Vehicle class sets the floor
Sedans carry the lowest Montreal planning ranges, SUVs add capacity for checked bags, car seats, ski gear, and executive arrivals, and Sprinters are quoted individually for point-to-point work because passenger count, luggage, route, and staging change the price more than distance does. When a group sits near the seat or luggage boundary, ask for both a Sprinter quote and a two-SUV quote before approving either.
Why YUL pricing works differently
YUL publishes separate workflows for the taxi queue at Door 23, the airport-counter limousine ordered at Door 24, and the 747 bus at Door 28 — and the counter limousine cannot be booked before arriving. A pre-arranged quote exists to remove that after-landing decision: it should state the pickup point, the included wait window, how domestic versus international arrivals are treated, and what happens when the flight runs late. Those terms move the real cost more than the base range does.
Hourly versus point-to-point
Point-to-point is cleaner for one confirmed pickup and one confirmed drop, such as YUL to a downtown hotel. Hourly is cleaner when the day includes multiple meetings, a convention schedule, dinners in Old Montreal, or an event return with an uncertain release time, because the same assigned vehicle stays with the passenger instead of re-dispatching between stops. The hourly quote should state vehicle class, minimum hours, the overtime rule, and parking treatment.
Mont-Tremblant and winter transfers
Tremblant transfers are long-route quotes shaped by season: ski and snowboard luggage, winter road conditions, resort drop-off logistics, and group size decide whether a sedan works or an SUV or van is required. The Montreal planning range for a sedan is CA$360-CA$540 and for an SUV CA$450-CA$680, and the quote should confirm passenger count, gear count, and timing before a winter weekend.
Event, convention, and cruise dates are not just mileage
Palais des congrès programs, Grand Quay sailings, and Old Montreal event dates change staging, curb access, wait time, and return-pickup logistics. These transfers are quoted rather than priced off a standard range, and the quote should define the entrance, the hold-or-return plan, the luggage plan on cruise days, and who can approve same-day changes.
Gratuity, cancellation, and overtime are quote terms
The written quote — not a verbal estimate — should state how gratuity is handled, what the cancellation window is, how overtime is billed past the included wait or hourly block, and how extra stops added after confirmation are priced. Quebec's fare-contract rules already expect remunerated trips to be documented with the parties, date and term, price or pricing method, pickup point, and destination, so a serious Montreal quote should read like that contract.
Where taxis, the counter limousine, and the 747 win
For a solo traveler with light bags and a flexible schedule, the 747 bus at CA$11.25, the Door 23 taxi queue, or the Door 24 counter limousine starting at CA$85 for a sedan can simply cost less than a pre-arranged car. The trade is control: none of them confirms the vehicle class, luggage fit, wait policy, or pickup plan before the flight lands.