Frequently Asked Questions

Our dedicated team will work with you on a custom payment plan. Our average hourly rate is between $85 – $125 and is based on vehicle type, event size, location and timing. The average school bus rental is up to 50% cheaper than renting a coach bus.​

Yes! Regardless of your event size and whether it’s a multi-day or multi-venue event, First Charter is here to help you with your event transportation needs. Offering transportation for parking lot shuttles, vacation bible school, retreats, holy days, holidays, camps and after-school religious programs. With a fleet of over 45,000 buses, First Student is North America’s largest and most trusted yellow school bus company, completing more than 5.5 million student journeys each day.

Your safety is our foremost priority. First Student bus drivers must pass a comprehensive pre-employment screening and motor vehicle background check, including DOT drug testing, ensuring that they are compliant with federal, state and local laws. Once the drivers join our team, they receive continued DOT random drug testing and, and undergo up to 47 hours of training on safe driving habits and behavior, such as the  Smith System of Advanced Driving Techniques. 

Leasing a bus with First Charter is renting only the bus for your groups needs. With leased vehicles, your group provides the licensed CDL drivers and insurance to transport your group. First Charter will not provide our own drivers for your leased vehicles.

At First Charter, we offer flexible vehicle types, including accessibility options. Our standard yellow school buses can accommodate up to approximately 48 adults per bus. For youth, our standard yellow school buses can accommodate up to approximately 72 children per bus.

Yes! Regardless of your group size, multi-day or multi-venue event, First Charter is here to help you with your transportation needs. With over 45,000 flexible vehicle types and 400 locations in 41 states and 8 Canadian Provinces, First Student is North America’s largest and most trusted yellow school bus provider, completing more than 5.5 million student journeys every school day. Our standard yellow school buses can accommodate up to 72 children per bus.

Booking your transportation is quick and simple at First Charter. Get started today by submitting a free, no-obligation quote and our dedicated team will immediately get to work to help finalize all the details. We’ll work with you on a custom payment plan. Once you’re booked with us, enjoy a stress-free and safe transportation experience!

Yes, in select markets. Our FirstView bus tracking mobile app can be utilized by your campers’ parents to track the status of the bus. The mobile app is free for parents to download and is available in the App Store and Google Play. As a camp organizer, you would also have full visibility into all camp bus routes in our dashboard desktop version. If this is something your camp would be interested in learning more about, be sure to discuss this add-on benefit with our dedicated charter team at the time of booking.

On average, we provide over 1,000 large event shuttles for marathons/races, tournaments, college game days, pro sporting events, celebrations, music festivals, conventions and conferences. Don’t see your type of large event listed? No worries, still reach out to our team! We pride ourselves on being a custom charter bus rental that aligns with your event needs and will partner with you to safely move hundreds or 1,000+ attendee events. ​ ​

Because of our size and resources, we can normally accommodate all event sizes. With over 35,000 flexible vehicle types spanning 400 locations in 41 states, First Student is the largest and most trusted yellow school bus company in the U.S. Our standard yellow school buses can accommodate up to 72 children or 48 adults per bus.​

Our charter customer support team will work with you on a custom leased solution that works for you and your group. Our standard bus leasing terms usually are a minimum of a month-long leasing agreement. The price will be based on vehicle type, estimated mileage, location and timing. ​

Booking a bus lease for your group is quick and simple at First Charter. Get started today by submitting a free, no-obligation quote and our dedicated charter team will immediately get to work to help create a custom solution for you. Once you’re booked with us, enjoy a stress-free and safe transportation experience.

We want your transportation to be seamless. Leading up to the event day, we provide detailed arrival and departure timelines. If something unexpected happens the day of your event, we provide all customers with a point of contact number that is available to support you. If you’re planning a large event, we’ll provide on-site coordinators to ensure your event goes smoothly.

Yes, in most cases. Talk with our charter customer support team about this in advance to ensure that we allow food and beverages on your bus while we’re transporting your group.

Yes! We take pride in offering the highest per-trip insurance coverage in the industry. First Student maintains at least $10,000,000 for all services, which is double the required minimum by the USDOT of $5,000,000 that most companies offer.​