Terms & Conditions

Last updated: 5 September 2026 · Version 2026-09-05

These Terms and Conditions govern your use of Sydney Shuttle Express services and website at sydneyshuttleexp.com.au. By accepting these terms to view a quote, and again by making a booking, you agree to them in full — including the media release in section 11 — on behalf of yourself and every guest travelling under your booking. Please read them carefully before completing your booking.

1. The Service

Sydney Shuttle Express ("we", "us", "our") provides private luxury passenger transport services in Sydney and surrounding regions of New South Wales, Australia. Our fleet includes a 2025 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter accommodating up to 14 passengers and a Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 luxury SUV for smaller groups.

We are fully licensed and accredited under the NSW Point to Point Transport (Taxis and Hire Vehicles) Act 2016.

2. Bookings

• All bookings must be made via our website or confirmed directly with us by phone or email.
• A booking is confirmed only upon receipt of full payment.
• You will receive a booking confirmation email within 1 hour of your payment being processed.
• It is your responsibility to ensure all booking details (pickup location, date, time, passenger numbers) are correct at the time of booking.
• We reserve the right to refuse any booking at our discretion.

3. Pricing & Payment

• All prices are quoted in Australian Dollars (AUD) and include GST.
• Depending on the service, pricing is distance-based (a base fare plus a per-kilometre rate), a flat airport zone rate, or an hourly charter rate. The applicable components are itemised on your quote.
• Road tolls: a flat road-toll charge applies to every booking: $20 for a one-way trip, or $40 where the booking includes a return or round trip. The charge is applied once per booking — a return pays a single $40, not $20 twice — and hourly charters are treated as return trips. It covers all toll roads on your journey and is shown as its own line on your quote before you pay. Tolls are not included in base fares or advertised airport zone fares.
• Weekend & public holiday loading: a loading of 15% applies to the fare where the pickup falls on a Sunday, on a NSW public holiday, or on a Saturday at or after 6:00 pm. It reflects driver penalty rates, is calculated on the fare only (never on the road-toll charge), and is shown as its own line on your quote before you pay.
• The final price is confirmed at the time of booking based on the route provided.
• A card surcharge of 1.6% applies at secure checkout to cover card-processing fees and is itemised separately before you pay. (This surcharge ends on 1 October 2026.)
• Payment is processed securely via Stripe. We never see or store your card number ourselves. For airport pickups, your card is securely retained by our payment processor (Stripe) so that any waiting-time charge can be applied — see section 10.
• Approved changes to your booking (see section 5) and extras arranged through our office may attract additional charges, which are quoted to you before they are applied. Airport-pickup waiting time is charged as set out in section 10.

4. Cancellation Policy

You can cancel a booking at any time. The fee depends on how much notice you give — measured from the moment your written cancellation reaches us to your scheduled pickup time (Sydney time):

Cooling-off: whatever the bands below say, you can cancel free of charge within 24 hours of paying, as long as your scheduled pickup is still more than 48 hours away when your cancellation reaches us. Full refund, no fee.

• More than 30 days before pickup: free cancellation — we refund everything you paid.
• Between 30 and 14 days before pickup: we retain a cancellation fee of $85 AUD and refund the balance.
• Between 14 days and 48 hours before pickup: we retain a cancellation fee of $165 AUD and refund the balance.
• Between 48 and 24 hours before pickup: 50% cancellation fee — half of the total amount paid, or $165, whichever is greater.
• Less than 24 hours before pickup: 100% cancellation fee — no refund.
• No-shows: if you are not at the agreed pickup location within 15 minutes of the scheduled pickup time and we cannot reach you on the contact number provided, the booking is treated as cancelled with a 100% fee — no refund. (For airport pickups, free waiting time runs from your flight's landing instead — see section 10.)

A cancellation fee is charged once per booking and is never more than the amount you paid.

