Limo bus or Sprinter for Toronto groups of 12 to 30

Limo bus or Sprinter, in one paragraph

The Sprinter solved the group of twelve; the group of twenty is the trade's next problem, and the trade solves it three ways — a second Sprinter, a coachbuilt limo bus, or a forward-facing mini-coach — depending on whether the group is a party (the bar, the lights, the perimeter seats) or a transfer (the forward seats, the luggage bays, the price per head). This guide covers the Sprinter's ceiling, the limo bus, the mini-coach, the full coach, the luggage, the amenities, the minimums, the arithmetic at each headcount, the winter, the height and the venues, the licensing that makes a bus a bus, the bookings by type, and the honest recommendation by headcount with two worked groups.

The Sprinter's ceiling

The Sprinter guide's three layouts top out at 14 forward seats in the shuttle configuration (with the luggage cage for 14 bags), 12 in the executive (the captain's chairs, the screen, the bulkhead), and 12 in the limo configuration (the perimeter bench and the bar); a Sprinter is a limousine under Toronto's bylaw up to its seat count, its chauffeur holds a Class G or F, and a group of 15 is one over — the trade's most common group-booking mistake is a group that counts 14 and arrives with 16, and dispatch adds two to every count. Two Sprinters carry 24 to 28 with the luggage, in convoy, with two chauffeurs and the group transfers article's coordinator at the door.

The limo bus

A coachbuilt party bus — the 20-passenger on a Ford F-550 or a Chevrolet 4500 cutaway chassis, the 24- and 30-passenger on a Freightliner M2 or a Ford F-650 — with perimeter leather seating around a central aisle (the passengers face each other, not forward), a bar with glassware and an ice well along one side (the stag and bachelorette article's licence rules), fibre-optic and LED ceiling lighting, a sound system with the passengers' phones on the input, screens, a dance pole on some (the fleets that run them), a restroom on the 30-passenger, a standing-height cabin (1.9 metres), a rear door and a side door with a step, tinted windows, and a driver with a Class B or C Ontario licence in the front cab behind a partition. It is a lounge on wheels — the birthday's twentieth-birthday night, the stag's group of twenty, the prom's class of twenty-four (with the no-alcohol rule enforced), the wine tour's party of twenty (the perimeter seats are less comfortable for ninety minutes on the QEW than a Sprinter's forward chairs, and the bar is the point), the game's or the concert's arrival — and it carries almost no luggage (a rear compartment for a dozen small bags on some, nothing on most).

The mini-coach

A 24- to 30-seat forward-facing shuttle bus — a Ford E-450 or F-550 cutaway with a Glaval, Starcraft or ElDorado body, or a Freightliner-based Grech or Turtle Top executive shuttle — with reclining coach seats in rows of two and two, overhead racks, underfloor or rear luggage bays for 20 to 30 bags, a wheelchair lift on the accessible versions (the accessible service article), USB at the seats on the executive versions, a PA, and a Class B or C driver; it is a transfer vehicle — the wedding guest shuttles article's waves from the hotels to the hall, the conference's hotel-to-MTCC loop, the employee shuttle's daily run, the group airport transfer's team of 25 with the bags, the corporate outing's day at a golf club or a winery — and it is the cheapest chauffeured seat per head in the fleet above the Sprinter.

The full coach

The 50- to 56-seat motorcoach (the Prevost, the MCI, the Van Hool) — the reclining seats, the restroom, the underfloor bays for 56 bags, the Class B driver — for the wedding's two hundred guests in waves, the conference's delegates, the South Asian wedding's eight hundred, the trade show's booth staff, the sports team and the school's prom shuttle; the fleet books it through the network's coach partners and the limousine network page explains the arrangement.

The luggage

The Sprinter shuttle: 14 large bags in the cage. Two Sprinters: 28. The limo bus: a dozen small bags on some, none on most — a group with luggage does not book a limo bus. The mini-coach: 20 to 30 large bags in the bays. The coach: 56. The luggage capacity article's table and the group transfers article's hockey bags decide: a team of 20 from Pearson with 20 bags is a mini-coach or two Sprinters, never a limo bus; a stag of 20 with no bags is a limo bus.

The amenities

The limo bus: the bar, the lighting, the sound, the screens, the standing height, the restroom on the largest — the party's list. The mini-coach: the reclining seats, the racks, the USB, the PA, the lift — the transfer's list. The Sprinter: the Sprinter guide's Wi-Fi, USB at every seat, the screen and the fridge — both lists in one vehicle at 12 to 14. The in-car amenities article's water is in all of them.

The minimums

The limo bus: five hours on the hourly (the hourly vs point-to-point article explains the minimums by vehicle) — the coachbuilt vehicle's cost, the Saturday demand, and the fact that a party bus is never a transfer; the mini-coach: a three-hour minimum or a flat transfer quote; the Sprinter: three hours or a flat transfer; the coach: a four-hour minimum or a day rate. The gratuity is set at booking (the gratuity guide), the occasion deposit applies (the deposits and payment article), and the engine quotes the Sprinter and the SUV while dispatch quotes the buses by phone.

