Need a Toronto taxi with a car seat? TorontoAirportTransfer.services fits infant, convertible and booster seats on request, installed before the chauffeur reaches you. Add seats at booking with each child's age and weight. Seats are free or a planning figure of $10–15 each, shown in the fixed all-in fare. You can also bring your own seat and the chauffeur will help install it.
Toronto taxi with car seat: how it works with us
Parents searching for a taxi with an infant car seat in Toronto usually discover the same thing: a taxi hailed at the curb rarely has one, and the driver is not required to supply it. Our transfers are pre-booked, so we know the children are coming and fit the correct seats before the car leaves the lot. When you step out of arrivals with a tired toddler, the seat is already in the car and belted in.
Add seats in the reservation engine under extras: choose infant (rear-facing), convertible (rear or forward-facing) or booster, and enter each child's age and approximate weight. The fare you confirm is the full price, including the seats. You get the chauffeur's name and number before pickup, so you can mention anything else, like a stroller or a portable crib.
Prices for car seats and family transfers
Child seats are on request, free or a planning figure of $10–15 each depending on the booking, and the exact amount is shown before you confirm. The vehicle fare is per car, not per person, so a family of four pays the same as a single traveller in the same class. Planning figures from Pearson in a business sedan, all in, plus HST: Downtown Toronto $130–160, Etobicoke $90–120, Mississauga $90–120, Vaughan $115–145, Markham $145–180, Oakville $120–150.
For two adults, two children, two seats and four suitcases, a sedan is too small. Book an executive SUV or luxury van, which runs about 25–30 % above the sedan figure. The rates page and fare calculator show the full range.
Ontario car seat rules in plain language
Ontario's rules are set out on the province's choosing a child car seat page. In summary, as published there:
| Stage | Ontario guidance | What we fit |
|---|---|---|
| Rear-facing | Up to 9 kg (20 lb); may stay rear-facing longer if the seat allows | Infant seat or convertible, rear-facing |
| Forward-facing or rear-facing | 9–18 kg (20–40 lb) | Convertible seat with top tether |
| Booster seat | 18–36 kg (40–80 lb) and under 145 cm (4 ft 9 in) | High-back or backless booster with lap and shoulder belt |
| Seatbelt alone | When the child turns 8, weighs 36 kg (80 lb) or is 145 cm tall | Standard belt, rear seat recommended |
The same page says taxi drivers are exempt from these requirements except in specific cases, and so are buses carrying passengers for hire. We do not rely on any exemption. Every child who needs a seat under these guidelines rides in one in our cars. Transport Canada also publishes child car seat safety advice on choosing and using seats.
Why taxis are different, and why it matters on the 401
Because taxi drivers carrying fares are generally exempt, a parent booking a standard cab from Pearson has no guarantee a seat will be there. Many families end up holding an infant on a lap on Highway 427, which no parent wants. That is the gap a pre-booked car with seats installed fills.
It is not only about rules. A 25-minute run from Pearson to downtown at highway speed, often in heavy traffic with sudden braking at the Gardiner merge, is exactly where a properly fitted seat matters. We would rather turn down a booking than carry a baby without a seat. If you forgot to add seats, call dispatch; we can usually add them with a few hours' notice.
How our chauffeurs install seats
Seats are installed before the chauffeur leaves for your pickup, not at the curb while you wait. Rear-facing and forward-facing seats go in using the vehicle's universal anchorage system (UAS) or a locked seatbelt, following the seat manufacturer's instructions, and forward-facing seats have their top tether attached. Boosters sit on the vehicle seat and use the car's lap and shoulder belt.
The chauffeur will show you the seat before you load your child so you can check the fit and adjust the harness to your child's height. Parents always buckle their own children in: you know the harness and the child, and a stranger fastening straps rarely goes well with an overtired toddler. For more than one seat, we place them where they fit safely and where you can reach the children.
Bringing your own car seat
Many families fly with their own seat, particularly for infants. That is fine and often better, because your child is used to it. Tell us at booking so we allow time, and the chauffeur will help you install it at pickup using UAS or the belt. Allow five to ten minutes at the curb for this, which is within the included waiting time after your landing.
If your seat is an airline-approved infant carrier with a base, bring the base or make sure the carrier can be belted in without it; check the manufacturer label. Seats checked as luggage sometimes arrive damaged; if yours looks cracked or bent, use ours instead. Ontario advises never using a seat that has been in a collision or has passed its expiry date.
