A car with driver for the people who travel apart

Not everyone in a group travels at the same time. The grandparents arrive by train, the couple leave early, a speaker lands after dinner. A car with driver covers them alongside the minibus.

What a VTC is

In France, a car hired with a driver is a VTC, voiture de transport avec chauffeur: a vehicle of fewer than 10 seats. It carries one to three passengers in comfort, or as many as eight when the VTC is a van, with boot space for their bags.

The vehicle has 4 to 9 seats including the driver, at least 4 doors and is no more than 7 years old. A VTC sticker shows on the windscreen and on the rear window.

On board

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 driver holds a VTC professional card (carte professionnelle VTC) issued by the préfecture, after passing the VTC exam
The VTC operator is entered in the national VTC register (registre VTC), renewed every 5 years
After a job without a further booking, a VTC must return to its operator's base or to an off-street car park
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
A car with driver hired in France is a VTC (voiture de transport avec chauffeur), a vehicle of fewer than 10 seats

Booked ahead, every time

A VTC only takes passengers who have booked. Nobody can flag one down in the street, it may not linger on the road in search of fares, and its driver has to be able to produce your booking. Between bookings it goes back to base, or waits in a car park away from the street.

So for a station or airport pickup, send the train or flight, the name for the sign and the number of bags. For a wedding or a dinner, book each leg, including the ride home.

The driver and the operator

The driver holds a VTC professional card issued by the préfecture after passing the VTC exam. The operator is entered on the national VTC register, and that registration is renewed every 5 years.

Your questions, answered

When is a car better than a minibus?

For up to three people, or when someone needs their own timetable. For four to eight, a van-type VTC can take them; above that, a minibus is the better fit.

Does the car need a Crit'Air sticker?

Any vehicle entering a low-emission zone needs one, cars included, and some cities restrict older cars more tightly than coaches. The sticker is checked against the route.

Can the car be booked with the rest of the group?

Yes. Put it on the same request as the minibus, and the car's timings are planned with the group's.