Tips & Info
Top 10 Things to Know Before Chartering a Bus
- Most websites first found on the internet are national brokers or "networks" adding on average, a 20% commission to the cost of your trip.
- You can verify that a company owns buses and see exactly how many buses a company owns by running a search on the DOT's link below (see #3).
- You can check a company's safety rating, inspections and insurance status at www.safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx.
- You can check to see if the company has had any complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau, search.BBB.org.
- Unlike the airline industry, no site providing instant quotes and availability exists in the bus industry. The best way to get the lowest quotes is to contact each company individually.
- The bus industry is made up of about 5,500 local and regional bus companies accross the US and Canada. There are no national services that own buses.
- Prices do not typically rise as the travel date draws near or in times of low availability.
- The average deposit to book a bus is 30%, however the current trend in the industry is to require 100% payment up front.
- Operators cannot drive more than 10 hours following 8 consecutive hours off-duty.
- Charters are typically priced by the hour for local use, or by the mile for out-of-state trips averaging more than 275 miles per day.
