Hiring minibusses has become common across the UK where people hire these buses for various purposes. While most of the companies offer minibusses on rent along with drivers, there may be some cases where you might need or prefer to hire a minibus without a driver. Whether you should choose to drive the minibus yourself depends on various factors such as the legal criteria, advantages, and disadvantages, and your circumstances.
Circumstances where you might need to hire a minibus:
There are many situations in which you as a person or a group may need to hire a minibus.
1. Events: you might need to hire a minibus for many events such as family birthdays, football matches, concerts, parties, and so on.
2. Education: schools need to hire minibusses on school trips to various places such as museums, zoos, theaters, and much more.
3. Corporate: for various corporate events like official dinners, visits, and training– hiring a minibus is needed.
Conditions for hiring a minibus:
When hiring a minibus without a driver, various legal conditions are put forward by the rental company. A few are mentioned below:
- Non-commercial use: hiring a car and using it for charging the passengers, no matter what the occasion– is illegal.
- Age requirement: your age must be 21 or older if you want to drive a minibus.
- Number of passengers: with a Category D1 license, you can only drive a 16-seater minibus.
- License specifications: to drive a minibus with 16 passengers, you will need a D1 license. For driving larger buses, a Category D license is required.
Advantages/benefits of hiring a minibus:
1. Flexibility:
Hiring a self-drive minibus can help you in making your journey more flexible. You can take multiple breaks without any worry.
2. Cost-effective:
Hiring a minibus without a driver is less costly as the amount gets split between 16-17 people and the amount being paid for the driver also gets reduced.
3. Privacy:
Enjoying your own space can be way easier without a driver– increasing comfort for friends and family.
Disadvantages:
1. Driving skills:
Navigating through tighter places on a minibus can be hard if you are not a skilled driver. Other driving issues may arise as well.
2. Insurance considerations:
Insurance considerations can be a task for self-drive rentals. For this insurance, there may be additional charges as well.
3. Parking problems:
In some of the places, there may the problem of finding parking place for a minibus. Resultantly, there can be increased stress.
4. Potential risks:
There are some of the risks associated with driving a minibus yourself. For example, if you damage the minibus, you may suffer additional charges for it.
Conclusion:
You can go to opt for a self-drive minibus on rental basis keeping in view your requirements. But this option has many pros as well cons. For example, you have to fulfill the legal requirements as well before being able to drive a minibus. If you are a skilled driver and need a low-cost minibus then this option can prove beneficial for you.
