The RideRutz.com fleet is organised in eight vehicle classes - business sedan, first-class sedan, executive SUV, protected SUV on request, luxury van, executive Sprinter, stretch limousine, and minicoach and motorcoach - each specified in writing so that a class booked in one city is delivered identically in another. Every vehicle is black, unbranded, under five years old and detailed before each engagement; the models follow the local market and the specification does not.
Why classes rather than models
A client booking a car in Frankfurt and a car in Tokyo does not want to learn two fleets; she wants to know that "executive SUV" means six seats, a proper luggage bay and a chauffeur of the same standard in both, and that the model - a GLS in one, an Alphard or Lexus LM in the other - will be what a principal in that city expects. The class system gives her that. Each class has a written specification covering seats, luggage, age, colour, presentation and equipment, and the reservation engine offers only vehicles that meet it. The global chauffeur service page explains how the specification is enforced through the network; this page describes what each class is for.
Choosing the class
| Situation | Class | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly day of meetings, one or two passengers | Business sedan or first-class sedan | Quiet, discreet, rear-seat working space; the first-class sedan where the arrival is part of the message |
| Airport transfer, one to three passengers | Business sedan or first-class sedan | Three bags in the boot; the chauffeur handles them |
| Team of four to six, or three with luggage | Executive SUV | Six seats, a real luggage bay, height and glass; the security default |
| Principal with a protection officer | Executive SUV with a security-trained chauffeur | Officer in front, principal behind the chauffeur, fast departure |
| Principal whose adviser requires protection | Protected SUV (on request) | Sourced with the adviser at the specified level where the law allows |
| Delegation or working group of six | Luxury van | Lounge seating facing, blinds, a briefing on the move |
| Board, crew or table of guests up to fourteen | Executive Sprinter | Fourteen leather seats, luggage bay, one file |
| Premiere, award night, anniversary | Stretch limousine | The arrival that photographs; used only where the occasion calls for it |
| Conference shuttle, summit delegation, touring company | Minicoach or motorcoach | 24 to 56 seats with luggage bays; a coordinator at each end |
The sedans
The business sedan - Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Genesis G80, Lexus ES or the local equivalent - is the black car proper and the hourly workhorse: three passengers, three bags, a quiet cabin, an unremarkable presence on the street. The first-class sedan - S-Class, 7 Series, A8 L, Lexus LS, and Rolls-Royce, Bentley or Maybach on request in the cities that have them - is the luxury and executive class: long wheelbase, reclining rear seats, privacy blinds, rear-seat working space, the car for the principal and the carpet.
The SUVs
The executive SUV - Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes-Benz GLS, BMW X7, Range Rover, Lexus LX or the local equivalent - carries six with luggage, sits high with good glass, and is the default for a team, a family, a principal with security or a party with equipment; the security-trained chauffeur service usually specifies it. The protected SUV is not a stock class: a discreetly armoured Suburban, Escalade, Land Cruiser, G-Class or protected sedan is sourced case by case with a principal's security adviser, at the protection level the adviser specifies, from a licensed supplier in the country concerned, driven only by chauffeurs trained on protected vehicles, and confirmed in writing before any commitment.
Vans, Sprinters and coaches
The luxury van - Mercedes-Benz V-Class, Lexus LM, Toyota Alphard, Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle - seats six in lounge configuration with blinds and tables, and is the choice for a delegation briefing between the airport and the venue, an artist's press day, or a family with a fortnight's luggage. The executive Sprinter - a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Ford Transit in executive fit - seats fourteen in leather with a luggage bay, Wi-Fi and power at every seat, for a board, a production crew, a jury or a gala table moving together. Minicoaches and motorcoaches, from 24 to 56 seats with luggage bays and washrooms on the larger vehicles, carry conference delegations, summit shuttles and touring companies under a coordinator.
