.

What is an airport transfer service?

The term covers a wide range of products, and the differences matter.

• Shared shuttle. A van with other passengers, stopping at several hotels. Cheaper and slower.
• Private transfer. A vehicle for your party only, going directly to your address. This is what Onroutz.ca sells.
• Limousine or airport limo. A private transfer in a premium vehicle. In many cities the word simply means a pre-booked licensed car.
• Meet and greet. A private transfer plus a chauffeur who waits inside arrivals with a name board. See the airport meet and greet page.

How the service works, from booking to drop-off

1. Enter the trip in the booker. Airport, address, date, time, passengers and bags.
2. See the fixed all-in fare. The booker shows it for your exact pickup, drop-off and vehicle before you pay. If a price question comes up later, the booker is where the answer lives.
3. Receive one confirmation. It lists the vehicle class, the pickup arrangement and the way to reach the 24/7 desk.
4. Your flight is tracked. The pickup moves with the real landing time, whether you are early, late or diverted.
5. The chauffeur meets you. At a curb, a designated pickup area or inside arrivals with a name board, depending on what you asked for and what the airport allows.
6. Free waiting starts at landing. 60 minutes after international landings, 30 after domestic landings, 15 on other pickups.
7. You are driven to the door. Water and phone charging are available in most vehicles. Note the children's ages at booking and the right infant, toddler or booster seat is provided.
8. One invoice follows, or a monthly statement on a corporate account.

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Who drives: Toronto fleet and local partners

State plainly, because it matters.

Toronto, the GTA and southern Ontario. The Onroutz.ca fleet and chauffeurs, dispatched from Toronto, drive the transfers. See the Toronto hub, the Toronto Pearson page and the Billy Bishop page.

Everywhere else. The ride is delivered by a vetted, licensed and commercially insured local transfer partner. The Toronto desk books it, confirms it, supports you during it and invoices it. Everything sits on one booking, one confirmation and one invoice, with one desk to call at any hour. Partners drive vehicles four model years old or newer; Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Maybach may be up to seven. Onroutz.ca does not own cars or offices abroad.

US domestic trips are driven by US-licensed partners. Cross-border trips between Toronto and the United States run from Toronto.

The regional hubs show the network: Canada, USA, Caribbean and Mexico, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

Choosing a vehicle

Every class is "or similar", with the exact model confirmed at booking.

A common mistake is to count passengers and forget bags. Four adults can sit in an SUV, but four adults with four large suitcases and two carry-ons is a different calculation. If in doubt, choose the next class up. The fleet page shows each vehicle in more detail, and the Sprinter van service page covers the large-group option.

Airport transfer versus train, taxi and rideshare

Be honest about the alternatives. At many airports the train is excellent, and a good route planner says so.

The official figures for the Toronto example come from UP Express. It runs between Pearson and Union Station in 28 minutes, and its adult one-way fare is $12.35 as of 2026. That is genuinely good value for one person with one bag going downtown.

When the train or shuttle wins: a solo traveller, a central address near a station, light luggage, a daytime arrival and no hurry.

When the private car wins:

• three or more travellers,
• heavy luggage or sports gear,
• children, particularly with car seats,
• late-night or early-morning arrivals when the train is running thinly or not at all,
• an address that is not near a station,
• a business schedule that cannot absorb a platform change, or
• a wish for privacy.

For a longer treatment, read the guide on airport transfer versus taxi versus rideshare.

Are airport limousines worth the expense?

Whether a private transfer is worth it is a judgment about time, certainty and numbers of people, not about luxury.

A single traveller with one bag, arriving at midday next to a train station, will usually find the train is the better use of money. A family of five arriving at 11 p.m. with seven bags will find that several taxis or a shared shuttle cost time and effort, and a single private vehicle is simpler. The fare is fixed and quoted before you book, so you can compare it with the alternatives you have in mind and decide.

Onroutz.ca aims to be the most predictable option, not the lowest-priced one. You know the price, you know who is coming, and someone is watching your flight.

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Paying for an airport transfer

You pay through the booker, and the fare shown is the fixed all-in fare for the exact trip. Corporate accounts with monthly invoicing are available, so a company can consolidate many transfers on one statement. Multi-leg itineraries can sit on one booking, which is helpful for a traveller with a connection through two cities.

Arrivals: what to expect at different airports

Airports are not alike, and a few differences affect your transfer.

• Border formalities come first. At Canada's major airports, CBSA kiosks and eGates are used before arrivals; kiosks serve Toronto Pearson Terminals 1 and 3 and ten other airports, and eGates serve Pearson Terminal 1. Queues vary with the flight bank.
• Entry authorization. Visa-exempt foreign nationals flying to Canada generally need an eTA; IRCC says U.S. citizens do not, and that it costs CAD $7.
• Pickup areas are set by the airport. Some airports separate taxis, pre-booked cars and rideshare, and some restrict where drivers may stand. The desk confirms the pickup arrangement for your airport.
• Terminals matter. A large airport can have several terminals with different pickup areas. Give the desk your flight number rather than only the airport name.

Pages for individual airports go further: London Heathrow, Dubai, Singapore Changi, Los Angeles and many more are listed on the airport transfers hub.

Departures: getting to the airport

Transfers work in both directions. For a departure you choose the pickup address and time, and the chauffeur arrives at the time on your confirmation. Free waiting for pickups at addresses is 15 minutes.

Give yourself margin. The right pickup time depends on the airport, the time of day, whether you check bags and whether your flight is international. The desk can talk through it if you are unsure, and the guide on how private airport transfers work lists the planning points.

Special situations

Families with children. Request child, toddler or booster seats at booking, and give the ages and number of children.

Groups. An Executive Sprinter carries up to 12 passengers and 12 bags. For larger groups, mini-coaches and coaches seat 20 to 56 on request.

Cruise connections. A transfer between an airport and a cruise port is tracked like any other, and tight embarkation windows are a good reason to book a private car. The cruise transfers hub lists ports.

Hotels. For airport-to-hotel runs in specific cities, see the hotel transfers hub.

VIPs and executives. Privacy options, alias name boards and corporate invoicing are covered on the VIP transportation page and the executive car service page.

Cancellation

More than 72 hours' notice: no charge. 72 hours or less: 10%. 48 hours or less: 50%. 24 hours or less or a no-show: 100%. The clock runs from the scheduled pickup. If your trip falls during a major event, check the confirmation: the deadline may differ.

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