How Our Coach Hire Service Works Coach Specification Disclaimer General Coach Information Standard Coaches Disabled Access Coaches Executive Class Coaches Corporate (Team or Luxury) Coaches Double Decker Coaches Small Midi or Mini Coaches Coach Hire Costs Extra Costs Smoking on Coaches Alcohol on Coaches Food & Beverages on Coaches Travelling Time
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When you make your telephone or email enquiry for a coach or bus we contact coach and bus operators in the whole of the UK who have indicated that they are willing to quote for hire contracts originating within the UK. We provide these companies with the information you have supplied to us relating to the hire.
We will receive a number of quotes for the hire contract, we will subsequently contact you and provide you with one of these quotes, this may not necessarily be the lowest quote, but will, in our opinion, be the quote offering the best value for money in the shape of vehicle and reliability, at the same time we will indicate the highest and where applicable the lowest prices given.
The price quoted is valid for 28 days or until the coach is no longer available for the period in question (Most coach companies work on a first come, first served basis)
If you wish to take-up the offer we will, where time permits, forward, by fax, email or post, a booking form and invoice for the hire contract, once we receive the completed booking form and deposit payment we will confirm the booking with the coach company.
Once the coach or coaches are booked we monitor the hire through every stage, up to and including the provision of emergency contact telephone numbers for both you and the coach company.
There is such a wide diversity of coaches available it is difficult to be specific about the specifications of the different class of vehicle the following therefore should be viewed as a general description of coach classes and not as a definitive description.
Coaches are expensive, a new single decker coach can cost in excess of £180,000, a double decker £230,000, they are also expensive to run and maintain. The average full size coach will travel approx 10-13 miles per gallon of diesel. On top of the purchase and running costs are the costs associated with licensing the vehicle and complying with all the rules and regulations that govern the running of a coach and coach company. Taking into account all the costs associated with running a coach or fleet of coaches against train, plane or automobile costs, it is fair to say that coach transport is a very cost effective method of transporting large numbers of people from A to B.
Standard coaches are generally basic vehicles, there are no toilet, drinks facilities, reclining seats, TV systems or other enhancements onboard, in the main they are used as the workhorse of the coach industry, ferrying groups short distances usually within their base region, in the main they are unsuitable for long distance tours or corporate work. Full size coaches come with seating for 49 -57 passengers dependant upon the manufacturer and age, the average size being 51 seats. You can read more about Standard Coach Hire on our UK Coach Hire page or go direct to our Standard Coach Hire Enquiry Form alternatively telephone our Free Coach Hire Enquiry Service on 0845 006 1321
Disabled access coaches are scarce, to say the least, especially the full size vehicles. As with all coaches they come in a variety of sizes and a varied mixture of enhancements and ages. Most of the advertised disabled access vehicles available are the small, mini or midi coaches, often fitted with a tail lift at the rear of the vehicle. Of all the disabled access vehicles available these are the ones that can be found at your local coach company. However there are companies throughout the UK that specialise in providing full size, side lift, vehicles that allow wheelchair bound passengers to stay seated in their wheelchair, which is clamped to the coach floor. Coaches of this type can have as many as six wheelchair bound passengers transported this way, although this reduces standard seating capacity drastically, removing 2 or 3 standard passenger seats per clamped wheelchair. We have a vested interest in the location of disabled access vehicles, we run a disability related community site (EuroBility.com) and we frequently receive requests for this type of vehicle so we keep track of vehicles as they are sold between companies. Wheelchair accessible vehicles are to some extent a specialist type of coach and are priced accordingly, you should also inform the company well in advance of the number of wheelchair bound passengers the coach will be carrying, how many will be transferring to coach seating and how many will remain in their wheelchair, also allow extra time for loading and unloading passengers in wheelchairs. Read more about UK General Coach Hire or Hire a Disabled Access Coach alternatively telephone our Free Coach Hire Enquiry Service on 0845 006 1321
Executive class coaches are generally the coaches used for long distance runs, most have been enhanced with reclining seats, TV and video player, toilet facilities and quite often hot and cold drinks facilities, other popular enhancements include air conditioning, curtains and double glazed windows. Newer vehicles can look particularly stylish, especially if thought has been put into their livery. The full size executive class coaches come with a seating range of 44 - 58 seats , the most common size being 49 seats, larger size vehicles being particularly rare the higher the seating capacity.
Read more about executive coach hire on our UK General Coach Hire or UKCorporate Coach Hire pages or go direct to our Enquiry Form alternatively telephone our Free Coach Hire Enquiry Service on 0845 006 1321
Corporate or Team coaches are, in most cases, an enhanced version of the executive class vehicle, with all the popular fittings plus the popular enhancements, on top of which you will find a number of seats have been removed and replaced with tables and the amount of leg room has been increased for added comfort. Seating is quite often reduced from 49 seats to as few as 16-34. You can also find other enhancements within this class of vehicle, ranging from laptop power points to leather seating and minor enhancements to the drinks and food area to full mobile kitchens. Because these vehicles are for a specialist market and not the type of vehicle that would be used for day to day work they carry a premium hire charge, saying that, because of their relative scarcity they are often booked many months in advance, particularly for popular sporting events.
