INFORM, ENQUIRE, BOOK: THAT IS HOW IT WORKS IN A TOTALLY RELAXED WAY

What information do bus companies need to make an offer for a class trip and how can comparisons be made?

  1. Departure day, return day, route

  2. Departure time, return time

  3. Place of departure, place of return, return time

  4. Number of persons, including caretakers

  5. Name of the school and the ordering teacher, fax and telephone number and email

  6. Standard luggage, extra luggage


Which buses should be used for which trips?

  1. For trips without luggage up to max. 3 hours in one direction: Low floor bus without trunk, low floor and high-strength

  2. For journeys over 3 hours in one direction, day trips: high-class seating and luggage space

  3. For multi-day trips depending on travel distance and type of trip: high-class seating, air conditioning and luggage compartment or coach with air conditioning, toilet, luggage compartment

Please note: Each bus driver may reach a maximum of ten driving hours only twice a week. One driving hour is the time the driver is driving! (For trips over ten hours, a second driver is required, or a driver must be replaced after ten hours).

 

To avoid errors and increase security, you should ...

... request a written offer, where the place of departure, departure time, bus seats and standard, as well as the bus price, is stated

... request an order confirmation

... check the MOT and ST plaques without great effort before departing with the bus. Tour buses need an ST (safety inspection) three times a year and must go for a main examination once a year.

assess the cost of purchase (in the case of travel coaches, up to €520,000), as well as costs for staff, drivers, cleaning staff, workshop, disposition, taxes, insurances, road tolls, parking fees and entry fees (in some EU cities), etc.

... in any case count on well-known companies for your journeys, which belong to federations like the General Association for the Transport Industry of Niedersachsen or the Federation BDO.

... know that performance and quality are not always obtainable at the lowest price, but make sure that the coach is by far the safest means of transport.