Being in the transportation business, we get asked about limo prices all the time. In our area, one of the those typical questions might go like this: “how much does limousine service cost from New Jersey to Long Island?”
In the interest of helping our customers, I’d like to give you a little bit of background information on limousine pricing to help you make an informed decision
Limo Rates in New Jersey and Long Island, NY
Limousine service charges by the hour and some of the main factors that will affect the cost of your reservation is the time involved; type of vehicle you are interested in; and the number of passengers in your party.
For this particular question and destination, you are probably looking at a 2 to 3 hour car trip, one-way. Of course it depends where in New Jersey you get picked up and where in Long Island you get dropped as these are large areas. But generally speaking you are looking at minimum of a three hour trip.
If you're leaving from New York, we've written about renting a limo for a whole day in New York. If you're going to Long Island for a wine tour, we've also written about luxury wine tours in New York.
One of the things to keep in mind when you contact a limousine company for a quote is that limo companies will charge you garage to garage for any reservation that is hourly. Garage to garage means that the clock starts running on your reservation as soon as the vehicle leaves the garage and it doesn’t stop until it returns to that same location.
It is basically a round trip for the vehicle even if the customer is only going one-way. The reason limo trips are priced this way is because they cannot start another trip with another customer until their entire trip is run. Limos can’t just pick up customers on the fly like a taxi would; each limousine trip is prearranged and so the vehicle cannot be rented out again until it has completed a full trip.
Therefore if you spend 3 hours in the back of the limousine going from New Jersey to Long Island, you will most likely be billed for 6 hours, even on a one-way because generally it takes the same amount of time to re-trace the route back to the starting point where the limousine originates. So that is one important factor to keep in mind.
Another important factor to consider is the type of vehicle you want to hire. A good rule of thumb is, the more luxury features a vehicle has, and the more passengers it can carry, the more expensive its hourly rate will be.
Different Vehicles Have Different Rates
So to start at the bottom of the chain, the least expensive limo option you would have would be to use a black car service, typically a Lincoln Town Car. These vehicles are good for 2-3 passenger and a couple pieces of luggage each. Town Car service in the New York area starts at around $55 per hour on average and can range into the mid-70’s per hour.
More exclusive sedans like a Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7-Series would cost more, the rates for those are in the $80-$100 per hour range. For larger vehicles like an SUV that could handle 6 passengers, the hourly rates are in the ballpark of $80-$90. If you want to go with a traditional stretch limousine, the rates for those vary between $70-$120 per hour on average. It really depends on the vehicle because there are so many custom vehicles in the marketplace.
For bigger groups like 20-40 passengers, your best option would be going with a limo bus or minibus and the prices on those range from $150-$300 per hour.
For the premium luxury traveler you have the option of going with specialty or exotic vehicles like a Rolls Royce or a decked out luxury van. Prices in this category are in the $150-$200 per hour range.
Traveling Between Long Island and New Jersey with Brilliant
Also competing in the premium space is Brilliant Transportation’s exclusive fleet of super luxurious, custom converted Mercedes Benz Sprinter vans. These vehicles can hold 7-9 passengers each and the interior is more like that of private jet than a mere passenger van. Every luxury and convenience is available at your fingertips. These vans also come with 6’3” headroom and enough space to walk around while the vehicle is underway. Large, reclining, leather covered captains chairs will keep you comfortable during your journey. Each seat also comes with a fold away table and outlet for your laptop. There are also 2 large flat screen TVs with DirecTV and 185 channels of premium satellite content.
For hourly or as-directed trips to the Hamptons from NYC or New Jersey, we charge a 6 hour minimum, due to distances involved. The rate for the super luxurious vans is $225 per hour. It is a higher rate than most other limousine services, but on the other hand there aren’t any other vehicles on the road than surpass the luxury and convenient features of these special Sprinter Vans. In the premium category, customers are more concerned about quality service, convenience and comfort than they are for price.
We understand we are not necessarily the best fit for every customer and that’s okay because we are not trying to be a transportation service that works for everybody. We offer exclusivity, privilege, and bespoke customer service. Our clients are special and they know it. They also recognize the benefits of quality and service over price.
While there are plenty of other great limousine companies that might be able to provide service for less, such as Empire CLS, Carey or Executive Town Car and Limousine.
However when you know what you want and nothing less than the best will suffice, contact Brilliant Transportation at 1-800-543-1001 to receive a custom quote for your upcoming trip.