Read more about UK Corporate Coach Hire or go direct to our UK Corporate Coach Hire Enquiry Form alternatively telephone our Free Coach Hire Enquiry Service on 0845 006 1321
Effectively a double decker or twin deck coach is a further enhancement of the executive class vehicle, seating capacity is increased to 68-77 although the average seating capacity is 71, higher seating capacities being rare. The bulk of the seating is on the upper deck, it is not uncommon for the lower deck to contain a mixture of seating and tables. Again you can find a wide and varied range of enhancements on this type of coach including mobile kitchen and dining units to sleeping compartments. Deckers for their sheer size, seating capacity and rarity (less than 1% of coaches on the road are deckers) demand a premium hire rate although they are usually less expensive than hiring two single deck coaches.
Read more about Double Decker Coach Hire on our UK General Coach Hire or UK Corporate Coach Hire pages or go direct to our Double Decker Coach Hire Enquiry Form alternatively telephone our Free Coach Hire Enquiry Service on 0845 006 1321
Small, mini or midi coaches are available with a wide variety of seating capacities ranging from 16 - 35 seats the majority are of the standard class of vehicle and are usually narrower than their full size cousins, making seating a little cramped. It is not uncommon to find coaches in this size range containing the occasional one-off enhancement of their larger executive counterparts, but due to their limited size you are unlikely to find one of the larger vehicles in this class with more than one or two improvements. The most common use of these vehicles is transporting day trippers or party goers.
Read more about Mini & Midi Coach Hire on our UK General Coach Hire or UK Corporate Coach Hire pages or go direct to our Enquiry Form alternatively telephone our Free Coach Hire Enquiry Service on 0845 006 1321
The most common question we are asked when we receive an enquiry is "How Much" the basic answer to this is "How long is a piece of string" coach hire costs fluctuate wildly not only region to region but within the same city for the same job and mileage and in some extreme cases can fluctuate on a daily basis from the same company.
Many variables are taken into account when the coach company provides a price, i.e. the number of miles to travel, how many hours will the job take, is there another job that slightly overlaps your request that needs extra cover, does the company need to employ an extra driver because their full-time drivers have used up their driving allowance and in some cases, has the final demand for the telephone bill fell through the letter-box that morning (don't laugh this can actually reduce the hire charge during quite periods)
There are 6 main constants with coach hire pricing
Parking, road & bridge tolls, ferry crossings, as a general rule these costs are your responsibility and you will be expected to pay these charges as they occur, however you can ask that these charges be included within the hire charge at which point the coach company will estimate these costs and charge accordingly
Drivers, for the majority of one day hires there is usually no added costs for the driver, however drivers permitted driving hours are governed by English and European laws, if the number of hours your require the coach exceeds a single drivers permitted hours the cost of a second or feeder driver will be added to the hire cost. If your coach hire period includes overnight stops you will be responsible for providing the drivers accommodation and sustenance, again the coach company can be asked to include this within the hire charge. However it is often less expensive if you negotiate with your accommodation supplier and include the driver(s) within your accommodation booking The driver has the final word, when it comes to driving hours or the safety of coach passengers, he is the captain of his vehicle and his word is law
Un-contracted detours, pick-up's and drop-off's, when booking a coach you are entering a contractual agreement, the hire charge is based upon the details provided at the offset of the negotiation period, any subsequent changes to the travel itinerary are subject to both the drivers and coach companies discretion, it should be noted an "on the spot" fee may be payable before the coach carries out the un-contracted extras
It is unusual to find a coach where smoking is allowed, consequently assume that the vehicle(s) you have hired will have a no smoking policy.
The consuming of alcoholic beverages onboard a coach, is governed by law for certain trips, so it is always a good idea to ask if it's allowed during your hire period. As a general rule of thumb assume the answer is no, however there are always exceptions to a rule of thumb.
Although the majority of coaches of Executive class and above have drinks facilities onboard drinks are unlikely to be available unless you ask for this service well in advance of your departure date. There are a number of options available to coach companies when it comes to providing food and beverages, in 99% of cases this will involve the services of a host/hostess, the most popular option is the provision of hot and cold drinks, sweets, crisps etc. which will be sold to the passengers by the host/hostess. Be prepared to pay slightly more in the hire charge for the hostesses services. For corporate hires we have negotiated several set menus and waitress service from a number of popular starting points.
We are quite often asked how long it will take to get from A to B via coach, the simple answer is "Longer than it would take by car" Coaches are large, it therefore often takes slightly longer to negotiate its way in heavy traffic, especially in built-up areas. Even on 'A' roads a coach will be slower than a car doing a similar journey, especially in attempting to overtake tractors etc. On motorways their top speed is 60 mph, again slower than the car, on top of this is the coach needs to stop for both passenger comfort (onboard toilets are for emergency only) and to comply with driving regulations.
As a general rule, if you have to arrive somewhere at a certain time then ask either ourselves or the coach company the best time to depart, we will give a departure time based on our knowledge of the routes available and the usual traffic conditions and known roadwork's along the route, we will also allow extra time for unforeseen problems. However no arrival time is guaranteed, both ourselves and the coach company are giving "guesstimates" which, although in most cases are spot on, are still only educated guesses.
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