A car service is booked in advance for a named time, with a named vehicle and a chauffeur assigned to the trip. That is the whole difference from hailing a ride: the price is agreed before you travel and the car is committed to you, so a 5am airport run is settled the night before rather than gambled on at 5am. This is what ALVE means when it calls itself a Boston limo service: one company, one point of contact, for every trip on this page.
Private car service in Boston
A private car service is a chauffeured vehicle booked in advance for one client at a time, rather than a shared ride or a vehicle hailed from the street. With ALVE, the vehicle and chauffeur are reserved for your trip at a fixed fare set when you book.
ALVE is licensed and insured: Massport-authorized for Logan operations, with $1,000,000 combined single limit (CSL) insurance held per vehicle. ALVE's own chauffeurs are W-2 employees.
What a booking with ALVE costs
Fares are quoted as a fixed figure when you book and do not move afterwards. Tolls, parking and free waiting time are inside the fare, and no gratuity is added.
- Point to point - from $90 in a sedan, $120 in an SUV.
- By the hour - from $100 in a sedan, $125 in an SUV, two-hour minimum and 20 miles included per hour. Use this shape when the day has several stops rather than one destination.
You are told the exact figure before you confirm. If a trip cannot be priced as a flat fare, we say so at booking rather than after the ride.
Free waiting time is 60 minutes for flight (airport) pickups, starting from your actual landing time, and 15 minutes for all other pickups. Waiting beyond the free time is $1.50 per minute for a sedan and $2.50 per minute for an SUV.
Which vehicle to book
Choose by party size and luggage, not by the length of the trip.
- Sedan - 2 passengers, 2 bags.
- Mid-size SUV (Lincoln Aviator, Cadillac XT6) - 3 passengers, 3 bags.
- Full-size SUV (Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban) - 5 passengers, 5 bags.
- Sprinter van (via ALVE's partner network) - 14 passengers, 12 bags. Partner vehicles are not shown with a fixed price online; request a quote.
A common mistake is booking a sedan for two people flying home with three suitcases. If you are close to the limit, take the next size up; it costs less than a second car.
Infant, toddler, and booster seats are available for $20 per seat, installed by your ALVE chauffeur.
Cancellation policy
For ALVE's own fleet - sedan, mid-size SUV, and full-size SUV - cancellation is free more than 24 hours before pickup, 60% of the fare applies 8 to 24 hours before pickup, and the full fare applies inside 8 hours or for a no-show.
Sprinter vans, arranged through ALVE's partner network, follow a longer window: free more than 2 weeks before pickup, 50% of the fare 1 to 2 weeks before pickup, and the full fare inside 1 week. Stretch limousines, party buses, mini coaches, and motor coaches - also partner vehicles - follow a longer window still: free more than 2 months before pickup, 50% of the fare 1 to 2 months before pickup, and the full fare inside 1 month.
Airport trips
Arrivals at Boston Logan are flight tracked, so a delayed landing moves the pickup instead of costing you the car. Full detail on terminals and meeting points is on the Boston airport car service page.
Towns we serve
ALVE covers Boston and the towns of Greater Boston:
- Arlington
- Bedford
- Belmont
- Boston
- Braintree
- Brookline
- Burlington
- Cambridge
- Chelsea
- Dedham
- Everett
- Framingham
- Lexington
- Lynn
- Malden
- Medford
- Melrose
- Milton
- Needham
- Newton
- Quincy
- Revere
- Saugus
- Somerville
- Waltham
- Watertown
- Wellesley
- Winthrop
- Woburn
Where to go from here
This page covers how the service works. Each of these covers one use in depth:
- Black car service - the standard executive booking, sedan or SUV.
- Executive car service - corporate travel, meetings across the day, and account billing.
- Hourly chauffeur service - the car and chauffeur held for you, by the hour.
- Wedding transportation - timelines, guest shuttles and the getaway car.
- Luxury car service - the fleet and what each vehicle is suited to.
- Cities we serve - flat fares by town, with measured driving distances to Logan.
Where we drive
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine. Booking and dispatch run around the clock, seven days a week.
Common questions
How far ahead should I book? As soon as the time is known. Same-day requests are often possible, but the fare is only fixed and the vehicle only held once the booking exists.
Is the price per person or per car? Per car. The fare covers the vehicle and the chauffeur, whether one person travels or five.
What if my plans change? Tell us as early as you can. Times and pickup points can be moved; a fare quoted for a different trip is re-quoted.
Do you charge for waiting? Free waiting time is included: 60 minutes on flight pickups, 15 minutes on others; after that $1.50 per minute for a sedan and $2.50 per minute for an SUV.
How much does a Boston car service cost? Point to point starts at $90 in a sedan and $120 in an SUV. Booked by the hour it starts at $100 in a sedan and $125 in an SUV, with a two-hour minimum and 20 miles included per hour. The figure is fixed at booking.
Which vehicle should I book? A sedan seats 2 passengers with 2 bags, a mid-size SUV seats 3 with 3, a full-size SUV seats 5 with 5, and a Sprinter van (via ALVE's partner network) seats 14 with 12. Choose by party size and luggage, not by the length of the trip.
How is ALVE Limousine rated? Rated on Google - see our reviews.
What people ask before booking
These are the questions Google shows most often for Boston car service, answered against our own rates.
How much does it cost to book a limo service in Boston? With ALVE, point to point starts at $90 in a sedan and $120 in an SUV. Booked by the hour it starts at $100 in a sedan and $125 in an SUV, with a two-hour minimum and 20 miles included per hour. The figure is fixed when you book and covers tolls, parking and free waiting time.
How much is a car service to Logan Airport? It depends on where you start. From most Greater Boston towns an ALVE airport transfer starts at $90 in a sedan and $120 in an SUV, quoted as a flat fare at booking. Longer runs such as Worcester or Cape Cod are priced separately and still quoted before you travel.
Are limos cheaper than Uber? Usually not on the raw fare, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise. What differs is certainty: a chauffeured car is booked in advance at a price that does not surge, the vehicle is committed to your time, and an airport pickup is flight tracked. Rideshare is priced at the moment you need it, which is exactly when demand is highest.
Is car service cheaper than a taxi? For a single short hop a metered taxi is often less. Over an airport run or a day with several stops a flat quoted fare is usually the more predictable number, because it does not move with traffic or the time of day.
Do you tip a limo driver if gratuity is included? If gratuity is already in the fare, no further tip is expected. ALVE adds no gratuity to the quoted fare, so anything you give is entirely optional and goes to the chauffeur.
How much should you tip a limo driver for an hour? Common practice in the United States is 15 to 20 percent of the fare when gratuity is not included. Check the quote first: some operators add it automatically, and ALVE does not, so nothing is deducted or added on your behalf.
What does a black car service mean? A black car service is a pre-booked chauffeured car, typically an executive sedan or SUV, hired for a named time rather than hailed. The name comes from the dark vehicles used for corporate travel. The defining feature is that the car and chauffeur are reserved for you in advance at an agreed price.
How much does a limo cost for 8 hours? An hourly booking is priced per hour, so eight hours in an ALVE sedan starts at $100 per hour and an SUV at $125, with 20 miles included per booked hour and the exact figure fixed at booking. A day with several stops is usually better booked by the hour than as separate trips.