Private Transfer: A Private Car Service That Takes You Door to Door, Worldwide

What is a private transfer?

That is the whole idea, and it is narrower than it sounds. A taxi is hailed. A rideshare is matched by an app to whichever driver is closest. A shuttle runs a loop and fills seats. A private transfer is arranged in advance, with a named pickup point, a tracked flight or train, and a fare that is quoted before you pay.

Onroutz.ca is a route planner first and a car service second. When you ask us for a private transfer between two places, the first thing we want you to know is every sensible way of making the trip and what each costs you in time. Sometimes the best answer is the train. Often, for a family with luggage or a traveller landing at midnight, it is the private car. This page sets out both sides plainly, then explains how booking works.

Check your fixed fare

How a private transfer compares with the other ways to travel

The table below uses Toronto Pearson to the downtown core as the worked example, because the options there are well documented, but the logic carries to most cities. Times are door to door under normal conditions and assume a weekday.

The UP Express journey time is the operator's published figure for the run between Pearson and Union Station; the other times are typical ranges, not promises. Toronto drive times swing with the weather and the Gardiner Expressway, which is why we show a range.

When the train or the shuttle is the better choice

A private car is not always the right answer, and a travel desk that pretends otherwise wastes your time.

Take the train when you are travelling alone or as a pair with one bag each, your hotel is within a short walk of the station, and your flight lands in daylight on a weekday. In Toronto the UP Express leaves Pearson for Union Station and takes 28 minutes, which no car beats in peak traffic. Read the operator's own timetable and fares on the UP Express site.

Take a shared shuttle when you are on a tight budget, have no fixed hotel check-in time and do not mind an hour of drop-offs on the way. Take a metered taxi for a short hop where you do not need to plan. In many cities abroad, a metro line or an airport rail link runs straight to the centre and is the sensible first leg, and our route pages for each airport say so.

If a train is the best way to reach your hotel, how private airport transfers work and our airport transfer, taxi and rideshare comparison show you how to decide.

When a private transfer wins

The private car earns its place in a handful of situations, and they tend to overlap.

• Three or more travellers. One car replaces three train tickets and a taxi at the far end.
• Heavy or awkward luggage. Golf bags, strollers, two checked cases each, musical instruments.
• Children. Child, toddler and booster seats can be fitted on request at booking, so a toddler is not strapped into an adult seat.
• Late or early arrivals. After a long-haul landing, a chauffeur at arrivals beats a night bus.
• Tight schedules. A meeting at nine, a cruise embarkation window, a connecting flight from another airport.
• Privacy. A conversation you would rather not have on a train, or a name you would rather not announce on a board.

If none of these apply, the cheaper option is probably fine. If two or three do, a private transfer usually turns out to be the easier day.

How booking works, step by step

1. Enter your pickup and drop-off in the booker. It accepts airports, stations, ports, hotels and street addresses.
2. Choose a date, time and vehicle. Add flight or train details for airport and station pickups so we can track arrival.
3. See your fixed fare. The booker shows the fixed all-in fare for your exact pickup, drop-off and vehicle before you pay, so there is no meter and no surprise at the kerb.
4. Add requests. Child seats, a name board, extra stops, a second leg, a different drop-off door.
5. Confirm and pay. You receive one confirmation with the details of your driver and vehicle to follow.
6. Travel. The chauffeur is dispatched, flight or train arrival is tracked, and our 24/7 desk is a call away if plans change.

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Where the car comes from: Toronto fleet and partners abroad

Our service model is simple, and we state it the same way everywhere.

In Toronto, the GTA and southern Ontario, trips are driven by the Onroutz.ca fleet and chauffeurs, dispatched from Toronto. Cross-border trips between Toronto and the USA run from Toronto too.

Everywhere else (the rest of Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific), the ride is delivered by a vetted, licensed and commercially insured local transfer partner. The booking, confirmation, support and invoice all stay with the Onroutz.ca desk in Toronto. That means one booking, one confirmation, one invoice and one 24/7 contact whether your trip is in Calgary or Kyoto. Partner vehicles are no more than four model years old, and up to seven for Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Maybach. In the United States, domestic trips are driven by US-licensed partners.

