Prices, comparisons & how it works · 2026-09-21 · 8-minute read
The limo that still shows up in a London, Ontario winter runs on winter tires from November to April on every vehicle in LondonLimo.net's fleet, all-wheel drive on the SUVs, a pre-trip check of the lights, the tires and the fluids recorded at the start of each shift, winter-driving training for every chauffeur, and a dispatcher who reads the Environment Canada forecast and the Ontario 511 cameras the evening before and the morning of, adds thirty minutes to the airport run when the squalls are on the 401's belt between Woodstock and Cambridge or west of Tilbury, warms the cabin before the door, and moves or cancels a run without charge on the day the OPP closes the highway - when the train runs and the travel desk books the seat. The winter article has the Pearson run in January hour by hour; this article is the fleet's winter, and the honest limits of what a chauffeur will drive.
The fleet's winter, in a table
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Winter tires on every vehicle | November 1 to April 15, whatever the weather in either month | The lake-effect squalls arrive without notice and leave the same way |
| All-wheel drive on the SUVs | All year | The driveway the plough has not reached; the cottage lane |
| The pre-trip check | The start of every shift, recorded | Lights, tires, fluids, the washer's antifreeze, the scraper, the blanket |
| Winter-driving training | Every chauffeur, every autumn | The skid, the following distance, the squall's whiteout |
| The dispatcher's check | The evening before and 4 a.m. | The forecast and the cameras on the 401, the 402, the 403 and the 4 |
| The thirty minutes | Added to any highway run on a squall day | The belt between Woodstock and Cambridge; west of Tilbury; the 402's flat |
| The warmed cabin | Before every winter pickup | The car at the door with the heat on and the seats warm |
| The closure | When the OPP closes the road | The run moved or cancelled without charge; the train booked |
The chauffeurs page has the training and the fleet page the vehicles.
The tires, in detail
Winter tires on every sedan, SUV, van and Sprinter from the first of November to the middle of April, the rubber that grips at minus fifteen where an all-season hardens, and the partner fleet's stretch and bus on winter tires by the desk's condition of dispatch; the Ministry of Transportation's winter-driving guidance is the reference, and a chauffeur's pre-trip check reads the tread.
The squall belts, in detail
Lake Huron's squalls on a northwest wind cross the 401 between Woodstock and Cambridge and the 402's flat between Strathroy and Sarnia, and Lake St. Clair's on a southwest cross the 401 west of Tilbury; the whiteout lasts ten minutes and the road is dry a kilometre on; the chauffeur slows to the visibility and the dispatcher adds thirty minutes; the Toronto article has the belt on the Toronto run and the Windsor article the Tilbury stretch.
The dispatcher's evening, in detail
The Environment Canada forecast for the squall warning, the Ontario 511 cameras at Ingersoll, Woodstock, Drumbo and Cambridge for the 401 and at Strathroy for the 402, the OPP's closures, and the decision by 9 p.m. for the 4 a.m. runs: thirty minutes added, or the run moved, or the passenger told to take the train; the early-morning article has the dawn.
The day the OPP closes the highway
Once or twice a winter the 401 closes between Woodstock and Cambridge and nothing on rubber moves; the desk cancels the run without charge, the travel desk books a VIA seat for the passenger who can reach the station, and the chauffeur drives the passenger to the station at the in-city fare; the VIA article has the train and the cancellation article the rule.
The driveway, the lane and the school snow day
The driveway the plough has not reached is the SUV's all-wheel drive and the chauffeur's shovel for the last metre; the cottage lane in January is a lane the desk asks about and may refuse; the school snow day is the parents' day of runs to the office with the children at the grandparents', and the neighbourhoods page has the streets the city ploughs first.
The hospital appointment that must be kept
A chemotherapy appointment at Victoria or a surgery at University Hospital on a squall morning is kept: the SUV at the door thirty minutes early, the city's arterials driven at the pace they allow, the entrance's loop, and the return held open; the hospital wait article has the day and the hospitals page the entrances.
The app's driver, honestly
The app's driver on a squall morning is a private car on all-seasons whose owner may not want to drive the 401 to Pearson at 5 a.m. in a whiteout and declines; the Uber article has the decline's arithmetic and the rideshare article the map.
The honest limits
A chauffeur does not drive a road the OPP has closed, a lane the vehicle cannot turn in, a driveway with a metre of drift, or a squall the visibility does not allow at any speed; the desk says so at booking, moves the run and does not charge; the chauffeurs page has the refusals.
Three winter runs, as they went
A Pearson departure, a Tuesday in January, a squall warning. The dispatcher's text at 9 p.m.: the car at 3:15 rather than 3:45; the belt at Drumbo in a whiteout for eight minutes; Terminal 1 at 5:50 for the 7:40 flight.
