As directed car service means you book a car and a chauffeur for a block of time rather than a route: you decide the stops, their order and how long you stay as the day unfolds, and the chauffeur waits between them. It is billed by the hour. At HamiltonLimo.net a business sedan is a planning $120–145 an hour, 3-hour minimum, all-in plus HST.
As directed car service in one paragraph
It is the open-route form of hourly car service. On a chauffeur's trip sheet, most bookings read like a journey: pickup address, destination, time. An "as directed" booking reads differently: pickup address, start time, number of hours, and in the destination box two words that tell the chauffeur the passenger will say where to go. That is the whole idea. You are not buying a trip; you are buying the use of a car and a professional driver for a set time. Our guide to hourly vs point-to-point car service explains when that is cheaper than separate trips. This post explains how an as-directed day actually runs.
Where the term comes from
The phrase is old chauffeuring shorthand. Before apps, a car hired "as directed" was one a client kept at their disposal, and the driver's instructions came from the back seat rather than from the booking office. Dispatch sheets still use it, sometimes abbreviated, because it tells everyone involved that the route is open and the clock is what is being sold.
You will also hear "at disposal" or "by the hour". In practice these mean the same thing. What matters for you is the practical meaning: the chauffeur waits, the plan can change, and the price is time.
As directed, point to point and wait-and-return compared
| Booking type | Route fixed at booking? | Chauffeur waits? | How it is priced | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point to point | Yes | 15 min included, then 15-min blocks | Fixed fare per trip | Airport, station, one appointment |
| Point to point with stops | Yes, stops listed | Briefly at each stop | Fixed fare including stops | Collecting a colleague on the way |
| Wait-and-return | Yes, there and back | For the visit | Two fares, or by the hour | A single appointment with a return |
| As directed (hourly) | No | Yes, all day | Hourly, 3 h minimum | Meetings, viewings, errands, tours |
What you can change on the day
Almost everything that affects your plan:
- The stops: add a coffee, a detour past a property, a lunch you did not plan.
- The order: swap the afternoon meetings if one runs late.
- The time at each stop: stay longer where it is going well.
- The finish time: end early, or extend in 30-minute blocks if the car is free.
- Who rides: collect a colleague mid-morning, drop them before lunch.
Tell the chauffeur directly; you receive their mobile number when the booking is assigned. A short text such as "running 20 minutes late, meet me at the side entrance" is all it takes.
What stays fixed
As directed is flexible, not unlimited. These things do not change on the day:
- The vehicle and the seats. A sedan carries three; you cannot add a fourth passenger mid-afternoon.
- The booked start time. The clock starts at the scheduled pickup whether or not you are ready.
- Safety and the law. The chauffeur will not stop where stopping is prohibited, speed to make up time or leave the vehicle unattended in a no-stopping zone.
- The chauffeur's next booking. Extensions depend on availability.
- Borders. A spontaneous trip into the United States needs passports or other accepted documents for everyone, and it needs to be cleared with dispatch before you head for the bridge.
How the clock runs
The rules are the same as any hourly booking and are shown before you confirm: the clock starts at the scheduled pickup and stops at the final drop-off; sedans, SUVs, luxury vans and Sprinters have a 3-hour minimum, stretch limousines 4; extra time is added in 30-minute blocks. Fuel, 407 tolls if used and gratuity are included in the hourly rate; HST is shown separately. The hourly chauffeur service page lists every vehicle's rate.
Who books as directed
Six kinds of customers account for most as-directed days:
- Visiting executives with meetings across Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville.
- People relocating who are viewing houses in several neighbourhoods; see our post on touring Hamilton's neighbourhoods with a driver.
- Film and TV scouts who do not know which location they will see next.
- Families with an older parent on an appointment and errands day.
- Event planners and wedding coordinators moving between venues, florists and hotels.
- Visitors who want a day of sightseeing without a fixed itinerary.
The private chauffeur page describes longer arrangements, including multi-day bookings with the same chauffeur.
A sample as-directed day in Hamilton and Halton
- 8:00 a.m. Pickup at a downtown Hamilton hotel lobby.
- 8:30 a.m. First meeting at McMaster Innovation Park. The chauffeur waits nearby.
- 10:15 a.m. The client adds a stop: a quick look at an industrial site near the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
- 11:30 a.m. Lunch meeting in downtown Burlington, about 15 km and 15–25 minutes away.
- 2:00 p.m. Site visit in Oakville, off the QEW.
- 4:30 p.m. The last meeting is cancelled; the client heads back to the hotel early.