Arriving at Pearson with children
Flight tracking means the chauffeur follows your actual landing time. After an international arrival you have 60 minutes included from landing; after a Canadian or US one, 30 minutes. Families with small children often need all of it: customs lines, the stroller at the aircraft door, a diaper stop, baggage and a car seat carousel.
The fare includes pickup at the terminal's pre-arranged commercial pickup area. For families, meet and greet (planning figure $25–35) is often worth it: the chauffeur meets you in the arrivals hall with a name board and pushes the luggage trolley while you manage the children. Check which terminal your airline uses with the terminal finder, and read our Pearson meet and greet guide.
Departures: getting to Pearson with kids
For morning departures, we recommend leaving earlier than you would alone. Children take longer at security, and the Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 curbs get busy. Our how early to arrive at Pearson guide explains typical timings.
When we drop you, the chauffeur unloads bags onto a trolley and hands you the car seats if you are taking them on the plane. If you are flying with our seats only for the ground trip, the chauffeur keeps them in the car. For a very early flight, pack the night before and tell us if children will be asleep in pyjamas; we will warm the car in winter and dim the cabin lights.
Choosing the right vehicle for a family
Seats take up room, and the bags that come with children take more. As a rule of thumb:
- One child, one seat, two adults, up to three suitcases: business sedan.
- Two or three seats, or a stroller plus four or more suitcases: executive SUV or luxury van.
- Two families travelling together, or grandparents too: Sprinter van, up to 14 passengers with luggage.
A luxury van with sliding doors is the easiest for installing and reaching seats in a parking lot. Three car seats fit across few vehicles, so tell us exactly how many seats of which type and we will match the vehicle. Photos and capacities are on the fleet page.
Strollers, cribs and other gear
Strollers go in the trunk at no charge; tell us if it is a large travel system or a double stroller so we plan the space. Portable cribs, baby carriers, car seat bags and the inevitable extra carry-on all count as luggage for sizing the vehicle.
We do not supply strollers, cribs or other baby equipment; for longer stays, many Toronto hotels can lend a crib, and rental services exist for strollers. If a child has a medical device, a feeding pump or needs a specific seat position, add a note and the chauffeur will accommodate it.
Longer family trips from Toronto
Many family trips go well beyond the city: grandparents in Barrie, a cottage in Muskoka, Niagara Falls for the weekend. On any trip over about an hour, we plan comfort stops at service centres with washrooms and change tables. Tell us your children's rhythm, such as naps or feeds, and the chauffeur will time stops around it.
For Niagara, the planning figure from Pearson in a sedan is $345–420, all in; the Niagara Falls city page covers hotels and drop-offs. For long runs further afield, see our long distance car service. Seats stay fitted the whole way, and the chauffeur rechecks the installation after any stop where the seat was moved.
Hygiene and seat condition
Our seats are cleaned between uses, and the chauffeur checks straps, buckles and the expiry label before each installation. Any seat that has been in a collision is retired, following the Ontario guidance to never use a seat after a crash. If a child is sick in the car, it happens; we deal with it.
If you prefer to bring your own seat for peace of mind, we understand. Just tell us at booking so the vehicle is not sent with seats that then have to be removed at the curb.
School trips, custody handovers and regular runs
Some families book us regularly, for example for a child flying between parents or travelling to school events. For a child travelling unaccompanied on a flight, airlines run their own unaccompanied minor service with specific handover rules; the adult named on the airline paperwork must collect the child, so we can drive that adult but cannot collect an unaccompanied minor on their behalf.
For regular bookings with the same children, save the seat details in your notes so every booking is set up the same way. Corporate travellers relocating with families to Toronto often use us for the first few weeks; see corporate car service.
Train or car with children: an honest comparison
The UP Express train runs from Terminal 1 to Union Station in about 25 minutes, and small children usually ride it happily. It suits a family travelling light to a downtown hotel near Union. It is harder with an infant seat, a stroller, four suitcases and a last connection by taxi at the far end, which again has no seat.
A car with seats fitted goes from the arrivals curb to your exact door with no transfers, and for a family of four it often costs less per person than you might expect. Our limo vs Uber vs taxi vs UP Express guide compares the options fairly.
Cancellation and changes
If your flight is delayed, the chauffeur follows the actual landing, and waiting within the included window is free. If your plans change, the sitewide cancellation rule applies, measured from scheduled pickup: more than 72 hours before, no charge; 72 hours or less, 10 %; 48 hours or less, 50 %; 24 hours or less or a no-show, 100 %.
To change the number or type of seats, update the booking or call dispatch with as much notice as you can, because a seat for a newborn and a booster for a seven-year-old are very different pieces of equipment and have to be prepared in advance.
