What should a private-driver quote include?

At a glance

• Separate five price components: the car/driver, waiting or overtime, tolls, parking and any attraction admissions. Put each inside or outside the quoted total explicitly.
• Confirm the vehicle’s passenger capacity after allowing for the driver, and separately confirm space for the actual luggage.
• A linked foreign card cannot fund an Alipay personal transfer; request a merchant checkout or an agreed cash/card arrangement for a deposit. [1]
• The published standard fee on international-card QR purchases above RMB 200 is 3% of the whole transaction. Eligible Weixin first-time-card users may instead have the 90-day processing-fee waiver, on daily spending up to RMB 1,000 from their first transaction. Compare the fee actually shown at checkout. [2] [4]

What to do next

1. Before requesting prices, send the same brief to each provider: date, pickup and final drop-off addresses, passenger ages, number and size of bags, stops, approximate duration and language needs. Comparable briefs produce quotes you can actually compare.
2. Ask for the vehicle type and usable passenger/luggage capacity. If you need a child seat, space for a wheelchair or help with stairs, describe the requirement and obtain a specific response before choosing the car.
3. Specify the service role. A driver takes you between agreed places; an English-speaking guide or interpreter provides a different service. Ask whether the quoted person will accompany you inside attractions or wait with the vehicle.
4. Get the included hours, distance or route in writing. Ask when the clock starts, how waiting is counted, the overtime rate and whether a changed stop or airport delay changes the price. Add tolls, parking, admissions and meals to the same confirmation.
5. Agree payment, deposit, cancellation and refund terms. For a merchant checkout, inspect the currency and any card fee before approval. Keep the payment reference with the confirmed itinerary rather than as a separate unexplained transfer.
6. The day before, confirm the pickup point, driver contact, vehicle identification and the latest time to leave the final stop. Give the hotel or travelling companion those details so the arrangement is usable even if one phone loses data.

If your situation is different

It is an airport pickup: include the flight number, terminal and actual arrival date. Ask who monitors delays, how much waiting is included after landing and what happens if immigration takes longer than expected.

It is an attraction day trip: include the entry gate, planned visiting time and return meeting point. Decide whether the driver waits at the site or returns later, and how you will contact each other if the exit differs from the entrance.

You add another stop during the day: ask for the extra time and price before agreeing. Update the final return time, particularly if a train, flight or timed booking follows the excursion.

The provider requests a personal WeChat deposit: explain your available funding route and ask for a business checkout or another agreed method. Keep the written booking conditions before sending any money.

Common mistakes

• Comparing a driver-only price with a guided-tour price: identify the work included in each quote.
• Assuming seats imply luggage space: describe the actual bags and mobility equipment before the vehicle is assigned.
• Leaving waiting and overtime undefined: agree how they are measured and charged before the day starts.
• Treating tickets as automatically included: name each attraction admission and transport add-on in the confirmation.

Quick questions