- 5:15 p.m. Drop-off. Nine and a quarter hours on the clock.
In a business sedan booked for nine hours and extended by 30 minutes, that is 9.5 hours at $120–145: $1,140–1,378 all-in plus HST. As separate one-way trips it would have been five bookings and five waits.
As directed for visitors who want to see the region
Visitors are the customers who most enjoy an open route. A family in town for a reunion might start with the Royal Botanical Gardens, add Dundurn National Historic Site after lunch, and decide at 3:00 p.m. that they would rather see a waterfall than a museum. A couple celebrating an anniversary might drift from Niagara-on-the-Lake's Old Town to two wineries and a dinner reservation they made that morning.
A chauffeur who knows the area helps you choose between options without selling you anything: which falls have parking at this time of year, whether the Parkway will be busy, where lunch is quick. For ideas, see the Niagara-on-the-Lake page and Tourism Hamilton, which lists what is on this week.
As directed for wedding coordinators and planners
Planners use as-directed days in the week before an event: a morning at the venue, the florist in Dundas, the bakery, a hotel walk-through, a tasting in the afternoon. The schedule shifts with every phone call. A car by the hour lets them work in the back seat between stops and arrive without parking hunts. On the day itself, the couple's car and the guest shuttles are booked separately, each with its own timeline; the wedding limo page covers those bookings.
What the chauffeur does while you are inside
On an as-directed booking the chauffeur's job between stops is to be ready. At an office tower downtown they usually circle or hold nearby rather than idle in a loading zone; at a plaza, a winery or a hospital they wait in the lot or the pickup loop where that is allowed. They keep the car at a comfortable temperature, watch their phone for your message and plan the next leg. On long stops they may step away for a meal and be back before your estimate.
Choosing the vehicle for an as-directed day
Choose for the busiest moment of the day, not the first pickup. If you will collect two colleagues at lunch, a sedan that seats three is already full; a business SUV, a black Tahoe or Yukon, seats five with five bags at close to sedan money, $145–175 an hour. For client-facing days, a first-class sedan at $285–350 an hour is the quiet, polished option. For a family day with a stroller and bags, an executive SUV at $190–235 an hour gives room for six. For a team of up to fourteen, a Sprinter at $330–385 an hour keeps everyone together. For up to seven executives who want to meet on the move, a Jet Sprinter, a VIP lounge Sprinter with captain's chairs and work tables, is $650–750 an hour.
Communicating with your chauffeur on the day
The best as-directed days run on a few simple habits:
- Share the rough plan at pickup, even if it will change. The chauffeur can suggest routes and warn you about traffic.
- Give a ten-minute warning before you leave each stop.
- Say which door. Office buildings and hospitals have several exits.
- Tell them early if the day will run long, so dispatch can check the car is free.
Chauffeurs check Ontario 511 for closures and will tell you if a planned route has become a bad idea.
As directed across city lines
An as-directed day does not have to stay in Hamilton. A trip to Toronto for an afternoon meeting, a drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake for dinner, a detour to a winery on the Beamsville Bench: all are fine within the booked hours. Remember that the drive counts. Downtown Toronto is about 68 km and 50–75 minutes from downtown Hamilton; Niagara Falls is about 70 km and 50–60 minutes. If the day might include a long leg, mention it when you book so dispatch assigns a chauffeur without a tight next job.
Cross-border days are possible with notice. Passengers need accepted travel documents; the CBSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection set out what is required.
Mistakes that make an as-directed day expensive
- Booking three hours for a five-hour day and paying for extensions in 30-minute blocks.
- Not mentioning a Toronto or Niagara leg, so the chauffeur has a later booking that limits your day.
- Expecting errands without you. Chauffeurs will not leave the car to run personal errands on their own.
- Choosing the smallest car and then adding passengers.
- Using as directed for one long stop. If you will be in one building for four hours, two one-way trips are cheaper.
Is as directed the same as a private chauffeur?
Closely related. A private chauffeur arrangement is usually an as-directed booking with extras: the same chauffeur requested every time, a regular weekly slot, or several days in a row. As directed describes how the day works; private chauffeur describes the relationship. You can book a single as-directed afternoon without any ongoing arrangement.
How to book as directed, direct
In the reservation engine, choose hourly, pick the vehicle, set the start time and the hours, and enter the first pickup address. In the notes, add anything the chauffeur should know: a rough plan, a building with a tricky entrance, a Toronto leg in the afternoon. The fixed fare appears before you confirm. Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup.