We do not own cars or run offices abroad, and we would not suggest otherwise. What we do is the part you do not want to do yourself: vet the operator, brief them, track your arrival and answer the phone when something shifts.

Choosing the vehicle class

Vehicle models are shown as "or similar" and the exact car is confirmed at booking.

Larger parties can ask for a mini-coach or coach of 20 to 56 seats, and For special occasions or high-profile travel, Maybach, Rolls-Royce, stretch and armoured vehicles are available on request (availability confirmed at booking). See the full fleet page, and if you are moving a group, read about the Sprinter van with driver. Water and phone charging are available in most vehicles.

Airport pickups: tracking, waiting time and meet and greet

Every airport pickup includes flight tracking. If your flight lands early, late or at another terminal, the chauffeur adjusts without you calling anyone.

Waiting time is included: 60 minutes free after international landings, 30 minutes after domestic ones, and 15 minutes on other pickups such as a hotel or an office. Train and ship arrivals are tracked as well, so a delayed ferry or a late train does not leave you with a missed car.

On request, the chauffeur meets you inside arrivals with a name board. If you would rather not have your name displayed, ask for an alias on the board. For a longer look at the option, see airport meet and greet and the general meet and greet page. Airports that suit a car at the kerb are covered in the airport transfers hub, and Toronto's main airport is on the Toronto Pearson page.

A private transfer beyond airports

The same booking works for almost any point-to-point journey.

• Hotels. Check-in to check-out and across town, with a hotel transfers page for popular districts.
• Stations. Rail arrivals tracked and met, see rail transfers.
• Cruise ports. Airport to ship, timed to embarkation windows, in the cruise transfers section.
• City to city. Long-distance trips on the routes pages. Toronto to Niagara Falls is about 130 km (80 mi), usually 1 h 30 – 2 h, and 2 h 30 on a Friday afternoon.
• Events and weddings. Arrivals, shuttles and late-night returns, see events.
• Multi-leg itineraries. Several legs on one booking, in one confirmation, with one invoice.

For Toronto day trips, the Niagara Falls private tour is a good example of a private car used all day, not just for a transfer.

Arriving in Canada: what to have ready

If you are flying into Toronto from overseas, check entry rules before you leave home. Travellers from visa-exempt countries need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) to fly to Canada, and the Government of Canada's own page lists the fee, which was CAN$7 as of 2026, and who is exempt. Read the rules on the official eTA page rather than an agency site.

Have the address of your first night, your flight number and the passenger names ready for the booker. Border processing time is separate from our waiting time, which is why international landings carry a full hour. Read the Toronto arrivals guide for international travellers for the full arrival sequence.

Children, luggage and business accounts

Tell us who is travelling at booking and we fit the car to them.

Ontario's rules for children in a vehicle are set by weight, height and age. The province's guidance says an infant travels rear-facing up to 9 kg, a toddler forward-facing from 9 to 18 kg, and a child under 8 and under 145 cm in a booster seat from 18 to 36 kg; the details are on the Ontario child car seat page. We provide child, toddler and booster seats on request, so ask for the stage that fits your child's current weight.

Luggage works the same way. Count bags honestly, include strollers and sports kit, and say if anything is oversized, because a Luxury SUV or a Sprinter may be the better class even for a smaller party.

Business travellers can use a corporate account with monthly invoicing, which turns a stack of trips into one statement, and itineraries with several legs sit on one booking. Read more about executive car service and corporate meetings, hotels and resorts before setting up an account. Chauffeurs never photograph clients or post about trips, and will sign an NDA on request.

Changing or cancelling a private transfer

Plans change, and the rules are plain. Cancellation is counted from the scheduled pickup time.

• 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%.

Some large events have a separate deadline, and you will see it on the confirmation. If your flight is delayed, you do not need to cancel; the tracked pickup moves with the aircraft.

Where to go next

Start from the services overview if you are comparing options, or open the hub for your region: Toronto, Canada, the USA, the Caribbean and Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Licensing for vehicles for hire differs by city; the City of Toronto, for example, treats taxicabs, limousines and private transportation companies as separate categories, as its vehicle-for-hire page explains.

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