If you’re planning an overnight, out-of-town field trip with students, a church group, or sports team, then there’s only one viable form of transportation available. A charter bus service.
While some elite private schools have started buying airplane tickets for each and every student in their party, there’s a reason this option hasn’t gone mainstream. Not only is it cost prohibitive for the vast majority of schools and churches, but it’s just a pain in the behind. You know how stressful and exhausting layovers can be, can you imagine dealing with delayed flights, gate changes, and security with 200 middle schoolers in tow?
On the other hand, charter bus transportation is a tried and true method for transporting hundreds of young people and their chaperones, whether you’re dealing with elementary, middle, or high school students. No doubt your charter bus service has extensive experience transporting the local youngsters.
So what are the benefits of bus travel for overnight school trips?
Most importantly, it’s affordable. Besides the cost, it’s actually a comfortable way to travel. Each passenger has more than enough space to themselves, while the best charter bus lines feature amenities like DVD players, bathrooms, air conditioning, and ample storage. And if you ask ahead of time, you can ensure you have coach buses that are wheelchair accessible. Some motor coaches have reclining seats, too.
Finally, a charter bus service allows you to create your own itinerary, with as many stops, breaks, and detours along the way as needed. That’s an option you won’t find on other forms of transportation.
Why not simply use school buses for overnight field trips?
While school buses may work well for sports events and in-town field trips, there’s a number of reasons to rely on a charter bus service for longer trips and overnight school trips. First, the drivers employed by your charter bus service undergo a rigorous employment process (no offense to the baseball coach moonlighting as a bus driver at your school). Most importantly, a charter bus services will take on the insurance risks so you don’t have to.
So unless you have $1 million in a rainy day fund for private jet travel, charter bus tours are the only realistic form of transportation for school, church, and overnight sports trips. As an added bonus, they’re actually comfortable, unlike the school bus and airplane seats you’ve seen before.
Just make sure you give the charter bus company a heads up that hundreds of kids will be on board. No one deserves a surprise like that.
