Methodology
How we rank
Every company gets the same 100-point score from public, checkable data, plus a small published bonus for locally owned businesses. Verification against official records carries the most weight, and real providers with real photos and a real story score higher than sites built from stock images. Best-for picks follow the evidence for each trip type.
Scoring
The 100-point score
| Criteria | Points | How it's measured |
|---|---|---|
| Verification | 25 | 25 × the share of applicable checks verified (registered business, state and city licenses or permits, DOT authority, insurance on file, airport permit). Checks marked Not applicable are left out; Pending verification counts as not verified. |
| Public reviews | 20 | Rating (up to 10) plus review volume (up to 10), from Google or a named review aggregator |
| Fleet | 15 | Range of vehicle sizes, from public listings and federal filings |
| Specialties | 10 | Documented services on the company's own website, 2 points each: airport, tours, groups, events, accessibility and private jet / FBO pickups |
| Chauffeur standards | 10 | Published training or hiring standards. Companies that don't publish standards receive 5 of 10. |
| Real photos & story | 10 | From the company's own website: photos of its own vehicles (up to 4), real chauffeurs or owners shown by name (up to 3), and an About story with specifics such as founder, founding year and local history (up to 3). See real photos and real story. |
| Booking | 5 | Online booking (2), published hours or 24/7 dispatch (1) and a quote tool (2) |
| Years registered | 5 | From the state registry or city license date: 10+ years 5, 5–9 years 3, under 5 years 1 |
| Locally owned bonus | +4 | Added for companies that public sources show are locally owned and operated. Total score is capped at 100. |
Ties are broken by the verification score, then reviews, then the other criteria in the order above.
Real providers
Real photos and a real story
A car service is only as good as the people and vehicles behind it. So we read each company's own website, including the About, fleet or gallery, and chauffeur or team pages, and score three things out of 10 points:
Real vehicle photos (up to 4)
Photos of the company's own fleet: the same vehicles across the site, its own branding or plates, local backdrops and a real gallery. Stock photos, manufacturer images and generic renders earn little or nothing.
Real people (up to 3)
Owners or chauffeurs shown by name, ideally with a photo and some background. A real team photo counts too. Anonymous or stock headshots don't.
A genuine story (up to 3)
An About page with specifics: who founded the company, when, where it started, why, and its ties to the community. Generic or templated copy scores low.
The same rules apply to every company we rank. If a site can't be read when we check it, the company gets a neutral 5 of 10 until we can review it. To make room for this factor, specialties now count for 10 points and booking for 5, so the total is still 100. We re-check these pages with every monthly update.
Local ownership
The locally owned bonus
Many travelers would rather support an independent, owner-operated business than a national brand. So a company earns a 4-point bonus when public sources show it is locally owned and operated: independently owned, run by its owner or founding family, and based in the metro it serves. Franchises, national chains, multi-city networks and booking brokers do not qualify. Using affiliates for out-of-town trips does not disqualify a local company.
We confirm ownership from the company's own About page, state business registries, federal FMCSA filings, BBB profiles and news coverage. If we can't confirm ownership, no bonus is given. The rule is applied the same way to every company, and qualifying companies show a Locally owned badge on their card. In Get matched, you can also choose Locally owned & operated to put local businesses first in your match.
Get matched
How we match your trip
For parties of up to 14 we favor locally owned, owner-operated companies for hands-on quality; for larger groups and corporate programs we match companies with the fleet capacity to deliver.
Up to 14 passengers
Locally owned and operated companies get a boost in your match, even if you don't pick Locally owned. Picking it makes the boost stronger.
Over 14 passengers
We match companies whose own websites list minibuses, coaches or party buses that can seat your group. Local ownership is not required.
Corporate trips
We match companies that offer corporate accounts or corporate transportation, with weight on fleet size. If you pick Locally owned, local companies that can handle the trip still come first.
Private jet / FBO
Companies whose websites show pickups at private aviation terminals (FBOs) rank higher for private jet trips.
The city top 5 rankings don't change with your answers. They use the 100-point score and the locally owned bonus.
Verification
The checks
Registered business
The state business registry. In Oregon, the Secretary of State's active business records.
City permit
The city's for-hire permit list. In Portland, PBOT Private For-Hire Transportation.
DOT authority
USDOT number and passenger authority in FMCSA SAFER, for vehicles that need it.
Insurance on file
Active federal passenger authority requires insurance on file with FMCSA.
Airport listing
The airport's approved ground transportation list. In Portland, the Port of Portland.
Local rules
Each city uses its own official sources. In Seattle: WA Secretary of State, WA Department of Licensing, WA UTC for charter buses, Port of Seattle and City of Seattle business licenses. In Boise: Idaho Secretary of State, Boise City Clerk, Boise Airport and Idaho PUC. In newer cities we use the matching local regulator, such as the NYC TLC, Chicago BACP, the Nevada Transportation Authority, the Colorado PUC and Metro Nashville's Transportation Licensing Commission.
Honest states
Each check shows Verified, Not found, Not applicable or Pending verification, with the date and a source link. A check is only marked Verified when we have a source.
Updates
Keeping it current
Rankings are AI-researched and refreshed automatically every month. Our AI re-checks the same public sources—reviews, state registries, FMCSA and USDOT records, city and airport permits, insurance filings and each company's own website—then re-scores every company on the criteria above. Each card still shows the date we last verified it. Companies can send corrections through the Get matched form.