Time is the main cost driver on a local move
A local FleetGo move is priced by the hour for the crew, plus a fixed service fee. That means almost everything that changes the price works by changing how long the job takes. Two moves of the same size can end up with very different bills if one has a ground-floor entrance and a truck parked at the door, and the other has a fourth-floor walk-up and a long carry from the street.
Published rates are $125 an hour for two movers, $169 for three, $209 for four and $249 for five. Every local move also carries a $120 service fee that covers the truck, fuel, moving blankets, dollies and standard equipment. There is a three-hour minimum labour charge, and HST at 13% applies on top. The pricing page lists all of this in one place.
This guide looks at the factors that move the hours up or down, so you can see where your own move sits before you ask for a number. If you want the full method for turning those hours into an estimate, read how moving estimates work.
The amount you own, not the number of rooms
Bedroom count is a starting point, not a measurement. A two-bedroom apartment with minimal furniture can take less time than a one-bedroom packed with books, a home office and a storage locker. What matters is the volume and the number of pieces the crew has to carry, wrap and load.
Boxes add up faster than people expect. A crew can move well-packed, uniform boxes quickly. Loose items, open bins, bags and half-packed drawers slow every trip because they cannot be stacked safely. Storage lockers, garages, sheds and balconies are the places most often left out of a quote and discovered on the day.
- List large furniture by piece: sofas, beds, dressers, desks, shelving, dining sets.
- Estimate boxes honestly, then add the locker, garage and balcony.
- Mention anything over 100 lb. Items over 100 lb carry a $100 heavy-item charge each, and the crew needs to plan equipment and hands for them.
Access at both ends
Access is the factor customers control least and underestimate most. Stairs, elevators and long carries each add minutes to every single trip, and a move can involve dozens or hundreds of trips.
A walk-up costs time on each flight. An elevator saves effort but only if it is booked, padded and available for the whole job; sharing a passenger elevator with residents can be slower than stairs. A long carry, where the truck cannot park close to the door, turns a short walk into a long one for every box. Narrow hallways, tight corners and low ceilings slow large furniture and sometimes mean extra disassembly.
Condo and apartment buildings add their own rules: reserved elevator windows, loading-dock times and building paperwork. Under FleetGo's terms the customer arranges elevator reservations, parking and dock access, and waiting caused by an unavailable elevator or missing access is billable time. Our condo elevator booking guide covers what to ask management.
Crew size and how it changes the total
A larger crew costs more per hour but can finish sooner. Whether that saves money depends on the job. In a ground-floor house with a short carry, adding a fourth mover often shortens the move enough to be worth it. In a building where everything goes through one elevator, extra people can end up waiting for the elevator instead of carrying, and the extra hourly rate buys little.
FleetGo recommends a crew size from the inventory and access you describe. If you are weighing two options, ask for both estimates side by side. The three-hour minimum applies either way, so for very small moves the smallest crew is usually the right answer.
Packing, disassembly and protection
Packing done by the crew is billed as crew time. That can be worth it for a busy household, but it is time. If you plan to pack yourself, finish before the crew arrives; packing while the crew waits is the most expensive way to do it.
Basic disassembly and reassembly of standard furniture is included when it is reasonably needed and within the booked scope. Complex pieces, wall-mounted items and furniture that was built in place take longer, and some items cannot be taken apart safely. Wrapping and padding also take time, but they are part of moving fragile furniture properly. See furniture moving for how large pieces are handled.
Distance, traffic and timing
On a local move the drive between addresses is part of the billed time, so distance and traffic matter. Rush-hour traffic on the 401, 427 or 410 can add more time than the extra kilometres. Starting earlier in the day, or choosing a weekday when your building allows it, can keep the drive time down.
Once a move goes beyond 100 km, it no longer follows the local hourly method. Those moves receive a manual flat-rate review, because travel, fuel and scheduling work differently. The long-distance moving page explains what that review looks at.
Readiness on the day
Billing starts after the agreement is signed on site. After a 10-minute grace period, time is rounded to the nearest 30 minutes, so small delays at the start are absorbed but long ones are not. The most common avoidable costs come from the household not being ready:
- Boxes still open or unpacked when the crew arrives.
- No parking space held for the truck, so the crew carries further.
- Elevator not reserved, or reserved for a window shorter than the job.
- Items for the move mixed in with items that are staying.
- Appliances still connected; disconnecting them is the customer's responsibility unless arranged in advance.
How to get a number you can plan around
An estimate is only as good as the information behind it. Give the full inventory, both addresses, the floor and elevator situation at each end, where the truck can park, and any heavy or oversized items. FleetGo estimates are based on that information and are not a guaranteed maximum, because the real conditions on the day decide the hours.
When you have those details, request a free quote or call to talk it through. If something changes after you book, tell FleetGo before move day so the crew size and timing can be adjusted.