Before you go – Choosing the best bus or motorcoach charter
Before you plan your group adventure, you should always remember price is only one small factor in choosing the best bus or motorcoach charter. We suggest you always ask the following critical questions to ensure the safety of your group:
Safety ratings for any motorcoach company should be given upon request. PREMIER’s safety rating can be viewed here.
A breakdown percentage informs you about how a company is taking care of their motorcoaches. If they do not know their breakdown percentage, or if it is high – then you are putting the safety of your group at risk. We take a great deal of time to train our mechanics. They attend classes provided by bus, engine, and air conditioning manufacturers and are certified in their fields. Our breakdown percentage is 0.342%. We take pride in this low percentage as well as our concentrated effort to consistently hire the best mechanics who continually manage and maintain the safety of our motorcoaches.
A full-time safety director is an essential part of ensuring all safety standards are met. Their job is to provide training to drivers as well as continual evaluation of routes, drivers, and any potential mechanical problems that may occur. They should constantly be tracking motorcoaches en route through a GPS monitoring system. The full-time safety director’s sole responsibility is the safety of the passengers and is not divided by other company responsibilities.
Resist the urge to consider charter bus travel as a commodity. It’s not enough to get you from one place to the next. You should never shop on price alone, and safety should be a top priority for you and other passengers. For a list of PREMIER safety features, check out our safety page here.
A certified driver training program demonstrates that a company places high value on the safety of their passengers by employing the best drivers that have been part of comprehensive training before they ever drive a motorcoach. Our drivers attend a certified driver training program as well as quarterly safety meetings and seminars, which cover rule changes, driving habits, and skills. All drivers selected by PREMIER go through a strict hiring process, which includes drug and alcohol testing, background check, and a driving knowledge and skills test. Applicants are interviewed and selected based on compatibility and skills.
Look and see where maintenance and operations is handled at the company you choose. Is it in a run down garage or outdoors? By touring the facility, you will learn whether maintenance and safety are a priority.
