The rules
Rent a Car Lahore Terms Explained: Duty Hours, Overtime, Fuel and Kilometres
Every term a Lahore rental quote depends on, defined once, in plain language, with our figure against each one.
A Lahore rental quote rests on six terms: how long a duty day is, what the hour after it costs, whether kilometres are capped, who buys the fuel, what the driver is owed, and whether tax sits inside the rate or on top. Ours are a 12 hour day, overtime from PKR 500 an hour, no kilometre limit, fuel at cost, a PKR 500 daily driver allowance, and tax inside the rate.
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The words a quote turns on
Almost every dispute in this business comes from one of six words meaning different things to the two people using it. Here is what each one means, and what ours is.
Duty day
The number of hours of the driver and vehicle you are buying with the daily rate. It is not a calendar day and it is not 24 hours. Ours is 12 duty hours, counted from the time the car reaches you. A day that starts at 9am ends at 9pm, whether you use it or not.
Overtime
What the hour after the duty day costs. Ours is PKR 500 an hour on every car and PKR 2,000 an hour on the SUVs, the Hiace, the coach and the Land Cruiser. It is charged by the hour, not rounded up to a fresh day. Of the 17 Lahore operators whose pages we read in August 2026, one published an overtime rate at all.
Kilometre limit
A cap on the distance a daily rate covers, with a per kilometre charge above it. Ours is none inside Lahore, on any vehicle. Because you buy the fuel, metering the distance as well would charge you twice for the same journey. What bounds the day is the clock, not the odometer.
Fuel policy
Who buys the petrol. Ours is at cost: the car arrives with fuel, you pay for what you use at the pump price, and it appears on the bill as itself. Fuel is already included in the out of city route fares and the airport fares, because those are fixed journeys with a known distance.
Driver allowance
What the driver is owed for being fed and housed, separately from his wage, which is ours to pay. Ours is PKR 500 for a full day inside Lahore and PKR 2,000 a night when the trip keeps him away from Lahore overnight. It is quoted with the booking and never requested by the driver on the day.
Tax
Whether the figure you were quoted is the figure you pay. Ours is inside the rate. Any tax that applies has already been accounted for in the number you are given, and nothing is added afterwards. There is a fuller explanation on the tax page, including what the Punjab schedule actually says.
The full terms table
Eleven rows, each a charge that exists somewhere in Lahore car rental, with our position stated once and in full.
| Charge | Our position | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Billed separately | Added at cost on hire inside Lahore, against the fuel actually used. Already inside the out-of-city route fares and the airport fares below. |
| Kilometre limit | None inside Lahore | No cap on any vehicle and no charge per kilometre. You are buying the fuel, so metering the distance as well would bill you twice for the same journey. What bounds the day is the 12 hour duty period, not an odometer. |
| Tolls and parking | Billed separately | Parking and the Lahore Ring Road toll are added at cost. Motorway tolls on out-of-city routes are already in the route fare. |
| Driver allowance in Lahore | PKR 500 per day | One meal for the driver on a full day inside the city, or PKR 500 in place of it. Quoted with the booking rather than asked for on the day. |
| Driver allowance out of city | PKR 2,000 per night | Food and overnight stay when a trip keeps the driver away from Lahore overnight. Quoted before you leave, never settled at the end. |
| Tax | Inside the quoted rate | Any tax that applies is already in the figure you are quoted. Nothing is added on top afterwards. |
| Security deposit | None | A copy of your CNIC, or a passport or NICOP copy if you are visiting. No cash and no original documents are held, because our driver stays with the vehicle. |
| Airport waiting | 60 minutes free, then PKR 500 per hour | Free waiting from the moment your flight lands. We watch the flight number, so a delay is our problem before it is yours. |
| Cancellation | Free above 24 hours | Cancel more than 24 hours before pickup at no charge. Inside 24 hours, half of the first day is retained. One policy, stated once. |
| Payment | On completion | Nothing is taken to hold a booking. You settle at the end of the hire, against the figures agreed at the start. |
| Delivery in Lahore | Free | The car comes to your address anywhere in the city at the hour agreed. Delivery is never a separate line. |
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Duty hours and overtime on every car
The duty day is the same on every vehicle. The overtime rate is not, because an hour of a 22 seat coach is not an hour of a Wagon R.
| Vehicle | Daily rate | Duty hours | Overtime per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suzuki Wagon RHatchback, 4 seats | 4,000 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Suzuki CultusHatchback, 4 seats | 4,500 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Toyota Corolla GLiSedan, 5 seats | 5,500 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Toyota YarisSedan, 5 seats | 5,500 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Honda CitySedan, 5 seats | 5,500 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Suzuki APVMPV, 8 seats | 7,000 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Honda CivicSedan, 5 seats | 8,000 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Honda BR-VMPV, 7 seats | 8,000 | 12 hours | 500 |
| Kia SportageSUV, 5 seats | 12,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Toyota Hiace Grand CabinVan, 13 seats | 13,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Toyota RevoPickup, 5 seats | 14,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Toyota FortunerSUV, 7 seats | 15,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Toyota PradoSUV, 7 seats | 16,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Toyota Coaster SaloonCoach, 22 seats | 16,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Toyota Land Cruiser V8SUV, 7 seats | 25,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
| Audi A6Luxury sedan, 5 seats | 30,000 | 12 hours | 2,000 |
The questions the terms do not obviously answer
When does the day start?
When the car reaches your address, not when you get in it. If the car is there at 8am and you leave at 9am, the day started at 8am. We are explicit about this because an ambiguous start is the easiest way to collect an hour of overtime that nobody agreed to.
What if I finish early?
The day is the day. Returning a car after six hours does not make it a half day rate, and we do not pretend otherwise. If you know you need six hours, say so when you book and we will tell you whether a fixed fare works out cheaper than a day.
Does a multi day hire reset every 24 hours?
Each day of a multi day hire carries its own 12 duty hours and its own allowance. Overtime is counted per day, not banked across the booking. A long day on Tuesday does not become free because Wednesday was short.
What about a trip that starts in Lahore and ends in another city?
That is a route fare, not a day. The fare covers the journey, the fuel and the motorway toll. Waiting time at the far end and the return leg are separate, and both are quoted before you leave.
Who pays a traffic challan?
We do, on a chauffeur driven hire, because the person driving is ours. This is covered properly on the challan page.
Questions
Asked before booking
How many hours is a day in Lahore car rental?
There is no market standard, which is exactly the problem. Across the Lahore operators we checked, a day ranged from 8 to 12 duty hours, and most did not say at all. Ours is 12 duty hours on every vehicle, printed against the rate.
What happens after the duty hours end?
Overtime starts, charged by the hour at the rate published against that vehicle: PKR 500 an hour on cars and PKR 2,000 an hour on SUVs, vans and the coach. It is quoted before you book, not discovered at the end.
What does instation and outstation mean?
Instation is a hire that begins and ends inside Lahore, priced as a daily rate with fuel at cost. Outstation is a journey that leaves the city, which we price as a fixed route fare with fuel and motorway tolls already inside it.
Who pays the motorway toll?
On an out of city route fare, we do, because the toll is already inside the fare. On a hire inside Lahore, parking and the Ring Road toll are added to your bill at cost, because they depend on where you go.
Is a written agreement signed?
The terms on this page are the agreement, and they are the same for every customer. You get the full figure in writing on WhatsApp before the car is dispatched, and nothing is added to it afterwards.
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