Organising coach hire can be a tiresome task and it helps to understand how coach hire is priced. Several factors can affect the overall cost, such as the time of the year and your group’s size. We have put together a guide to help you get started planning your trip’s budget using Coach Hire.
1. Distance and Duration
The biggest two variables that affect a price is the distance needed to complete the job and the duration the coach is required for. To generate a quote, we need to understand these variables as they create increased costs to the business. Before your request, a quote makes sure you have the pickup location, drop off location, and times required.
Due to the high operation costs of owning and operating a coach, most companies will have a minimum cost. For example, 5 hours regardless that you may only want the coach for 1 hour. The milage to travel from the operational base to the pickup point and returning to base is factored into the pricing, unlike a taxi.
If you have a trip or tour over multi dates then we factor the driver staying away from our base and factor these costs with the quote. If your trip involves multiple days then we would need a basic itinerary to put a quote together for you.
2. The Time of the Year
In the coach industry, there is a busy season where there is a high demand for vehicles. The peak season for the coach industry in the UK is from April to July. With these months being extremely busy, they are the most expensive months for coach hire. If you are looking for cheaper coach hire the months of January and February would be best for booking.
Regardless of when your booking is its best to look at booking it well in advance. We would suggest 3 months out of season and at least 6 months in the peak Season.
With a lot of bookings from 2020 rolling over to 2021 due to Covid19, there is already limited available coaches for the peak months. We would recommend booking any 2021 coach hire requirements as soon as possible.
3. Drivers Hours
Coach drivers are limited on the number of hours that they can work. In addition, they must have a certain amount of time off for a driving break, which complies with driving regulations. When requesting a quote from us we will assess if one or multiple drivers are required to undertake your movements. Because we are bound by driving hours laws it's extremely important that you give us realistic times when requesting a quote. We advise customers to work on a worst-case scenario with times. It’s easier for a driver to leave earlier from a venue rather than running out of hours and having to send a second driver/coach to collect your group at added expense.
4. Type of Coach
Firstly, the size of coach is reflected in the price with the coaches with greater seating capacity costing more. There are also many other factors to look at for example the age and type of coach you would be getting. There is not a standard or Luxury coach definition in the UK and each operator has their own views on what is not a luxury coach.
For us, a luxury coach would be a coach that is less than 3 years old with full leather seating, air conditioning and a toilet/washroom as a minimum. There are also other extras for example; Wifi, Kitchen, lounge areas that may come on board.
Payment Terms
Once you're ready to book coach hire, it's worth reviewing payment terms and deposit requirements. Our standard payment terms are a 50% deposit to book and secure the coach then the balance payment due 7 days prior to the hire date.
We also have a cancellation policy which can be viewed in our terms and conditions of booking.
When you’re ready to receive a quote for coach hire please use our online quote form or call our office to speak with one of our experienced team about your coach hire request.
Take a look at another page on How much does it cost to hire a minibus with a driver?
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