How to cancel, and how refunds work:

• Cancellations must be made in writing by email to info@sydneyshuttleexp.com.au. The fee band is set by when your email reaches us — we will reply confirming the cancellation and the amount refunded. A call to 0420 565 387 is a welcome heads-up, but only a written cancellation stops the clock.
• Refunds are returned to the payment method you paid with and typically appear within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank.
• Paid add-ons and extras are refunded on the same basis as the fare, unless a specific section says otherwise (for example grazing boards — section 9).
• Moving your booking is not cancelling it. With more than 48 hours' notice we can move your booking to a new date or time instead, subject to availability — any fare difference is quoted before you confirm (see section 5). Inside 48 hours the itinerary is locked and changes need office approval (section 5).
• Changes to passenger numbers must also reach us in writing as early as possible, and no later than 48 hours before pickup.

These fees reflect that your booking reserves the whole vehicle and a driver exclusively for you, and a late cancellation usually cannot be resold. Nothing in this section limits any right or guarantee you have under the Australian Consumer Law.

Cancellation by us. Rarely, we may need to cancel or be unable to perform a booking — for example due to mechanical breakdown, driver illness or injury, an accident, severe weather, road closures, or another event outside our reasonable control. If that happens:

• We will tell you as soon as we reasonably can, and where possible offer a comparable or higher-standard substitute vehicle (see section 5) before anything else.
• If we cannot provide the service, you choose either a full refund of everything you paid for that booking — including processing fees and any paid add-ons — or a free rebooking to another date or time that suits you.
• Our liability for a cancellation by us is otherwise limited as set out in section 12. Nothing in this section limits any right or guarantee you have under the Australian Consumer Law.

5. Changes to Bookings & Route

• Your booked itinerary — pickup and drop-off locations, pickup time, stops and route — is locked in 48 hours before your pickup time.
• Changes requested with less than 48 hours' notice — including last-minute pickup or drop-off changes — are not accepted unless they have been discussed with, and approved by, our office in writing or by phone. Approved changes may attract additional charges, quoted before they are applied.
• The driver has no authority to change the route, add or remove stops, or alter pickup or drop-off points under any circumstances. All change requests must go through our office at info@sydneyshuttleexp.com.au or 0420 565 387 — please do not ask the driver on the day.
• Waiting-time charges (section 10) cover the driver waiting at the agreed location only. Paying a waiting-time charge does not entitle you to change the route, add stops, or divert the vehicle.
• We may adjust the route ourselves where road conditions, closures, or safety require it; this never changes your quoted price.
• We may substitute the vehicle with one of a comparable or higher standard (or, exceptionally, engage another accredited operator to perform the trip) where maintenance, breakdown or scheduling requires it; this never changes your quoted price.
• By-the-hour charters are the exception by design: within your booked hours the vehicle travels as you direct on the day (subject to the driver's safety judgment and our service area). The pickup time, start location and booked duration remain subject to this section.

6. Passenger Conduct

• All passengers must wear seatbelts at all times while the vehicle is in motion.
• Smoking, vaping, and illegal substances are strictly prohibited in the vehicle.
• Bring-your-own (BYO) drinks are welcome on board. However, guests who become excessively intoxicated may be refused boarding or asked to leave the vehicle.
• Passengers are responsible for any damage caused to the vehicle. Cleaning fees starting from $250 apply for soiling of the interior.
• We reserve the right to terminate a journey without refund if any passenger behaves in a manner that is dangerous, abusive, or disruptive to the driver or other passengers.
• The maximum passenger capacity is the licensed capacity of the vehicle booked (14 for the Sprinter). Overloading the vehicle is not permitted under any circumstances.

7. Luggage

• Standard luggage allowance is included in your booking.
• A luggage trailer is available as an add-on at the time of booking for an additional fee.
• We are not responsible for any loss or damage to luggage or personal belongings carried in the vehicle.

8. Child Seats & Restraints

• Under NSW law, children under 7 must travel in an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size — an infant capsule (under 6 months), a child seat (6 months to 4 years), or a booster seat (4 to 7 years). Hire vehicles like ours are not exempt from these rules.
• Tell us the number and ages of children travelling when you book. We supply and fit the appropriate restraints free of charge. We do not fit customer-supplied restraints — ours are inspected and installed by our drivers, which is how we can stand behind them.
• Our driver fits the restraint; it remains the parent's or guardian's responsibility to check it and secure the child in it before departure.
• We cannot lawfully carry a child under 7 who has no appropriate restraint. If no restraint is available at pickup because we weren't told a child was travelling, the driver will wait while one is arranged where practical, but a trip that cannot proceed for this reason is treated as a cancellation under section 4.

