In-car amenities in a Toronto black car: water, Wi-Fi, chargers and what to ask for

In-car amenities, in one paragraph

The amenities are the trade's quiet competitive edge — a rideshare's driver may have a phone cable and may not; a taxi has a meter — and a professional fleet standardises them so that a passenger who rides on Monday in an S-Class and on Thursday in an Escalade finds the same water in the same place, the same charger, the same silence, and the same chauffeur's question ("is the temperature all right?"). This guide is the honest list: the standard kit, the climate, the music and the silence, the privacy, the requests dispatch fills, the corporate account's standing preferences, what is not offered and why, the stretch's and the Sprinter's extras, the accessible vehicle's kit, what is included and what costs extra, the chauffeur's role, and a worked booking with requests.

The standard kit

In every sedan, SUV and Sprinter, restocked at every reset (the vehicle cleaning article): bottled water (still, chilled in summer, room temperature in winter, one per seat and a spare case in the trunk), chargers (USB-A and USB-C cables at the rear seat, a wireless pad in the newer vehicles, a 110-volt outlet for a laptop, a Lightning cable for the passengers who still need one), Wi-Fi (the vehicle's own LTE/5G hotspot — the password on a card in the console — good for email and a call, not for a 4K stream), tissues (a box in the console), mints (individually wrapped), hand sanitizer, an umbrella (a large black one in the trunk, walked to the door in the rain), the newspaper on request (the Globe and Mail or the Financial Times for the corporate accounts' morning pickups), a phone mount for a passenger who wants to work, a blanket in winter, a first-aid kit, and a spare phone charger for the connector nobody has. The what to expect on a first ride article shows a passenger finding them.

The climate

The rear climate zone set before the pickup — 21 degrees is the default, the passenger's preference on the account overrides it — the heated seats on from November to March and the ventilated seats on in July, the S-Class's neck heating and the Escalade's heated armrests, the pre-conditioning (the hybrid and electric article's EVs heat the cabin on the depot charger; the gas vehicles idle for five minutes before a winter pickup within the idling bylaw's limits), the rear sunshades in summer, and the chauffeur's one question at the first light. A passenger who is cold or warm says so and the chauffeur adjusts without comment.

The music and the silence

Silence by default — the radio off, the chauffeur's playlist nowhere — and the passenger's choice: their phone on the vehicle's Bluetooth or the USB (the S-Class's Burmester, the Escalade's AKG, the Navigator's Revel), a station or a stream on request, the news for a passenger who asks, the Leafs game on the radio for a passenger who is missing it; the privacy and discretion article says the chauffeur does not talk unless spoken to, and the date night article's couple choose the music.

The privacy

Tinted rear glass (the legal limit on the rear and the rear side windows — the Ontario HTA rules article), rear sunshades and side blinds in the S-Class, a partition in the stretch and the executive Sprinter and none in the sedans and the SUVs (the chauffeur's discretion is the partition — a call in the back seat is not repeated), no fleet branding on the vehicle (the what makes a car a black car article), the chauffeur's sign at the airport with a name or a code the passenger chose (the meet and greet article), and the privacy and discretion article's rules for the rest.

The requests dispatch fills

At booking, in the notes on the engine or by phone: a specific water (sparkling, a brand, a large bottle), a coffee (collected on the way for a morning pickup — the passenger's order, the red-eye article's passenger's first request), a child seat or a booster (the child seats fleet article — installed before the pickup), a newspaper, flowers (the date night article's bouquet on the seat, from a florist on the route), a sign (the birthday article's "Happy 50th," the airport's name board), a cooler (the wine tour article's purchases, the Muskoka article's groceries), a temperature (19 for the passenger who runs hot), a phone charger for an old connector, a specific route (the lake, the fall colours), a stop (the pharmacy, the dry cleaner — the hourly), a language (a chauffeur who speaks it, from the fleet's roster), a quiet chauffeur or a chatty one, a specific chauffeur (the regular), and a pet carrier's space (the accessible service article's service animals ride free; a pet in a carrier is a request dispatch confirms). Most are free; a coffee or flowers are billed at cost.