The stretch limousine
Lincoln, Cadillac and Chrysler stretch limousines, and in selected cities Rolls-Royce and Bentley, seat eight in the cabin with a bar and privacy partition. They are used where the occasion asks for the arrival to be seen - a premiere the studio wants photographed, an anniversary, a milestone - and never for discreet movements, where they defeat the purpose. The celebrity transportation page explains the distinction.
Age, presentation and equipment
Every vehicle is black - the exception being a white or silver first-class sedan where a wedding or a mission asks for it - unbranded, under five years old and detailed before every engagement: exterior washed, cabin cleaned, glass polished, no scent. Every cabin carries bottled water, phone charging, tissues and an umbrella; first-class sedans and vans add newspapers in the passenger's language, blinds and Wi-Fi where the vehicle is equipped. Child seats are fitted at no charge on request. Hybrid and electric vehicles are supplied within each class where the city's fleet has them and are recorded on the account's emissions report where required.
Fleet in every city
The models within each class follow what the city's market runs and what its principals expect: German sedans in Europe and the Gulf, Cadillac and Lincoln alongside them in North America, Lexus and Toyota in Japan, Genesis in Korea, Range Rover in London. The destinations page lists every city; the coordinator says in advance where a class is thin in a small city and positions a vehicle from the nearest large one at a cost shown before you confirm. Vehicle standards across the network follow the Limousine Association International code; vehicle safety standards are set by the regulators of each country, such as the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Matching the vehicle to the occasion
The most common mistake in booking is choosing the vehicle for the passenger's status rather than the day's needs. A chief executive with two colleagues and three cases is better served by an executive SUV than by a first-class sedan in which one colleague sits with a case on his knees; a discreet movement for a public figure is better served by a business sedan than by a stretch limousine that announces itself; a delegation of six who need to brief on the way to the venue is better served by a luxury van than by two sedans in which half of them cannot hear. The coordinator advises from the passenger list, the luggage and the purpose, and the reservation engine shows the rate for each class so that the choice can be made on the facts. The rates guide sets out what each class typically costs by the hour and by the transfer in the cities where the fleet is most used.
Presentation for occasions
For a gala or a premiere the vehicle is detailed that afternoon and arrives with the cabin cleared of everything but water. For a wedding it can be dressed with ribbons or flowers on request and, in most cities, supplied in white or silver. For a state occasion it carries the flag or pennant the mission supplies, mounted and cased by the chauffeur, and any interior presentation the mission requires. For a conference shuttle it can carry the client's temporary branding, applied and removed by the operator. For talent it carries nothing that identifies the passenger or the client. Every case is recorded on the file and delivered without a reminder.
Maintenance, insurance and inspection
Every vehicle on RideRutz.com's own fleet is maintained on the manufacturer's schedule, inspected before every movement for tyres, fluids, lights and cabin condition, and carries commercial passenger insurance; affiliates meet the same conditions as a term of the standard, and certificates for both are supplied for an account's file on request. Vehicles are retired from the fleet at five years or at the mileage the class specification sets, whichever comes first. Protected vehicles are additionally inspected by the supplier before each assignment and driven only by chauffeurs trained on them. The security-trained chauffeur page explains how a protected vehicle is sourced and the terms of service set out what a client is entitled to when the vehicle supplied falls short of the class booked.
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible vehicles - vans with a ramp or lift and securing points - are available in most gateway cities on request and are booked through the coordinator rather than the engine so that the vehicle, the chauffeur's training and the venue's access can be confirmed together. For an event, the staging plan includes the accessible entrance where the carpet is not usable. Passengers who need assistance in and out of a standard vehicle should say so at booking; chauffeurs are trained to help and to wait.
Which class the engine will offer
The reservation engine offers every class available in the city for the date and time chosen and shows the fixed rate for each, so that the choice is made on price and purpose together. Where a class is not available - a Sprinter in a small city, a stretch limousine at short notice - the engine says so and offers the nearest alternative, and dispatch can usually position a vehicle from the nearest large city at a cost shown before you confirm. Programmes needing several classes at once are planned by the coordinator from the brief.
