After a wonderful decade of serving all of our clients I (Michael Watson) have retired this year. We are making a seamless transition for your transportation needs  in Colorado with our trusted affiliate partner Hamza Limo Service, Karlis Eriera and Arnold Singh.  They have been our affiliate partner for 10 years and many of our clients already know and trust them both.  They will be taking over for me and handling all Billing, Collections, Dispatching, Drivers, Reservations, and transportation operations for VIP Express Ride going forward.  My company name will drop off of your receipts and reservations after your next ride with Hamza Limo Service

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REFUNDS - LATE CANCEL - NO Show's - 12 OR 24hr cancellation policy

 

AFFILIATE PARTNERS PAYMENTS FOR RIDES, CANCELLATION AND WAIT TIME POLICY - REFUNDABLE UP UNTIL 12 HRS PRIOR TO PICKUP - Requests for Premium SUV's, Navigators, Escalades are priced at an extra $100 for all destinations.  $175/hour. 

12 hours notice/prior to pickup for cancellation.  FULL payment for all rides must be made within 24 hours of receipt of payment request link or credit card on file to be charged on the day of the ride.  Our DRIVERS are independent contractors.  They have been assigned and paid in advance for all rides.  They cannot be re-assigned for another ride without more than 12 hours notice.  AFFILIATE PARTNER WAIT TIME POLICY - $125/HOUR  FOR AIRPORT PICKUPS.  THE FIRST HOUR IS INCLUDED AND THE CLOCK IS TICKING FROM THE TIME THE PLANE IS SCHEDULED TO LAND.  For one way or round trip bookings with more than one quick 15 minute stop, the wait time will accrue at $125/hour or any fraction thereof.

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​All other cancellations more than 24 hours prior to PICKUP - Vehicle and driver booking arrangements (payment) for your trip are made and paid for to the driver in advance, 24 hours prior to your pickup.  This is when the driver payment is made to secure your ride, and guarantee your vehicle to pick you up.  You may cancel trip reservations up until 24 hrs prior to your scheduled trip pickup.  After that there is no refund (except for VIP Executives who book weekly, monthly, annual trips with us). 

All ride bookings and reservations must be paid for in advance to guarantee your travel dates and vehicle reservation.  

Reservations cancelled MORE than 24hrs prior to scheduled pickup time will be refunded, minus the staff booking fee of $25, and the aprox 3.75% credit card processing fee.  This amount varies depending on the price of the ride.  Cancellations within 24 hours of pickup time will result in a charge for the full amount of the ride.  This is negotiable if you are a VIP regular client and we did not lose any other rides due to your cancellation.  OR due to extreme hardship or unforeseen circumstances. 

No Show's - On all airport arrival reservations you will be considered a no-show after 45 minutes (60 minutes for International Arrivals requiring Customs Clearance) past your flights arrival time. If you have not met your chauffeur or contacted VIP Express Ride by phone, you will be charged in full for the reservation. To avoid being charged as a no-show, do not leave your location without contacting VIP Express Ride. Except for NO Show's or late cancellations YOU MAY REQUEST A RIDE CREDIT IF YOU PLAN TO TRAVEL WITHIN A YEAR OF THE CANCELLED RESERVATION.  If the cancellation caused us to miss other rides or if you are a no show it is non-refundable.  

 

If you are a first time customer we require an approximate $50 non-refundable deposit by credit card to reserve a ride.  This is for our time to book the ride reservation (admin booking fee maximum $25) and the additional credit card service fee of approximately 3.75%.  If you have become a regular VIP who books weekly, monthly airport trips and hotel transfers (also annual resort rides) with us then your benefits are different.  We won't charge the $50, only the minimum credit card service fee and/or admin fee for booking, cancelling or changing the ride.  We will only keep the credit card service fee if you want a refund, changes, cancellations, and not a credit for your next regular scheduled ride.  Your credit card will be charged for the full amount of the ride 24 hrs prior to the scheduled pickup time. 

