Hourly Limo Jobs: Minimum Hours, Overtime and Pricing
How hourly and as-directed limo jobs work on LimoFarmOut: 3-hour and 5-hour minimums, overtime rates, roadshows and weddings, and how to price them well.
Point-to-point jobs are easy to price: a pickup, a drop-off, a distance. Hourly work is different. The client books the car and the chauffeur for a stretch of time and decides the route as the day unfolds. A roadshow with six meetings, a wedding with a church, photos and a reception, a shopping day, a night out. These are often the best-paying jobs in the business, and the ones most likely to end in an argument about the final hour.
This guide explains how hourly (as-directed) jobs work on LimoFarmOut, from the posting operator's side and the driver's side, and how to price them so the long days pay properly.
The minimums
Every hourly job has a minimum number of hours, depending on the vehicle:
- Sedans, luxury sedans and SUVs: 3 hours minimum.
- All other vehicles, such as Sprinters, stretch limousines, minibuses, party buses and coaches: 5 hours minimum.
The reason is simple. A chauffeur who drives across a city, prepares a vehicle and blocks part of their day can't do that for forty minutes of driving. Larger vehicles take more preparation, cost more to run and are harder to fill twice in a day, so their minimum is longer.
For posters, the minimum is a floor, not a target. Book the hours the client actually needs, and if the day might run long, say so in the job.
Booked hours, overtime and the extra-hour rate
An hourly job shows the booked hours on the board, so the driver knows the commitment before accepting. When the client keeps the car longer, that is overtime.
Overtime works like this:
- When posting, you can set a rate for each extra hour.
- If the day runs past the booked hours, the driver enters the extra hours when closing the trip.
- The charge is worked out from the agreed extra-hour rate. If no extra-hour rate was set, the job's own hourly rate is used.
- The overtime comes to the poster to approve before it is paid.
Because the rate is agreed before the trip, the conversation at the end of the day is about how many hours, not how much per hour. That removes most of the friction.
Pricing an hourly job as the operator
A good hourly post answers the driver's questions before they ask them:
- Start and likely finish. Book at least the minimum, and add a realistic buffer for the type of day.
- The shape of the day. "Roadshow, five meetings in the financial district, airport drop at the end" tells a driver far more than "as directed".
- The extra-hour rate. Set it so a driver isn't worse off staying late than going home.
- Conditions. Water, suit and tie, name sign, Wi-Fi: list them as conditions so the driver confirms them on accepting.
- The vehicle. Party buses, minibuses and coaches can only be taken by fleets whose bus operating authority has been approved.
Remember that the platform fee, 10% of the payout during the launch offer, applies to the booked payout. For worked numbers, see the true cost of farming out a limo trip.
If you're unsure what an hourly day pays in a city, post with a rising price. The payout climbs automatically to a maximum you set, drivers never see the maximum, and anything unused comes back to you.
Three common hourly jobs
The corporate roadshow. An executive visits several offices in a day, often in a city the operator doesn't serve. Book the full day, add the airport legs to the description, and set an extra-hour rate in case the last meeting overruns. The passenger gets texts in your company's name, and every driver promises not to contact your client.
The wedding. Ceremony, photos, reception: weddings run late more often than early. Book generously, set free waiting and an extra-hour rate, and include the addresses in order. Stretch limousines fall under the 5-hour minimum.
The night out. Birthdays, proms and parties in a party bus or limo. These fall under the 5-hour minimum too. Spell out pickup and drop-off points and any conditions.
Running an hourly job as the driver
For chauffeurs, hourly work rewards good habits:
- Read the booked hours and the extra-hour rate before accepting. If they don't work for you, send a counter-offer.
- Keep the trip steps current through the day: En route, On location, Passenger on board, Trip complete.
- Note when the booked time ends. If the client asks you to stay, you're into overtime at the agreed rate.
- When closing the trip, enter the extra hours, plus parking, tolls and any extra stops. The poster approves them before they're paid.
Your payout, including approved extras, is released within 48 hours of drop-off. If a late cancellation hits an hourly booking, the late cancellation rules still apply: half of the payout if the poster cancels inside 24 hours.
Book a chauffeur for your event
If you need a car by the hour for your own client in another city, the booker below lets you book one directly.
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.
Corporate events and weddings often need flights and hotels too. Our partner BookingWorldwide.net searches them in one place.
Further reading
The National Limousine Association offers industry resources on operating chauffeured services. To find established operators in a city where you need hourly cover, browse the LimousineWorldwide.Directory. On this blog: waiting time, tolls and extras and the chauffeur jobs page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum booking for an hourly limo job?
On LimoFarmOut, hourly jobs have a minimum of 3 hours for sedans, luxury sedans and SUVs, and 5 hours for all other vehicles.
How is overtime charged on an hourly job?
The driver enters the extra hours when closing the trip. They are charged at the agreed extra-hour rate, or at the job's hourly rate if none was set, and the poster approves them before payment.
Does a stretch limousine have a different minimum?
Yes. Stretch limousines, Sprinters, minibuses, party buses and coaches all fall under the 5-hour minimum.
Can any driver take a party bus or coach job?
No. Party buses, minibuses and coaches need the fleet's bus operating authority approved under Documents first.
Is waiting time different from overtime?
Yes. Waiting time is time spent waiting beyond the free minutes, such as at an airport. Overtime is when an hourly booking runs past its booked hours.
Fill your next long day
Farm out an hourly job with the extra-hour rate set from the start, or sign up as a driver for prepaid as-directed work.
