TIFF Lightbox chauffeur service
The Toronto International Film Festival’s home building on King Street West at Widmer Street. Four films in a day means four short hops, and a held car beats four separate fares.
TIFF Lightbox Chauffeur Service rates
The Lightbox is the one venue people visit repeatedly rather than once, so it is priced by the hour. Figures are the published ones on our rate card.
Up to 6 passengers
Cadillac Escalade
The most booked festival vehicle
Up to 7 passengers
Lincoln Navigator
Seven seats for a party of six with room
Up to 14 passengers
Regular Sprinter
The workhorse for a group
All rates are plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent. Every figure starts from a GTA pickup. Full festival passes and multi-day bookings are quoted as a held vehicle rather than day by day.
A full screening day at the Toronto International Film Festival
TIFF Lightbox is the Toronto International Film Festival’s own building, which makes it the venue people return to. A pass holder can easily take in four films in a day across two or three venues, and the gaps between them are twenty minutes, not two hours.
That shape is why a per-journey booking works badly here. Four separate rides means four separate waits, four fares priced at whatever the moment costs, and a coat you have to carry all day. One held vehicle turns the whole day into a single number, and the boot becomes the place your things live between screenings.
Short hops between festival venues
Because the festival venues sit within roughly 200 metres of one another, the drives themselves are almost trivial. What you are actually buying is the waiting and the certainty.
On foot in September this is a pleasant walk. In rain, with bags, between a matinee and a gala you are already dressed for, it is not. The car exists for the second version of that day.
Where the car stops, and the Widmer Street question
The Lightbox sits on King Street West at Widmer Street, with parking off Widmer Street. King Street West itself is a streetcar route and a busy one during the festival, so the kerb in front is not a place to linger.
In practice the drop happens on the King Street frontage and the car then holds elsewhere rather than idling. Your chauffeur names the pickup point before you get out, and it does not change while you are inside. That is the whole difference between a held vehicle and an app: the point is agreed in daylight, by a person who will still be there in four hours.
If you are moving on to a gala the same evening, say so when you book. The run from here to Roy Thomson Hall is short but the arrival there is sequenced, which changes when you need to leave.
Going on your own, and what it costs
A lot of festival attendance is solo or a pair, and the honest question is whether an hourly car makes sense for one person.
A full day, held
Navigator or Escalade.
- The car waits through every screening
- Coats and bags stay in the boot
- One driver who knows your schedule
- Makes sense from about four hours up
Two transfers
In at the start, out at the end.
- Cheaper if you are seeing one film
- You carry everything all day
- The ride home is booked separately
Walking and transit
Genuinely fine for a single matinee.
- The venues really are close together
- Works until the weather or the schedule turns
- No good answer for a late gala in evening dress
We would rather tell you that than sell you an hourly booking for a single afternoon screening. It earns its price on the days with three or four films in them, or on any day that ends at a gala.
TIFF Lightbox chauffeur service: questions buyers ask
Do you serve TIFF Lightbox during the Toronto International Film Festival?
Yes, and it is the venue we run to most during the festival. TIFF Lightbox is the Toronto International Film Festival’s own building on King Street West at Widmer Street, and pass holders return to it several times a day.
How much is a chauffeur to TIFF Lightbox?
A Lincoln Navigator is $165 an hour with a four hour minimum and a Cadillac Escalade is $175 an hour from $525, both within the GTA and plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent.
Why hourly and not a flat fare each way?
Because a festival day at the Lightbox is four short hops, not one journey. Hourly holds one vehicle across the whole day, so you are not paying four separate fares or waiting four separate times.
Where is TIFF Lightbox?
On King Street West at Widmer Street in Toronto’s Entertainment District, with parking off Widmer Street. Princess of Wales Theatre is about two minutes west on foot and Roy Thomson Hall is around the corner on Simcoe Street.
Does the car wait outside between screenings?
It drops on the King Street frontage and then holds nearby rather than idling on a streetcar route. Your chauffeur names the pickup point before you get out and it does not change while you are inside.
Is an hourly car worth it for one person?
From about four hours up, yes, especially on a day with three or four films or one that ends at a gala. For a single afternoon screening, two transfers or simply walking is the honest answer and we will say so.
Can I leave my things in the car?
Yes, and it is one of the main reasons people book hourly here. Coats, bags and anything bought during the day stay in the boot instead of being carried between venues.
Can one booking cover several venues?
Yes. The festival venues sit within roughly 200 metres of each other, so a day across the Lightbox, the Princess of Wales and Roy Thomson Hall is one hourly booking rather than several fares.
How many people fit?
Six in the Escalade, seven in the Navigator, and up to fourteen in a Regular Sprinter at $175 an hour from $525. Above fourteen we quote a 27-Passenger Mini Bus at $250 an hour.
Can you handle a full festival pass, not just one day?
Yes. Multi-day bookings run as a held vehicle across the festival rather than a series of separate jobs, which is set out on the industry and press page.
What if my screening times change?
Within an hourly booking the driver goes where you direct, so a changed schedule is a conversation rather than a rebooking. Hours beyond what you booked bill at the same rate.
Is gratuity included?
No. Every rate is plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent, quoted separately so you compare like with like against another operator.
Is there parking at TIFF Lightbox?
Yes, off Widmer Street, plus garages around the block. They fill early during the festival and King Street West is a busy streetcar route, which is why most festival days are booked with a car rather than parked.
Can you take us on to a gala the same evening?
Yes, and it is a common shape. Say so when you book, because a gala arrival at Roy Thomson Hall is sequenced by the event and that changes what time you need to leave the Lightbox.
Do you do airport pickups for people arriving mid-festival?
Yes, from Pearson, with the passenger checking in at the Pre-Arranged Limousine Desk and the vehicle brought to the post. That is covered on the Pearson transfers page.
How far ahead should I book?
Two to three weeks for festival dates. The larger vehicles clear first, and a full-day hourly hold is harder to place late than a single transfer.
Do you take corporate or studio bookings?
Yes, including invoicing rather than a card on the day, a named driver confirmed in advance, and one booking covering several pickup addresses.
Can several of us share the booking?
Yes. Six in an Escalade at $175 an hour across a six hour day is about $175 each before tax and gratuity, for the entire day rather than one journey.
Is this only during the festival?
No. The Lightbox screens year round and the same hourly booking works for an ordinary cinema evening. Festival week is simply the version where it matters most.
Do you pick up outside Toronto?
Yes, from anywhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Runs starting outside the GTA are quoted on distance rather than the GTA hourly figures here.
What happens if it rains all day?
Nothing changes about the booking, which is rather the point. The walk between venues is pleasant in the sun and unpleasant in September rain, and the held car is the same either way.
How do I get a firm price?
Send your screening times, the date and your pickup address. We come back with the block of hours and a fixed figure, and nothing is charged until you accept it.
Related TIFF services
Book the day, not the journeys
Send your screening times and pickup address. We price the block of hours and hold one vehicle and one driver across it.