New Year’s Eve Limo and Party Bus Guide for Texas

New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year for chauffeured transportation, and no company has more vehicles on December 31 than on any other night. The groups that plan early get the vehicle they want. Here is what to settle before you book.

How far ahead to book

As early as you can. Sprinter limos, stretch SUVs and party buses tend to go first, because every group of friends wants one on the same night. If you are reading this in October or November, now is the time to ask. A written quote commits you to nothing; the vehicle is yours once the deposit is paid.

How pricing works

Chauffeured transportation is priced by the hour. Our rates start at $150 per hour for an executive sedan or SUV. Stretch limousines, Sprinter limos, party buses and coaches are quoted per trip, because the rate depends on the vehicle and the date.

• Minimum hours: 3 on most vehicles. Vintage cars have none.
• Gratuity: 20% of the base fare, shown on the quote so it is never a surprise.
• Taxes and fees: added on top, each on its own line.
• Deposit: 50% to secure the vehicle, with the balance due 10 days before the trip — for New Year’s Eve, that is December 21. The deposit is non-refundable if you cancel, so read our refund policy before you pay.

A worked example

A 5-hour booking in an executive SUV at our starting rate of $150 per hour is $750 base fare. Add 20% gratuity ($150) and the total is $900 plus applicable taxes — about $150 each for 6 people. That is a starting point, not a New Year’s Eve quote: your written quote shows the rate for your vehicle and date. Try your own numbers in our price estimator.

Minimums: why the shortest booking rarely fits

Our standard minimum is 3 hours, and your quote confirms the minimum for your date and vehicle. On New Year’s Eve, though, the minimum is rarely enough. Plan the night backward from midnight: pickup, dinner, the party, the countdown and the ride home. A 3-hour booking that starts at 9 p.m. ends at midnight — exactly when nobody wants to leave.

Book the hours you need up front. Extending on the night depends on the vehicle being free, and on New Year’s Eve your vehicle and chauffeur may have another booking after yours. If you are comparing companies, ask each one for its minimum on December 31 specifically; some set a longer one for the holiday.

Alcohol rules

Texas’s open-container law makes an exception for the passenger area of vehicles that carry people for hire, such as limousines and buses. That is why adults can drink on a chartered vehicle when they couldn’t in their own car. Our rules on top of the law:

• Adults 21 and over may bring their own drinks where Texas law allows. We do not sell or serve alcohol.
• No glass on party buses.
• No alcohol at all on any trip with anyone under 21 aboard — including family celebrations where the adults are of drinking age. The whole trip is alcohol-free.
• Leave drinks in the vehicle when you get out. Streets and venues have rules of their own.

Breaking these rules can end the trip early. Our terms have the details.

Getting in and out around midnight

Roads near the big downtown celebrations and fireworks get crowded around midnight, and some close. Agree a pickup point a block or two from the venue entrance — somewhere the vehicle can legally wait — and share it with everyone in the group before you go in. In a crowd at midnight, a plan everyone already knows beats a phone call.

Which vehicle for your group

• 1–3 people: an executive sedan, or the Rolls-Royce Ghost for a couple’s night.
• 1–6 people: an executive SUV.
• 8–10 people: a stretch limousine.
• 7–14 people: a Sprinter limo, with a stand-up cabin that still fits valet lanes and parking garages.
• 15–56 people: a party bus or limo bus, so the whole group rings in the year together. Everyone stays seated while it is moving.

Not sure? Read Party Bus or Limo? or browse the fleet. We arrange New Year’s Eve transportation across Texas, including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

Five questions to ask before you pay

1. What is the minimum on December 31, and when does the clock start and stop?
2. Is gratuity included or added, and are taxes shown separately?
3. Can we stay out longer, and what does overtime cost?
4. What is the deposit, when is the balance due, and is any of it refundable?
5. What are the alcohol rules, and do they change if anyone under 21 is coming?

When you are ready, send your date, group size and plan through our booking form.

Tip. Count heads before you book, not on the night. Every vehicle has a legal seating capacity and the chauffeur must refuse boarding beyond it — and on New Year’s Eve, there may be no bigger vehicle left to swap in.