A Victoria Hospital chemotherapy, a Thursday in February. The SUV at the Byron door at 7:20 with the cabin warm, Wellington Road at the plough's pace, the entrance at 8:05, the return held open.
The day the 401 closed, a Monday in December. The run cancelled at 5:10 a.m. without charge, the VIA seat booked at 5:15, the sedan to the station at 6:20, Union at 9:30.
Booking it
Every winter booking on the reservation engine or through the desk gets the dispatcher's evening check and the thirty minutes when they are needed; the winter article has the run and the fleet page the tires.
Three questions the desk is asked about winter
Do you charge more in winter? No - the fare is the same and the chauffeur leaves earlier; the cancellation article has the closure's rule.
Can the chauffeur wait if my flight is delayed by weather? Yes - the flight is tracked and the free window applies, and the desk extends it on a de-icing day.
Are the partner fleet's vehicles on winter tires? Yes - as a condition of the desk's dispatch from November to April; the FAQ has the rest.
The tires and the law, in detail
Ontario does not require winter tires by law and the Ministry of Transportation recommends them; the desk requires them on its own fleet and the partners' from November 1 to April 15 because the lake-effect squalls arrive in either month without notice; the Highway Traffic Act requires the tread the pre-trip check reads.
The vehicles, in detail
The sedans on winter tires with the traction control, the SUVs with all-wheel drive and the ground clearance for the driveway, the vans with winter tires and the flat floor, the Sprinters with winter tires and the weight that holds the road; the fleet page has each and the pre-trip check reads the tread every shift.
The training, in detail
The autumn's closed-course day with the skid and the recovery, the following distance doubled, the whiteout's rule - slow to the visibility, lights on, no stopping in the lane - the truck's spray on the 401 and the black ice at the bridges; the chauffeurs page has the training and the Pearson winter article the run.
The dispatcher's sources, in detail
The Environment Canada forecast and the squall warning for Middlesex, Oxford and Lambton, the Ontario 511 cameras at Ingersoll, Woodstock, Drumbo and Cambridge on the 401 and at Strathroy on the 402, the OPP's closures on the same site, and the airports' de-icing delays on the trackers; the decision by 9 p.m. and again at 4 a.m.
The thirty minutes, in detail
Added to any highway run on a squall day and to the airport run on a de-icing day, texted to the passenger the evening before as the new pickup time, and not charged; a passenger who wants the original time is told the risk and the desk records it; the early-morning article has the dawn's margin.
The warmed cabin, in detail
The car started fifteen minutes before the pickup, the heat on, the seats warm, the windows clear, the blanket on the seat, and the chauffeur at the door with the umbrella in a freezing rain; the chauffeur service article has the arrival.
The city's winter, in detail
The arterials ploughed first - Wellington, Richmond, Oxford, Wonderland, Highbury - and the residential streets after, the hospitals' loops cleared by the hospitals, the airport's road by the city, and the driveway by the passenger or the chauffeur's shovel; the neighbourhoods page has the streets and the hospitals page the loops.
The closure, in detail
The OPP's closure on the 511 site, the desk's call to every passenger with a run on the closed stretch, the cancellation without charge, the VIA seat through the travel desk for the passenger who can reach the station, and the sedan to the station at the in-city fare; the VIA article has the train's day.
Booking checklist for a winter run
The flight or the appointment; the address and the driveway's state; the numbers and the bags; the class - the SUV for the driveway; the phone for the dispatcher's text; the flexibility on the pickup time. Six lines on the reservation engine or to the desk, and the dispatcher's text comes the evening before.
The honest summary
Winter tires from November, the cameras checked the evening before, thirty minutes added on a squall day, the cabin warmed and the run moved without charge when the road closes; the fleet page has the vehicles and the winter article the run.
A worked example: the two texts
A Byron passenger with a 7:40 Pearson flight on a Tuesday in January received the dispatcher's text at 8:50 p.m.: "Squall warning Woodstock-Cambridge overnight; your car will be at the door at 3:15 rather than 3:45; no change to the fare"; and at 3:10 a.m. the chauffeur's: "At the door, cabin warm"; the belt at Drumbo was a whiteout for eight minutes at 4:40, Terminal 1 was reached at 5:55, and the passenger's note to the desk was that the app had shown no drivers at 3 a.m.; the Pearson winter article has the run hour by hour.
The desk's rule of thumb
Winter tires from November 1; the cameras and the forecast by 9 p.m.; thirty minutes added on a squall day and texted; the cabin warmed; the SUV for the driveway; and the run moved without charge on the day the OPP closes the road, with the train booked. The fleet page has the vehicles.
Booking it, in one line
Every winter booking on the reservation engine or through the desk gets the dispatcher's check and the text the evening before.
