Executive car with a driver
Sometimes one car is the right tool: a speaker at dawn, a guest of honour between meetings, a couple on their wedding day. In France, a car with driver hired this way is a VTC.
Booked in advance, every time
Booking comes first, by law. A VTC carries only people who reserved ahead: no raised hands in the street, no waiting at the roadside for fares. Your driver carries proof of your reservation. When the job ends and nothing else is booked, the car heads back to its operator's base or into an off-street car park.
So give a precise time and place. For a flight, send the flight number; for a hotel, the exact entrance. At the two main Paris airports, CDG and Orly, booked cars wait in the airport operator's Parking Pro car parks.
Capacity
- Seats: 1-3 (up to 8 passengers in a van-type VTC)
- Luggage: Boot space; choose a larger vehicle for more passengers or luggage
Rules and equipment
- A car with driver hired in France is a VTC (voiture de transport avec chauffeur), a vehicle of fewer than 10 seats
- A VTC can carry passengers only on prior booking; it may not be hailed in the street or wait on the public road for customers, and the driver must be able to show the booking
- After a job without a further booking, a VTC must return to its operator's base or to an off-street car park
- The VTC operator is entered in the national VTC register (registre VTC), renewed every 5 years
- The driver holds a VTC professional card (carte professionnelle VTC) issued by the préfecture, after passing the VTC exam
- The vehicle has 4 to 9 seats including the driver, at least 4 doors and is at most 7 years old, and shows the VTC sticker on the front and rear windscreens
The car, the driver and the operator
The car seats 4 to 9 people counting the driver, has at least 4 doors, is no older than 7 years, and shows the VTC sticker front and rear. The driver holds a VTC professional card from the préfecture, earned by passing the VTC exam. The operator sits on the national VTC register and must renew that listing every 5 years.
Expect room for 1 to 3 passengers in a saloon, or up to 8 in a van-type VTC. If the luggage outgrows the boot, choose a larger vehicle.
Organisers ask
Can the car go where a coach cannot?
Often. In Lyon's Presqu'île limited traffic zone, VTCs keep permanent access, so a guest can be set down at the hotel door.
Can it run alongside a group coach?
Yes. A coach for the delegates and a car for the speaker or the chief executive is a common pairing, on one request.
Can the driver wait between meetings?
Not on the street. Plan the wait in a car park, or book separate legs.
Is a VTC the same as a taxi?
No. A VTC cannot be flagged down or wait for fares at the kerb. It works only from a booking, which is why the time and the meeting place must be exact.