Private Chauffeur Service
Your Time Is Booked, Not Your Route
A private chauffeur service reserves one licensed driver and one maintained vehicle for a block of your time, rather than for a single journey between two points. You direct the stops while the day is happening, and the agreed rate holds whether the car moves or waits.
That is the whole distinction, and it decides who the service suits. An airport transfer is a route with a price on it. A private chauffeur is a person on standby: 08:00 at the school gates, 11:00 at a consulting room in Harley Street, lunch in Chelsea, then a 17:40 departure from Heathrow, without four separate bookings and four strangers.
Hire starts at £50 per hour on a four hour minimum with 80 km included, running to eight hours with 160 km and twelve hours with 240 km. Every chauffeur holds a Transport for London private hire licence and clears an enhanced DBS check before carrying a passenger, and Barons Transport has run this service from Covent Garden since 2015.
Below: the days people book it for, the fleet behind it, why households keep the arrangement rather than employing someone, how a family travels together, where we drive, what already sits inside the rate, and how to set it up.
- Private hire from
- £50/hr
- Minimum booking
- 4 hrs
- Child seats, any stage
- Free
- Dispatch, every day
- 24/7
Four Days That Do Not Fit a Route
As-directed hours
You set the stopsThe car and chauffeur are held for a block of time. Add a destination, drop one, run late at the second stop; the rate agreed at booking does not move.Read moreThe school routine
Same driver each morningA standing arrangement rather than a nightly decision. Children travel with someone they recognise, in the correct seat stage, fitted before the car arrives.Read moreAppointments and errands
The car waits, you do notHarley Street, Sloane Street, Bond Street. Bags go straight into the boot instead of being carried between shops, and nobody circles for parking.Travel days
Out and backThe chauffeur who took you to the terminal collects you on the return, timed against the tracked landing rather than the printed schedule.Read more
Four Reasons Households Choose This Over Employing Someone
One driver, not a rota
The same chauffeur returns across the week, so the entrance, the timings and the routine never have to be explained twice.Vetting you can see
A TfL private hire licence and an enhanced DBS check sit behind every driver, and the records are on file for you to ask for.Cover without the payroll
No employment contract, no motor insurance to arrange, no holiday cover to find. A replacement chauffeur is provided when yours is away.Discretion as method
Addresses, routines and conversations stay inside the car. Where a client needs it, the desk restricts which drivers ever see the booking.Read more
When the Whole House Travels
Everyone in one car
Up to 7 seatsThe V-Class keeps a family together with a full luggage load, which matters most on the leg to the airport.Children of any age
Rear-facing to boosterSeats are supplied free in every stage. Give the ages at booking and the correct one is fitted and checked before collection.Read moreHoliday luggage
Vito for the bootTwo people leaving for a fortnight often carry more than four leaving for a night. Where the cases decide, the Vito takes over.Family occasions
Waiting heldBirthdays, anniversaries and christenings, where the car stays through the evening rather than being rebooked at the end of it.
A Two Mile School Run and a Two Hundred Mile Weekend
Prime central London
Where most private arrangements are based, and where a waiting car is worth more than a hailed one because residents' parking rules out the alternative.- Mayfair
- Knightsbridge
- Belgravia
- Kensington
- Chelsea
- St John's Wood
Greater London
School gates, consulting rooms and dinners across the whole city, including the boroughs where a taxi will not wait.- Hampstead
- Richmond
- Wimbledon
- Islington
- Highgate
Weekends and country houses
Day trips and country weekends on one figure, with the chauffeur's time already inside it.- Windsor
- Oxford
- Bath
- Cotswolds
- Surrey
- Buckinghamshire
Airports and cruise ports
Travel days handled end to end, with the return leg timed against the actual arrival rather than the timetable.- Heathrow
- Gatwick
- London City
- Farnborough
- Southampton
- Dover
What Sits Inside the Rate
- A TfL-licensed, DBS-checked chauffeur
- Child seats in any stage, fitted and checked
- Waiting time between stops, all day
- Congestion Charge and ULEZ where they apply
- Parking and drop-off charges
- Luggage and shopping handled to the car
- Wi-Fi, bottled water and device charging
- Flight tracking on airport journeys
One Conversation Sets Up the Week
- 01
Describe the day
Not only the first journey. The stops, the rough timings, and how the day usually changes once it has started. - 02
Give the specifics
Children's ages, mobility needs, the entrance you actually use. Every one of these is free to say now and awkward to say later. - 03
Meet the chauffeur
For a standing arrangement we introduce the driver first. You are choosing a person as much as a service, and it should feel that way. - 04
Fix the pattern
Set days, ad hoc calls, or a mix of both. It goes in writing so nothing depends on anybody's memory.
To arrange a private chauffeur, call +44 (0) 208 997 7103. The desk is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
What Private Clients Say
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a private chauffeur service?
It reserves one licensed driver and one vehicle for a block of your time rather than for a single route. You direct the stops as the day unfolds, and the agreed rate holds whether the car is moving or waiting outside.
Is a private chauffeur the same as employing a driver?
No, and that is usually why people choose it. There is no employment contract, no motor insurance to arrange, no payroll and no holiday cover to find, and a replacement chauffeur is provided when yours is away.
How much does a private chauffeur cost in London?
Hire starts at £50 per hour on a four hour minimum with 80 km included. Eight hours carries 160 km and twelve hours carries 240 km. Vehicle class and pick-up postcode shape the final figure, which is fixed before the day starts.
Do I have to book a minimum number of hours?
Yes, four hours is the minimum on an as-directed booking. Anything shorter is better booked as a point-to-point journey, which is priced as a fixed fare between two addresses instead.
Will I get the same chauffeur every time?
On a standing arrangement, yes. Drivers are assigned rather than allocated by whoever is nearest, which is what makes school runs and family travel work at all.
What can a private chauffeur day include?
School runs, appointments, shopping, business calls, restaurant drop-offs, airport and cruise port transfers, and country weekends. All of it sits on one booking rather than several, and the car waits between stops rather than leaving.
Private chauffeur or executive chauffeur, which do I need?
Executive if a company pays, private if a household does. Executive travel is billed to a corporate account on Net-30 terms and built around meetings; a private arrangement is built around one family's week and settled personally.
Are child seats provided?
Yes, free of charge, in rear-facing, forward-facing and booster configurations. Give the children's ages when you book so the correct stage is fitted and checked before the car arrives.
Can the plan change once the day has started?
That is exactly what an as-directed booking is for. Add a stop, skip one, or stay somewhere longer; only hours beyond the agreed block change the figure, and the desk confirms that afterwards rather than the driver.
How discreet is the service?
Addresses, routines and conversations stay with the chauffeur and are not discussed afterwards with anyone. Where a client requires it, the dispatch desk restricts which drivers can see the booking at all.
In Summary
A private chauffeur service books your time rather than your route: one licensed driver and one vehicle held for a block of hours, with the stops directed as the day happens. Hire starts at £50 per hour on a four hour minimum with 80 km included.
The same chauffeur returns across the week, child seats are fitted free in any stage, and waiting, parking, the Congestion Charge and ULEZ already sit inside the rate. Every driver holds a Transport for London private hire licence and an enhanced DBS check.
It answers the same need as employing a staff driver without the contract, the insurance or the cover, which is why most households who try it keep it.