How to Change Pickup Time on a Farmed-Out Limo Job
Clients change plans. Here is how dispatchers change the pickup time on a farmed-out limo job so the driver, the passenger and your records all stay in step.
A booking is a promise made at one moment in time. Then the meeting overruns, the dinner moves, the flight is rebooked, or the client simply says "can we make it 8 instead of 7:30?" In your own fleet, a time change is one call to your chauffeur. In the old farm-out world, it was a call to another company, who called their driver, who may or may not have told the passenger.
On LimoFarmOut, changing the pickup time is a single action on the job page, and everyone who needs to know is told. This guide explains how to do it, when to check with the driver first, and how to avoid the mismatches that cause no-shows.
The one-tap change
Open the job you posted and tap Change pickup time. Pick the new time and save. That's it.
As soon as you save:
- The driver sees the new time at once, both in the trip chat and on their trip screen.
- The passenger gets a text with the update, in your company's name.
- Your records match. The job, the driver's schedule and the passenger's texts all show the same time.
If the client is ready right now, tap Now instead. That tells the driver the passenger is waiting.
Earlier vs later: why direction matters
Moving a pickup earlier is usually welcome: the driver can start the trip as soon as they're ready. Moving it later is different, and LimoFarmOut treats it differently.
If you move an accepted job to a later time, the driver may give it back without penalty. A chauffeur who accepted a 15:00 pickup may have a 19:00 job they took because the first one would be done. Pushing your trip to 18:00 isn't their fault, so they can step away cleanly.
That leads to the most useful habit in this guide: before you move a job later, message the driver in the trip chat. "Client now wants 18:00 instead of 15:00, can you still do it?" takes ten seconds and turns a possible give-back into a confirmed change.
If they can't, the job goes back on the board for another driver and you can ask for a replacement from the job page. Our guide to what to do when a driver gives a job back covers the next steps.
When the client is early
Clients finish early as often as they run late. A driver who is on location and sees the passenger ready can press En route, On location and Passenger on board as they go, even before the booked time.
When that happens, update the pickup time to match. The driver may ask you to, because a trip that started early closes a few minutes after the passenger is on board. Keeping the time accurate also keeps your own records and the passenger's texts in line with what actually happened.
Airport pickups and changed flights
Flights are the most common reason for a time change. On airport jobs:
- Keep the flight number current. Flight tracking helps the driver time their arrival, and a wrong flight number is worse than none.
- Small delays don't need a change. The free waiting you set when posting covers them.
- Big delays or a new flight do. Change the pickup time so the waiting clock doesn't run for hours, but check with the driver first if the change is later.
You can confirm a new arrival time on the airport's own arrivals page, such as Toronto Pearson arrivals, or a public tracker like FlightAware. Our guide to the flight-delayed airport pickup goes further.
Time zones: set it where the passenger is
Every pickup time on LimoFarmOut is local to the pickup city. When you change a time for a trip in another country, enter it as the passenger will see it on the ground, not as it reads on your office clock. The form has a pickup time zone field, so a dispatcher in Toronto changing a pickup in London is changing it in London time. For more on this, read dispatching across time zones for international clients.
When a change becomes a cancellation
Sometimes the new plan doesn't need a car at all. The cancellation rules are shown before you confirm:
- Before any driver has accepted: cancel any time and get everything back except the platform fee.
- After a driver accepts, within 24 hours of pickup: the driver receives part of the payout for holding the time.
If the passenger simply doesn't appear while the driver is on location, a no-show pays the driver in full. That's why a clean, timely time change is better for everyone than a cancellation at the last minute.
Five habits that prevent time mix-ups
- Use Change pickup time, not a chat message, so the trip screen and passenger texts update together.
- Ask before you move a job later. One chat message saves a give-back.
- Mind the time zone on trips outside your city.
- Check flights before the driver leaves, not after they've parked.
- Update early starts so the record matches the ride.
These sit well alongside the dispatcher's daily farm-out checklist. For the full job flow, see how it works.
When the schedule change affects travel plans
If the new pickup time means a new flight or an extra hotel night, search options with our travel partner BookingWorldwide.net.
Book a car for your client directly
If you need a chauffeur booked directly for your own client in another city, use the LimousineWorldwide.Directory member booker.
Chauffeur booker
Book a chauffeur in any city
Airport transfers, hourly cars and point-to-point trips with LimousineWorldwide.Directory member operators. Choose the vehicle, see the price and book in a few steps.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change the pickup time on a farmed-out limo job?
Open the job page, tap Change pickup time, choose the new time and save. The driver sees it at once in the chat and on their trip screen, and the passenger gets a text.
Can the driver refuse a new pickup time?
If you move an accepted job later, the driver may give it back without penalty. Message them in the trip chat first to check they can still do it.
What if the client is ready early?
Tap Now on the job page, or let the driver start the trip early and then update the pickup time so your records match.
Is the new pickup time in my time zone or the passenger's?
Pickup times are always local to the pickup city. Enter the time the passenger will see on the ground.
How is waiting time handled after a time change?
The waiting terms you set when posting still apply. Waiting beyond the free minutes is charged at your extra-hour rate, and you approve it before it is paid.
Have a trip to farm out with a flexible client? Post it here.