The corporate account's standing preferences

The corporate account billing article's profile holds the passenger's preferences — the temperature, the water, the newspaper, the music or the silence, the seat position, the preferred chauffeur, the child seat for the family trips, the airport's meeting point, the language — and the executive assistants' guide says the assistant sets them once; every booking on the account inherits them, the chauffeur reads them before the pickup, and the visiting clients itinerary article's host adds the client's for the week.

What is not offered, and why

Alcohol in a sedan, an SUV or an unlicensed Sprinter: Ontario's law — open liquor in a vehicle is an offence for everyone in it, and only a licensed stretch or limo bus carries a bar (the stag and bachelorette article, the stretch limousine guide); a passenger who brings a bottle keeps it sealed in the trunk. Food: the vehicle cleaning article's no-smell rule — a coffee and a pastry are fine, a meal is not, and the chauffeur says so kindly. Smoking and vaping: never, by anyone. Pets loose: a service animal rides free and loose; a pet rides in a carrier on request. A television in a sedan: the S-Class's tablets and the Escalade's screens stream; a sedan without them has the passenger's own device on the Wi-Fi. Champagne on a wedding morning in the S-Class: the toast waits for the venue.

The stretch's and the Sprinter's extras

The stretch: the bar under the operator's liquor licence (the glassware, the ice, the mixers; the passengers' bottles or the operator's at cost; passengers of age only), the fibre-optic ceiling, the sound system, the screens, the partition and the intercom, the moonroof on some. The Sprinter: the forward screen with HDMI for a laptop, USB at every seat, the 110-volt outlets, the fridge (stocked with water; a corporate client's own stocking on request), the reading lights and the vents, the PA on the shuttle layout, the bar on the limo layout under the same licence. The limo bus: the stretch's list at scale plus a restroom on the largest.

The accessible vehicle's kit

The accessible service article's vehicle — the ramp or the lift, the tie-downs, the chauffeur trained on them — carries the standard kit plus a blanket, the seat-transfer board for a passenger who moves from the chair, the space for a folded walker or a second chair, and the seniors' guide's patience; the service animal's water bowl is a request dispatch fills.

What is included and what costs extra

Included in the fare (the what is included article): the standard kit, the climate, the Wi-Fi, the music, the child seat and the booster, the umbrella, the newspaper on the corporate accounts, the sign at the airport, the stop within the hourly's time, the cooler. Billed at cost: a coffee, flowers, a specific bottle that is not the fleet's water, the stretch's bar stocking beyond the mixers, the 407's tolls if the passenger chooses the road, the Pearson's parking if the wait exceeds the wait-time policy. Never billed: the water, the chargers, the tissues, the mints, the sanitizer, the blanket, the chauffeur's help with the bags and the door. The how much does a black car cost article works the fare and the cheap limo service article describes the operator who charges for the water.

The chauffeur's role

The chauffeur stocks the kit at the depot (the a day in the life article), checks it at every reset, reads the passenger's preferences before the pickup, sets the climate and the seat, asks the one question, offers the umbrella at the door, hands the water at the seat if the passenger looks for it, plays the passenger's music at the volume the passenger sets, keeps the silence otherwise, and notes a new preference for the account (a passenger who asked for sparkling water once finds it next time). The chauffeur vs driver article says this is the difference.

A worked booking with requests

A Bay Street executive's assistant books a 6:15 a.m. Rosedale-to-Terminal 1 run on the corporate account with the profile's preferences (20 degrees, sparkling water, the Globe, silence, the regular chauffeur) and two requests in the notes: a large black coffee from the Summerhill café that opens at 5:30, and a booster for the executive's eight-year-old who is travelling too. 5:20: the chauffeur at the depot — the booster installed on the child seats fleet article's protocol, the sparkling water and the Globe in the console, the cabin pre-conditioned to 20 on the S-Class's app. 5:45: the café; the coffee in the cup holder. 6:15: the Rosedale door; the umbrella (it was raining); the executive's "thank you" for the coffee, billed at $4.50 on the statement; the child's juice box from the assistant's bag in the cooler. 6:50: Terminal 1 Door A departures; the bags; the booster back to the depot for the return. One booking, two requests, one line on the statement, and a passenger who did not have to think about any of it.

Amenities quick reference

Booking with requests

The engine's notes take the requests; the corporate car service page's account stores the preferences; the Pearson page and the hourly chauffeur page book the run and the day. Ask for anything; dispatch says yes to most and explains the rest.

Book a black car