The arithmetic

At 15 to 20: two Sprinters (six hours, two chauffeurs) against one 20-passenger limo bus (five-hour minimum plus one) — close, with the limo bus a little less for a party that wants the bar and the Sprinters a little less for a group that wants the forward seats and the bags; the how much does a black car cost article's worked group day has the figures. At 20 to 28: a 30-passenger limo bus against a 28-seat mini-coach — the mini-coach a third less for a transfer, the limo bus the only choice for a party. At 28 to 30: the mini-coach for a transfer, the 30-passenger limo bus for a party, and above it the coach. Per head, the mini-coach is the cheapest seat above the Sprinter, and a group of 24 to a winery in a mini-coach pays less per person than a group of 12 in a Sprinter.

The winter

The Sprinter: rear-wheel drive with a 4x4 variant, the winter driving article's doubled buffers. The limo bus: a heavy rear-wheel-drive truck chassis on the winter tires article's tires, competent on plowed roads and the highway, cautious on a hall's unplowed lot and a Blue Mountain hill. The mini-coach: the same chassis, the same rules. The coach: the best of them in a storm, on its weight. Dispatch assigns the vehicle to the weather as to the headcount, and a January stag's limo bus stays on King Street and the highway.

The height and the venues

The Sprinter's 2.7 metres and the Sprinter guide's porte-cochère list; the limo bus's and the mini-coach's 3.0 to 3.4 metres and 8 to 10 metres of length — no porte-cochère (the Fairmont Royal York's Front Street curb instead, the Four Seasons' Yorkville Avenue curb, the MTCC's bus lane on Front, the Scotiabank Arena's bus drop on Bremner, the Rogers Centre's Blue Jays Way lane, the banquet halls' shuttle lanes — the wedding venues article lists them), no King Street corridor stop (the buses use Wellington and Adelaide), and no Distillery lane (the Cherry Street lot); the coach's 3.7 metres and 13 metres — the coach lanes only.

The licensing: a bus is not a limousine

Toronto's Vehicle-for-Hire bylaw licenses limousines up to a seat count (the Sprinter's configurations are under it); above it, the vehicle is a bus under the province's rules — the Ontario Highway Traffic Act's definition, the Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration (the CVOR) for the operator, the annual and semi-annual inspections, the driver's Class B (any bus) or Class C (a bus under 24 passengers) licence with the medical and the record, the hours-of-service log, and the commercial insurance for the seat count (the limo insurance article — $5 million is the norm for a bus); the GTAA permit covers a bus at Pearson under its bus category; and the Ontario HTA rules article and the Toronto limousine licensing article cover both sides. A passenger who asks a limo bus operator for the CVOR and the driver's class gets them, and the cheap limo service article describes the party bus that has neither.

The bookings by type

The stag, the bachelorette, the birthday, the prom: the limo bus at 15 to 30 (the stag and bachelorette article, the birthday article, the prom article's rules). The wedding's guests: the mini-coach or the coach in waves (the wedding guest shuttles article), the limo bus for the party between the church and the hall (the bridal party transport article). The wine tour: a Sprinter at 14, a limo bus at 20 for the party, a mini-coach at 24 for the comfort (the Niagara wine tour article). The corporate outing and the shuttle: the mini-coach (the employee shuttle article, the corporate holiday party article). The game and the concert: the limo bus for the arrival, the mini-coach for the transfer (the Leafs article, the concert article). The airport group: two Sprinters or a mini-coach, never a limo bus (the group transfers article). The conference: the mini-coach and the coach (the conference article). The film crew: the Sprinter and the mini-coach (the film and TV article).

The honest recommendation by headcount

Up to 8: an SUV (the sedan vs SUV article). 8 to 14: a Sprinter. 15 to 20, a party: a 20-passenger limo bus. 15 to 20, a transfer: two Sprinters. 20 to 28, a party: a 24- or 30-passenger limo bus. 20 to 28, a transfer: a mini-coach. 28 to 30: the 30-passenger limo bus or the mini-coach by type. 30 to 56: the coach. Above 56: two coaches and the wedding guest shuttles article's coordinator. Count the group, add two, name the type, and dispatch names the vehicle.

Two worked groups

A stag of 18, a Saturday in July: a 20-passenger limo bus on the five-hour minimum plus two — the King West dinner, the bar at the bus's rail between the bars (the passengers of age; the licence), the Entertainment District guide's Adelaide Street bus stop (the King Street corridor forbids it), the 2 a.m. pickup, the drop sequence; two Sprinters would have been close in price and no bar. A team of 24 from Terminal 1, a Tuesday in March, 24 bags: a 28-seat mini-coach on a flat transfer — the bays for the bags, the forward seats for the 45-minute run to a Mississauga hotel, the coordinator's headcount at Door A, a third less than a 30-passenger limo bus and no bar wanted; two Sprinters would have carried them with the bags at a similar price and two chauffeurs to coordinate.

Limo bus vs Sprinter quick reference

Booking a group vehicle

The hourly chauffeur page and the engine book the Sprinter; dispatch quotes the limo bus, the mini-coach and the coach by phone with the headcount, the type and the date; the network supplies the coaches. Book a summer Saturday's limo bus a month ahead.

Book a group vehicle