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Fees Disclosure: PLEASE READ TO AVOID SURPRISES OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS.  We try to match our competitors fares.  Our quotes and reservations/receipts all have full fee disclosure with right here in our terms and conditions.  There should be no hidden fees or surprises, however, some fees may not be on your quote due to unforeseen circumstances, unplanned stops, delays, bad weather, accidents, road closures, etc.  We have to charge for our time in these situations and the final amount may be more than you were originally quoted.  The method of quoting your trip based on pickup location and destination.  We may need to add a fee such as an airport access fee if you book online and the online booking does not include the fee.  The online bookings may not be capable of including fees for certain pickup locations because we don't know at the time of the booking if there will be a destination fee or an airport access fee, until the route for your trip is confirmed, or after the trip is over.  At that time any additional fees for delays or extras, stops, add ons, access fees, tolls, etc will be added at that time after the ride is over and charged to the card on file.  When you book online or directly with us you are agreeing to these terms.  Our fares have a 20% driver fee, airport fee, toll road fee, and a 5% fuel/electric surcharge for each trip. These rates can be covered by our standard "admin" fee or itemized depending on the route and ride quote.  After hours fee $50 for rides between 10PM - 7AM.  All prices are negotiable (except credit card transaction fee of approximately 3.75%, staff booking fee aprox $25, and airport, tarmac access fees continue to increase every year due to commercial insurance costs requirements to operate at the airport or FOB.  We have to pass the access fees on to the customer to continue to operate. (DEN $15, EGE $100, VVJC $125, RIL $125).  These fees include the airport access fee and cover up to one hour of driver wait time starting at your scheduled pickup time.  Additional hours will be charged at $125 per hour and added to the credit card on file.

Regular VIP's enjoy 10% VIP Discount on Denver routes, fewer fees, no cancellation fee unless it is a NO SHOW, bookings by text message (date and flight#).  

Clients who don't travel frequently, (at least once a month) are generally held to the 24 cancellations policy with few exceptions for sickness, accident, verifiable unforeseen emergency.    

​Most of our fares are priced for multiple people to share the cost, so to help you out when traveling alone there is a $50 discount off your fare for first time customers or any existing customer traveling alone (1 person discount), on rides of at least $200, but you must call, email or text to have that discount applied. All online bookings are not confirmed until you respond to us by email or text to confirm that your booking that you made online is not a mistake and you expect us to pick you up.  We have had bookings with no response to our request to confirm the online booking and they did not get a car to pick them up because they did not respond.  Our price is the same for cash or credit card.  There is no discount for CASH.  

PRIVACY POLICY:  Your personal information is not marketed or sold to any other party.  It is strictly for our own use to book travel arrangements for ground transportation. 

 

Payments made by credit card may require a Digitally Signed (CCC) credit card charge-back (dispute) waiver - Valid Drivers License or Government issued ID: Due to an increase in fraud and chargebacks, first time customers and non U.S. customers paying $300 or more (or issues with form of payment) for our services will be required to digitally sign a charge-back (dispute) waiver when booking and paying for rides of $300 or more. You will be able to digitally sign and upload a picture of your credit card and government issued ID.  You are approving and accepting the terms of the ride and accuracy of the charges for the ride. The first and last name on the ID must match the first and last name on the credit card.   

 

Hours of service: 

Ride operations 24/7 After hours fee $50 for rides between 10PM - 7AM 

Reservations 7AM-10PM

​Trip Delays due to unforeseen circumstances, road closures, accidents, airline delays, weather, etc.

