Charter Buses

[UVAlax15]

We are going with Charter Buses for the first time. Question for those who have been involved with Charter Buses if you tip the driver are not. I am not sure on the etiquette there. And if yes, how much %?


Thanks to all

Good luck to all on the season

[TrojanLaxman5]

We chartered busses to Utah last season and according to the owner of the company who I spoke with, tipping is suggested up to about 10% of the total charter cost. He said that we should only tip that much if the driver is very courteous and friendly and that 10% is not given, but rather earned by an exceptional driver. I would say that between 5-10% is probably appropriate.

[UVAlax15]

Greatly appreciated!

thanks brian

[TrojanLaxman5]

No worries, good luck!

[shrekjr]

10% of the total cost? That can be a lot!!!

My son's team takes a bus 3-4 weekends a year (Friday night to Sunday night). They usually tip the driver $50. On top of that, if you go to a lot of buffet type restaurants, they will usually comp the driver's meal. If not, the team pays for it.

[Rob Graff]

We use buses- we do the 5% if the bus driver has been very good - and they ususally are. In fact, we've never not tipped a driver to my recollection.

We also comp their food and if we go to any entertainment (movies/pro sport event) we offer to buy them tix also. It's amazing how treating the bus driver well goes a long way to making a long trip much more enjoyable for all.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Thanks, Coach Graff and to UVALax15 for starting this thread. After using school and rented vans for years (plus the occasional air travel), Washington is taking our first chartered bus trip to play Cal and Chico State in three weeks and didnt even consider tipping. Since it is costing us almost $4,000 fir the charter, a 10% tip had me terrified. $200 (5%) or so seems more than fair. We knew we had to pay for the Driver's hotel room as that is in the contract.

Question though - we have to switch drivers on each leg of the trip, as drive time one-way is 10-11 hours. Who gets the tip, and do we have to tip each driver as he/she gets off?

[Rob Graff]

Dan:

We split the tip in half, presuming they each drove half way. And we give it to the driver when they leave the bus for good. We tell them at the end what we're doing.

Rob

[Kevin OBrien]

What company do you guys go with? We're looking into buses for the first time, and not sure who to check out. Also, school buses seem to be the cheapest, are they a possibility? Anything is a step up from taking people's cars. Any tips?

[umdulax1]

To answer the question for Rob...We use Minnesota coaches at UMD, we have been using them for the past 5 years and they have been great to us.

[Rob Graff]

Thanks Sam - I was away the end of last week and couldn't get net access.