Ontario · Western New York
Cross-border chauffeur service between Canada and the United States
Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York, and back: one car, one chauffeur authorised to cross, booked in advance.
Book a cross-border tripBuffalo Niagara International describes itself as the airport for Buffalo, New York and Southern Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York is a few minutes from Niagara Falls, Ontario. The part travellers have to solve is the border in between. A Maplebridge cross-border trip takes you from your door in Ontario to the terminal or the address in New York State, or the other way, in the same vehicle from start to finish.
Every trip on this page has one end in Canada. We run between Ontario and Western New York in both directions, and we do not carry passengers between two points in the United States. Because one end is always in Ontario, a cross-border trip books online like any other: you enter the two addresses, see the fare, and pay. The booking is flagged for dispatch so that a chauffeur authorised to cross is assigned to it.
Where we cross from, and to
On the Canadian side: Toronto and Toronto Pearson, Hamilton, Niagara Falls and the rest of the Niagara Region. On the American side: Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) at 4200 Genesee Street, Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG) at 2035 Niagara Falls Boulevard, and addresses in Buffalo and in Niagara Falls, New York. Both airports are run by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, and each has its own page here with how a pickup works.
Road distances
- Downtown Toronto to Buffalo Niagara International: about 175 km
- Downtown Toronto to Niagara Falls International: about 135 km
- Toronto Pearson to Buffalo Niagara International: about 170 km
- Hamilton to Buffalo Niagara International: about 120 km
- Niagara Falls, Ontario to Buffalo Niagara International: about 45 km
We publish no driving time for a trip that crosses. On the Canadian side the drive is the one described on our Toronto to Niagara Falls page; after that the border decides, and it is different every day. That is one reason the fare is fixed rather than timed.
What each traveller needs
You are responsible for your own travel documents. Every traveller must carry a valid passport, a NEXUS card, or the documents their citizenship requires, together with any visa or permit. Maplebridge does not verify travel documents and is not liable if a traveller is refused entry or delayed at the border, so the time to check is well before the day, on the governments' own pages.
- Canadian citizens entering the United States by land. The Government of Canada lists a valid passport or a Trusted Traveler Program card such as NEXUS for travellers aged 16 and over, and advises carrying a passport on every trip abroad: travel.gc.ca, United States.
- Entering Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency recommends a valid passport for every traveller, of any age, and accepts a NEXUS card, while advising members to carry their passport as well: CBSA, travel and identification documents.
- Citizens of other countries. A passport, plus whatever each country asks of your nationality. A visitor visa for Canada applies at the land border as it does at an airport, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires travellers under the Visa Waiver Program to hold an approved ESTA before they arrive at a land crossing: CBP, documents at the land border.
- Children. Both governments set out what a child must carry, and Canada recommends a signed consent letter for a child travelling without one or both parents. If minors are travelling, read those pages first.
That is a summary of what those pages said in October 2026. The rules are the two governments', they change, and the officer at the booth has the last word.
How the crossing works with a chauffeur
Three bridges carry our trips across the Niagara River. The Peace Bridge joins Fort Erie, Ontario, to Buffalo, New York, and leads onto Interstate 190. The Rainbow Bridge connects the tourist districts of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York, and takes no trucks. The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge links Queenston, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, with Lewiston, New York, between Highway 405 and Interstate 190. The fourth crossing, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, is reserved for NEXUS members.
Your chauffeur chooses the bridge on the day, from where you are going and from the wait times that the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, the Peace Bridge and both border agencies publish: current bridge conditions. At the booth the vehicle stops, the officer examines each traveller's documents and takes each traveller's declaration of what they are bringing. Secondary inspection, if the officer asks for it, is part of the journey too.
Border wait time is not billed as waiting time. Time spent in the primary and secondary inspection queue is part of the journey. If a traveller is refused entry, we return you to the Canadian side of the border or to your pickup point; the full fare for the booked trip remains payable, and the return leg is billed at the applicable rate unless it was included in your booking. All of this is clause 2.6 of our Terms of Service.
NEXUS lanes are for vehicles in which every person is a member, the driver included, so a card in your pocket does not by itself put the car in that lane. It remains a valid document in the regular lanes.
Booking, and what the fare covers
Book in advance. A cross-border trip cannot be added to a trip already in progress, because the chauffeur assigned to a domestic booking may not be authorised to cross. Booked ahead, online or by phone on +1 (888) 627-5313, it is assigned to a chauffeur who is.
The fare is fixed in Canadian dollars before you pay, with the tax shown before you confirm. It does not change with the bridge chosen or with the length of the queue. For a pickup at Buffalo Niagara or Niagara Falls International, give us the flight number: dispatch checks the arrival time, the chauffeur meets you at the arrivals curb with a name sign, and 60 minutes of complimentary waiting from landing are included. Meeting inside the terminal is available on request, at an extra charge.
Related pages: chauffeur service in Niagara Falls, airport transfers, and every airport we serve on the airports page.
Questions about crossing the border with a chauffeur
Do you drive between two places in the United States?
No. Every cross-border trip we run has one end in Canada: Ontario to New York State, or New York State to Ontario. We do not carry passengers between two points in the United States.
What documents does each traveller need?
A valid passport, a NEXUS card, or whatever documents that traveller's citizenship requires, including any visa or permit. Every traveller carries their own. We do not verify travel documents and cannot be responsible if someone is refused entry or delayed, so check the official requirements for each person well before the day.
Are we charged for time spent waiting at the border?
No. Border wait time is not billed as waiting time. Time spent in the primary and secondary inspection queue is part of the journey, as clause 2.6 of our Terms sets out.
Can the car use the NEXUS lane?
Only when every person in the vehicle is a NEXUS member, the driver included: that is the border agencies' rule, not ours. A NEXUS card is still an accepted document in the regular lanes. If the NEXUS lane matters to your trip, ask dispatch when you book.
Which bridge will we cross?
One of three: the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie and Buffalo, the Rainbow Bridge between the two cities of Niagara Falls, or the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. The chauffeur chooses on the day from where you are going and the wait times the bridge operators publish.
Can I book a cross-border trip online?
Yes, when one end of the trip is in Ontario, which every trip on this page is. The booking is flagged as cross-border so that a chauffeur authorised to cross is assigned, and the fare is fixed in Canadian dollars with the tax shown before you pay.
Can we decide to cross the border during a trip that is already under way?
No. Cross-border trips must be booked in advance. They cannot be added to a trip in progress, because the chauffeur assigned to a domestic booking may not be authorised to cross.
What happens if a traveller is refused entry?
We return you to the Canadian side of the border or to your pickup point. The full fare for the booked trip remains payable, and the return leg is billed at the applicable rate unless it was included in your booking.