Charter buses are an effective way to herd around employees or guests for parties, tours or other events when you want to keep everyone together and on schedule. Bus rental is relatively cheap per passenger and there are many local charter bus companies offering charter buses in standard configurations so you have a good opportunity to shop around. But if the company picnic or the big-client plant tour is in your hands, you also want to make sure everyone has a quality charter-bus experience, with no scary drivers or gummy seats. So make a careful check of these points:
1. Safety and insurance records of charter bus companies.
2. Bus rental terms and conditions, including hour or mileage charges, cancellation policies, procedure in case of a charter bus breakdown.
3. Physical condition and inspection stickers of the charter buses.
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Start your search for charter buses online
Charter bus companies, bus rental brokers and bus charter listing services are well represented on the web, a great way to compare deals and get bids. Remember that there is no Hertz or Avis of bus rentals, so one way or another, these sites connect you with a local bus charter company.
I recommend: Try
BusBank,
BusRates.com,
Metropolitan Shuttle or
Charter Bus America. Once you feel more educated, hit the
Yellow Pages and try contacting more local companies directly, before deciding on your bus rental.
Pick the right charter bus style and number of charter buses to rent
The standard charter bus configurations are: motor coach or tour bus (carries 55), minibus (carries 25) and, the cheap alternative, the school bus (carries 50) but you can also find rental buses in luxury, sleeper, double-decker and trolley styles.
I recommend: BusBank and
BusRates.com go into detail on the various charter bus models, amenities and seating.
Check out the bus charter company
Ask to see the bus charter company's proof of insurance (a $5 million policy is customary). Look on the charter buses for stickers showing recent state inspections. Check the company's safety record online. Ask if the company intends to subcontract out your job to other charter bus companies.
I recommend: The
United Motorcoach Association (UMA), a trade group for charter bus operators, has a good checklist of questions to ask operators. You can find safety records online for many charter bus companies at the federal
Department of Transportation but first read the explanation from the
UMA on how to use the safety record search.
Negotiate your bus charter
Bus rentals run by the hour with minimums (five hours typically) for local travel but ask about a fixed rate or quantity discount for multiple charter buses. Long trips are priced by the mile or a day rate. Settle who's responsible for any tolls, airport fees or parking charges. Expect to put down a deposit, then make a full payment 10 to 30 days in advance so check on cancellation policies.
I recommend: Find a run-through of charter bus negotiation points at
BusBank,
BusRates.com and the
United Motorcoach Association. Read the BusBank
standard contract terms for a closer look at bus rental fees and conditions.
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