We do our best to work with the elements and adapt our operations to the different external factors that we face regularly. But when there is an event we can’t control like weather, road closure, heavy traffic, road accidents, a strike or other civil disorder, we reserve the right to change the flat rate price for your trip to the hourly rate of $125/hour for SUV's and $175/hour for a VAN group.  Depending on unforeseen, uncontrollable circumstances we may have to cancel, divert or delay your ground transportation.  All trip fares including flat rate fares are based on time (hourly rate) and mileage.  Trip DELAYS of more than 45 minutes will be charged at $125/hour for SUV, $175 for VAN, such as weather, traffic accidents, road closures, route changes, trip diversions.

Extreme Travel Time Policy

• Adverse weather conditions can create drastic increases in travel time. Our flat-rate structure is based on normal time and mileage factors, as is the chauffeur pay structure. In bad weather situations, we must charge differently due to extreme increases in trip duration. During adverse weather conditions or server traffic delays, we reserve the right to change from our flat rate pricing structure, to our hourly rate pricing structure. This policy will be invoked when a trip may take, or has taken greater than 45 minutes beyond the normal trip duration, as defined by VIP Express Ride and Vail Rides.

• Hourly charges will be applied at the normal hourly rate for the vehicle in use on a “Door-to-Garage” basis. This means the client will be charged from the time of pick-up until the vehicle reaches our garage after the client is discharged. In cases of airport pick-up, the hourly charge will begin when the vehicle leaves our garage, until the time we reach the final drop off location.

• We will exert every effort to notify all clients that this policy may be invoked due to expected inclement weather or heavy traffic delays upon confirmation, but reserve the right to invoke this policy without notice.

If a change occurs requiring a diversion due to unforeseen circumstances, (no fault of ours, weather, accidents, road closures):  If the client asks for a new route or itinerary, stops, diversions, the client will be charged for the new scheduled route as well as the original reserved service.  We, (VIP Express Ride) will not be responsible for the new location of pickup or destination. You (the client) are responsible for payment of the new transfer arrangements needed for the new pickup location or destination.  The original scheduled service will be charged in full in addition to the new transfer pickup location or destination.

 

DRESS CODE:  Professional traditional chauffeur attire (white shirt and black tie, for SPECIAL EVENTS AND VIP'S ONLY that require formal dress code)

For mountain ski resort transfers and Denver routine airport trips: Casual button down shirts with no tie

 

MASK POLICY for driving in "High Altitude" conditions, (5,280 feet up to 11,500 feet)

Drivers are NOT required to wear a face mask.

Please DON'T ask the driver to wear a mask.  

During the past 3 years of the "pandemic" our drivers were expected to wear a mask for long drives at high altitude.  No one took into consideration the dangers and risk of drivers experiencing oxygen restriction and high altitude sickness. This became our own scientific health study.  We learned that all of the drivers admitted to some level of breathing difficulty, oxygen restriction, feeling lightheaded while driving in the mountains, and one driver who experienced dizziness and mild blackouts.  Fortunately the driver pulled over immediately and resolved the problem by removing the mask.  This was clearly a serious health and safety issue caused by restricted oxygen from wearing a mask at high altitude.  This affects the safety of the driver and passengers at high altitude because it can cause dizziness, vertigo, and high altitude sickness.  This health risk takes precedence and priority over any risk of airborne germs. 

After careful consideration and many years of experience with potential health and safety issues of driving at high altitudes in the State of Colorado, (5,280 feet to 11,500 feet) we have changed our mask policy.  If the driver does not have a mask on when you approach the car it is because we no longer require our drivers to wear a mask.  Please don't ask our drivers to wear a mask. 

Our policy is to provide the HIGHEST level of protection and safety for our passengers and drivers at all times.  This includes our public health compliance with State and Federal laws and the cleaning and sanitation of our vehicles after every ride.  

We base our policy on common sense and science.  There are numerous medical studies about the dangers and risks associated with activities such as driving at high altitude and oxygen restriction.

