Service area · Hamilton
A city on two levels, and the accesses in between
Hamilton is the only city we cover that is built on two levels, and the escarpment between them governs every journey. The lower city holds downtown, the harbour, McMaster and Westdale; the Mountain holds most of the population and the airport road. Between the two are a handful of accesses, the Claremont, the Jolley Cut, the Sherman and the Kenilworth, some of which are single lane and none of which behave the same way in February as in June.
Downtown itself is a grid of one-way pairs. Main and King run in opposite directions across the whole core, which means a building is easy to reach from one side and awkward from the other, and a chauffeur who guesses ends up circling four blocks. The venues are concentrated: the concert hall, the arena, the convention centre and Liuna Station are all within a few minutes of each other, and they empty at the same time on a good night.
Above and around are the pieces that give this city its character. McMaster University and its hospitals draw academic and medical travel all year. Dundas and Ancaster are older villages with narrow main streets. The Linc and the Red Hill Valley Parkway carry traffic across the Mountain without touching the accesses at all, which on a winter morning is exactly why we use them.
Pearson transfers from
CAD $175.00
Fare before HST, for the least expensive car we publish to this zone.
On the ground
Where the cars actually go
Downtown Hamilton
The one-way pairs of Main and King, where the approach side matters more than the street number.
Westdale
The university village with narrow residential streets, best served from Main West rather than through the campus.
Dundas
A village at the head of the valley, reached on Cootes Drive, with a main street that has almost no standing room.
Ancaster
Wilson Street and the estate lots around it, close to the 403 and the easiest part of the city to reach in bad weather.
Hamilton Mountain
The upper city above the escarpment, where Upper James runs straight to the airport in about a quarter of an hour.
Stoney Creek
The eastern end by the Red Hill Valley Parkway, closer to the QEW and the Niagara run than to downtown.
The roads between
Corridors your chauffeur plans around
Highway 403
The link to Burlington, Oakville and the 407. Through Ancaster it is the morning choke point in the westbound direction.
The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway
The Mountain expressway from the 403 across to the Red Hill, and the way to avoid the escarpment accesses entirely.
The Red Hill Valley Parkway
The eastern descent to the QEW, and our usual line towards Niagara Falls and the border crossings.
The escarpment accesses
The Claremont and the Jolley Cut are the quick ways up and down, and the first roads to be closed in an ice storm.
Four airports
Typical drive times from here
Ranges rather than promises. Each one is an ordinary run in ordinary traffic, and dispatch re-times your pickup when the corridor says otherwise.
John C. Munro Hamilton
YHMTypical drive 15 to 25 minutes
Up Highway 6 from the 403, or along the Linc and down Upper James. From the Mountain the terminal is a quarter of an hour away in normal conditions.
Toronto Pearson
YYZTypical drive 45 to 70 minutes
The 403 east through Ancaster, then the QEW or the 407. That Ancaster stretch is the delay on a weekday morning, not the rest of the trip.
Billy Bishop Toronto City
YTZTypical drive 60 to 85 minutes
The QEW the whole way along the lake, then the Gardiner to Bathurst. Add the tunnel walk to the island terminal at the far end.
Buffalo Niagara
BUFTypical drive 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45, plus the border
Red Hill down to the QEW and along the lake to Fort Erie. The shortest cross-border run we make from anywhere except Niagara itself.
Fixed fares
What an airport transfer costs from this zone
One line per airport and class of car, showing the least expensive vehicle we publish in each. Every figure is priced by the engine that quotes the booking form, so this table and your quote cannot disagree.
John C. Munro Hamilton (YHM)
Executive sedan · BMW 7 Series
- Fixed fare
- CAD $92.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $11.96
- Total
- CAD $103.96
John C. Munro Hamilton (YHM)
Luxury SUV · Chevrolet Suburban
- Fixed fare
- CAD $112.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $14.56
- Total
- CAD $126.56
John C. Munro Hamilton (YHM)
Executive van · Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Executive
- Fixed fare
- CAD $175.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $22.75
- Total
- CAD $197.75
Show the rest of the table
Toronto Pearson (YYZ)
Executive sedan · BMW 7 Series
- Fixed fare
- CAD $175.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $22.75
- Total
- CAD $197.75
Toronto Pearson (YYZ)
Luxury SUV · Chevrolet Suburban
- Fixed fare
- CAD $220.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $28.60
- Total
- CAD $248.60
Toronto Pearson (YYZ)
Executive van · Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Executive
- Fixed fare
- CAD $335.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $43.55
- Total
- CAD $378.55
Billy Bishop (YTZ)
Executive sedan · BMW 7 Series
- Fixed fare
- CAD $170.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $22.10
- Total
- CAD $192.10
Billy Bishop (YTZ)
Luxury SUV · Chevrolet Suburban
- Fixed fare
- CAD $210.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $27.30
- Total
- CAD $237.30
Billy Bishop (YTZ)
Executive van · Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Executive
- Fixed fare
- CAD $320.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $41.60
- Total
- CAD $361.60
Buffalo Niagara (BUF)
Executive sedan · BMW 7 Series
- Fixed fare
- CAD $255.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $33.15
- Total
- CAD $288.15
Buffalo Niagara (BUF)
Luxury SUV · Chevrolet Suburban
- Fixed fare
- CAD $315.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $40.95
- Total
- CAD $355.95
Buffalo Niagara (BUF)
Executive van · Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Executive
- Fixed fare
- CAD $485.00
- HST 13%
- CAD $63.05
- Total
- CAD $548.05
Quoted for a weekday pickup outside the 22:00 to 06:00 ET window and off the statutory holiday calendar; the overnight and holiday supplements are set per vehicle and appear on your quote before you confirm. Tolls, airport fees and your chauffeur's waiting time are already inside the fare, and HST at 13% is shown on its own line.
Venues and addresses
The places we are asked for most
FirstOntario Concert Hall
Summers Lane by the convention centre, where three venues can empty into the same block on a busy evening.
McMaster University
Main Street West campus with restricted internal roads; we meet at the Sterling Street gate or the hospital entrance.
Art Gallery of Hamilton
King Street West opposite the plaza, on the one-way pair, so the approach is planned from the correct direction.
Dundurn Castle
York Boulevard on the harbour side, a frequent wedding venue with a narrow drive and limited turning space.
Ancaster Mill
Old Dundas Road in the valley, where the approach is a steep single lane and the car turns at the top rather than the bottom.
Asked locally
Questions from this part of the map
Do you drive up the escarpment in winter?
We do, and we choose the route rather than the shortest line. The accesses ice before anything else in the city, so a January pickup on the Mountain goes up the Linc from the 403 instead of the Jolley Cut, and the schedule allows for it.
Is it worth driving to Pearson instead of using John C. Munro?
Only the schedule can answer that. The drive to Pearson is about three times longer from here, and both airports appear on the fixed-fare table above, so the trade between a fifteen-minute drive and a wider choice of flights is yours to make with real figures in front of you.
Can you collect from the hospitals and the university?
Yes. McMaster University Medical Centre, the General and Juravinski all have patient entrances away from emergency, and that is where your chauffeur waits. For a discharge he comes inside rather than leaving anyone standing at a door in the cold.
Next door
Other cities on the same fixed-fare table
Reservations and concierge
A fixed quote takes about a minute
Tell us where you are going and when. You will see the whole fare, with HST on its own line, before you commit to anything.