The party stays together
One vehicle means one departure and one arrival. Nobody is waiting at the kerb for the second car, and the conversation that started at the hotel is still going when you get out.
Service 10
Sprinter van service, so the group arrives together.
Seven to fourteen passengers, a luggage bay behind the last row, and a chauffeur who does the loading. One vehicle instead of three cars, which changes the day more than the arithmetic suggests. Hourly from $85; point-to-point quoted as a single fare.
01 — Definition
A van, in the sense that an S-Class is a car.
The word van does a lot of damage here. What arrives is a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in the executive configuration: high roof so nobody stoops, individual seats rather than benches, climate control that reaches the back row, and a luggage bay behind the last seats so cases are not stacked in the aisle.
It exists for one problem. Above six passengers, or above four passengers with real luggage, an SUV stops working and the usual answer is two vehicles. Two vehicles means two fares, two drivers, two arrival times and a party that gets split at both ends. A Sprinter is one of everything.
The chauffeur is the same grade of chauffeur as in any other class — uniformed, TCP licensed, background checked, and doing the loading himself rather than watching you do it. That last part matters most on an airport run at six in the morning.
Where a party is larger than fourteen, we run several vans and SUVs to one schedule from one dispatch desk. See group transportation for how that is coordinated.
02 — Why it holds up
Four reasons groups stop booking two SUVs.
None of them are about the vehicle being larger.
Luggage has its own space
The bay sits behind the last row, so cases are not on laps or in the aisle. On an airport run with a full party this is the difference between a comfortable hour and a bad one.
One fare, not two
A van is quoted as a single vehicle. Two SUVs are two fares with two gratuities, and the second driver still has to be briefed on the same schedule.
Unmarked, and maintained on our schedule
No livery, no advertising, no operator name on the flank. The vans are serviced on the same short intervals as the sedans, because a group vehicle sitting in a hotel forecourt is seen by more people, not fewer.
03 — Who books it
What a Sprinter actually gets booked for.
- Airport parties arriving or leaving together, with a full load of cases. See LAX transfers.
- Corporate offsites and client dinners where the team travels as one and the van waits between stops. See corporate events.
- Wedding guests and bridal parties shuttled between hotel, ceremony and reception on a fixed schedule. See wedding transportation.
- Festival weekends in the Coachella Valley, where a van and one chauffeur beats four cars and four parking passes. See Coachella.
- Production and touring crews moving people and equipment between locations. See brand & production.
- Families and multi-generation trips to Disneyland, San Diego or the Valley, with child seats fitted free of charge.
- Golf and ski trips where the bags are the constraint rather than the passengers.
- Roadshows with a full team keeping one vehicle for the day. See roadshow transportation.
04 — From enquiry to kerb
How a group booking actually gets run.
You tell us the shape of it
Head count, luggage, where from, where to, and whether the van waits. For a multi-stop day, the running order matters more than the addresses — send it in whatever form you have it.
We quote before anything is held
You get the vehicle, the configuration and the figure in writing. If a set-price route covers the journey we quote that; if hourly works out cheaper for the day you have described, we say so rather than letting you overpay.
The van is matched to the load
Seat count and luggage bay are checked against what you sent. If the combination is tight we tell you at this point and offer the alternative — usually a van plus an SUV.
Dispatch names the chauffeur
Ahead of the pickup you receive his name, the vehicle and a direct number. On airport work he is already watching the flights, including a party split across two or three of them.
He loads, and the group boards once
Cases go in the bay while people get in. On a hotel pickup he coordinates with the doorman so a fourteen-seat vehicle is not blocking a forecourt while the last person finds their bag.
Afterwards, one clean charge
The agreed figure, with any toll or venue parking shown on its own line. No per-passenger surcharge, no cleaning fee invented after the fact, no rounding up.
For parties above fourteen we run several vehicles to one schedule with one point of contact — see group transportation.
Eleven people, eleven cases and a projector from Santa Monica to a client site in Irvine. It all went in the one van, and we arrived in one piece rather than in three cars at three different times.
Two of the seats face each other, which meant we actually rehearsed on the way down.
Tobias L.Agency team of eleven
05 — The vehicles
The van, and the two classes that sit either side of it.
Most group enquiries end up in one of these three. Tell us the load and we will name the right one.
Van
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Seven to fourteen passengers, high roof, individual seats and a luggage bay behind the last row. The reason this page exists.
14 passengers
Rear luggage bay
Full-size SUV
Chevrolet Suburban RST
Up to six passengers with luggage. The right answer below seven people, and the vehicle we pair with a van when the party is larger than fourteen.
6 passengers
Six large cases
Full-size SUV
Cadillac Escalade ESV
Six passengers and six large cases with the third row up. Booked alongside a van when a smaller group needs to travel separately.
6 passengers
Six large cases
Ninety-nine vehicles across six classes, so several vans on the same date is normal rather than exceptional. The full list is on the fleet page.
06 — Pricing, in the open
What a van costs, written down.
Group work is where hidden fees usually live. Here is ours, in full.
- Hourly and as-directed
- From $85 per hour, van and chauffeur held for you. Three-hour minimum on evening and event work.
- Airport transfers
- Quoted point to point. LAX and Van Nuys runs are priced by area — see airport transfers for the set figures.
- Set-price routes
- Where a published route fits, you pay the published figure — $125 to $525 depending on distance. The table is on set-price routes.
- Per passenger
- Nothing. Seven people or fourteen, the fare is for the vehicle, not the head count.
- Waiting time
- Thirty minutes complimentary on airport pickups, timed from wheels-down rather than the scheduled time. Curbside pickups get fifteen.
- Child seats
- Every size, fitted before arrival, no charge. Send the ages with the booking.
- Night, weekend and surge
- No premium. A 4am airport run and a Tuesday afternoon offsite are priced the same way.
- Not included
- Tolls, airport and venue parking, and gratuity. Quoted separately so the fare stays the fare.
Booking direct, so the figure you are quoted is the figure the company charges — the reasoning is on why book direct.
07 — Questions
What groups ask us before they book.
Between seven and fourteen, depending on the interior. Tell us the head count and the luggage and we will confirm the exact configuration for your date rather than leaving you to guess at booking.
Yes. Our Sprinters keep a rear luggage bay behind the last row, so a full party does not travel with cases on their laps. For fourteen passengers and fourteen large cases we will usually suggest a van plus an SUV — we would rather say that now than at the terminal.
Almost always, and it is simpler: one vehicle, one chauffeur, one arrival. Two SUVs mean two fares, two drivers and a group that gets separated at both ends of the journey.
That is the normal way to book it. Hourly and as-directed work starts at $85 per hour with the van staying with you — for an offsite or an evening out that works out cheaper than a string of separate transfers, and nobody waits on a kerb between them.
Regularly — Coachella and Stagecoach weekends, match days, weddings and production shoots. Book event weekends early; the vans go first.
Yes, in every size, fitted free of charge. Send the ages with the booking and they will be in place before the van reaches you.
08 — Reserve
Send the head count. We will send back a figure.
Dispatch answers around the clock, and the person on the phone is the person arranging the van. Tell us how many people, how much luggage and the shape of the day.
(323) 799-3190Or request the van online · info@rgblacklimo.com · Quotes usually inside the hour