9. Onboard Catering (Grazing Boards)

• Grazing boards are available as an add-on at the time of booking, in three sizes priced by group size.
• Grazing board orders require at least 5 business days' notice before your pickup time. Orders placed with less notice are subject to availability — we will contact you to confirm, and refund the grazing board charge if we cannot provide it.
• If you cancel your booking in accordance with the Cancellation Policy above, the grazing board charge is refunded on the same basis as the fare.
• Please tell us about any food allergies or dietary requirements in the booking notes. While we take care with preparation, boards may contain or have traces of nuts, dairy and gluten, and we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment.

10. Delays, Punctuality & Waiting Time

• We make every effort to arrive on time. In the event of unforeseen delays due to traffic, weather, or other circumstances beyond our control, we will contact you as early as possible.
• Scheduling adjustments: Sydney traffic is real — we may adjust your scheduled pickup time by up to 60 minutes where traffic conditions, an earlier trip running over, or other operational circumstances require it. We will give you as much notice as we can, and an adjustment will never knowingly put at risk a flight departure, connection or deadline you have told us about — when your trip is time-critical, tell us your must-arrive-by time at booking and we plan around it.
• If a delay or adjustment on our side means the service can no longer serve its purpose (for example, you would miss the event it was booked for), the "Cancellation by us" remedies in section 4 apply.
• For airport pickups, we monitor your flight and adjust your pickup time to your actual landing at no extra charge.
• Airport pickups include 60 minutes of complimentary waiting time from the time your flight lands. Beyond that, waiting time is charged in 15-minute blocks: up to 1 hour 15 minutes — $20; up to 1 hour 30 minutes — $40; up to 1 hour 45 minutes — $60; and an additional $20 for each further 15 minutes.
• Any airport waiting-time charge is applied automatically to the card used to make the booking (for airport pickups this card is securely retained by Stripe for this purpose), and a receipt is emailed to you. This automatic charge-to-card applies to airport pickups only.
• Wait-and-return trips: when you book a Return Trip, the driver waits at your destination from drop-off until the return pickup time you nominate. This waiting is estimated from your return time, shown as a “Gap Between Trips” line in your quote, and included in the fare you pay upfront — billed per 30-minute block ($30 Sprinter, $20 GLC), with the total waiting charge capped at $150. Unlike airport waiting, it is not charged to your card afterwards. For unusually long waits we may arrange a day-hire rate instead.
• What waiting time covers: every waiting-time charge — airport waiting and the Gap Between Trips alike — entitles you to one thing only: the driver holding at the agreed location for the agreed window. It does not entitle you to change the route, add stops, divert the vehicle, or move your pickup or drop-off points, and the vehicle is not at your disposal during a Gap Between Trips. Changes to your booking are governed by section 5.
• We are not liable for any costs arising from missed flights, connections, or events due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

11. Media Release

• Photographs, video and audio may be taken in and around our vehicles during your booking — by our team, by our guests, or by media arranged for an event — and may feature you and your guests.
• By accepting these terms and making a booking, you consent — and warrant that you have obtained the consent of every guest travelling under your booking (including a parent or guardian's consent for any minors) — to Sydney Shuttle Express using such photographs, video and audio for promotional and marketing purposes, including on our website, social media and advertising, without payment or further notice.
• If you or any guest do not wish to appear in such material, tell us in writing at info@sydneyshuttleexp.com.au before your pickup, or at any time afterwards, and we will not use — or will promptly remove from our channels — material identifying that person.

12. Liability

• Sydney Shuttle Express holds full public liability insurance as required under NSW law.
• Our liability for any claim arising from the provision of services is limited to the amount paid for the booking in question.
• We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or special damages of any kind.
• Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded. To the extent permitted, our liability for a failure of a consumer guarantee is limited to resupplying the service or paying the cost of having it resupplied.

13. Privacy

Your personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

14. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to update these Terms and Conditions at any time. The version published on our website at the time of your booking will apply to that booking.

15. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales.

16. Contact

Sydney Shuttle Express
Email: info@sydneyshuttleexp.com.au
Phone: 0420 565 387