Here's why drivers should NOT wear a mask at high altitudes (our drivers go from Denver 5,280ft to 11,500ft while driving to the ski resorts.  Wearing a mask can significantly decrease oxygen intake and increase your chances of having a serious accident.

https://carbuzz.com/news/heres-why-you-shouldnt-wear-a-mask-while-driving

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/video/expert-advice-wear-face-mask-70379549

Acute altitude illness comprises acute mountain sickness (AMS), high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). Symptoms of AMS, the most common form of altitude illness, include headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, and insomnia. If not appropriately treated, AMS can progress to life-threatening HACE or HAPE.  https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2020/0415/p505.html  

"It may be an effective mean of releasing oxygen in the car or playing calm music while driving. The supply of oxygen can increase the oxygen content in the car, and a gentle music can make people feel calm and perform better in driving task.", source quoted from #5 conclusion  at 

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2020/7283025/

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-to-high-altitudes

We encourage passenger to protect themselves while traveling by following common sense advice along with the basic rules of public health science.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/masks

The science and guidance for public health differs concerning the general public and professional drivers.  We remind you that the safety of our passengers is our #1 priority and our mask policy has been updated to enforce this priority.  ANY reduction in the available supply of oxygen in high altitudes can severely affect the performance of a driver and the safety of the passengers in the car.

Wearing a mask, especially the N95 multi-ply fabric, restricts normal oxygen supply to the lungs, and this has become a serious health and safety risk for "some" of our drivers in high altitude to restrict oxygen while driving. 

If you believe that your own mask is not sufficient to protect you then there shouldn't be any expectation that the driver's mask would add any protection for you.  We understand that it is a health recommendation and a preferred option in most normal travel within restricted spaces.  However, traveling at high altitude has different requirements and risks.  Regarding State and Federal laws, please understand we follow the law.  For our specific location and high altitude circumstances there is NO medical, or health requirement or restriction for masking. Passengers are ENCOURAGED to wear a mask for their own personal needs OR if the driver is not wearing a mask because the driver may have a medical exemption or health preference for not wearing masks.  We remind you that if the driver does not have a mask on when you approach the car then you may cancel the ride, but there will be no refund for the last minute cancellation.  If you have the time in your travel schedule and you believe that your own mask does not work and you feel that a drivers mask will work then you will have to call a different company, or arrange for a driver willing to wear a mask who does not have high altitude health restriction/risk. 

According to the attached government agency guidance and medical sources, these medical experts agree that it is not recommended for professional drivers to experience any significant restriction of oxygen while operating any equipment or motor vehicle, especially at high altitudes.  Denver Colorado's altitude is 5,280 feet.  Most of our long distance rides take us up to 11,000 feet elevation.  Based on these studies it is common sense that our drivers not do anything to restrict oxygen intake while driving. 

Our drivers do NOT work when they are sick.  If you feel like the driver shows signs of allergies such as sneezing, sniffling or coughing and you believe a mask would make you feel more comfortable then you are encouraged to wear your OWN mask, or you can cancel your trip before the 24 hour cancellation policy for a full refund.  

Mission Statement - Business Code of Ethics:

Our Mission Statement: Passenger (and driver) comfort and safety is our first priority.  We follow common sense rules and science for the highest level of safety for our passengers and drivers.  We aim to treat you how we would want to be treated.

RISK MITIGATION COMBINED WITH SKYROCKETING INSURANCE VEHICLE FINANCING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS WILL MAKE OR BREAK A SMALL BUSINESS.  THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY IS CONSIDERED THE MOST DIFFICULT INDUSTRY TO SURVIVE AS A SMALL BUSINESS.  HIGH COST OF ENTRY, AND HIGH COST OF MAINTAINING NEW RELIABLE VEHICLES WITH VALID INSURANCE AND DRIVERS WITH NO ACCIDENTS OR TICKETS. OUR MISSION IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A SAFE, COMFORTABLE RELIABLE RIDE WITH LATE MODEL, WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLES.  ALL THE WHILE STAYING COMPLIANT WITH COLORADO TRANSPORTATION RULES, LAWS AND STANDARDS.