Top 15 Complaints You Can Avoid in Charter Bus Rental

Since 2008, BusRates.com has collected reviews from charter customers based on their experiences when renting buses from the companies listed in our directory. For this article, we’ve broken out the spreadsheets and calculators and analyzed the reviews to dig up statistics on the state of the industry.

The data, based on a sample of nearly 3,000 reviews of charter bus trips, revealed some great data about what customers can expect when renting a motorcoach. First and foremost is the good news—customers who booked with companies listed on BusRates.com had significantly higher satisfaction rates than the industry average.

Because BusRates.com facilitates direct contact between the customer and charter operator, it’s likely the uptick in customer approval directly correlates with this design. BusRates.com is one-of-a-kind in this regard. Most high-ranking websites online are actually brokers or travel agents, who make it look like they own buses. They find a bus company, but act as a middleman, charging a commission, and often overlook important details or specific wrinkles in itineraries and contracts.

Of course, a group leader should never blindly select a bus operator even if they are listed on BusRates.com, but chances are still overwhelmingly positive you’d have a good experience. On average, only 13.6% of reviews came in negative. That means, even if you do absolutely no research on the bus company, you’ve got an 86% chance of having a good experience. Cheers to that.

However, as a consumer-advocate directory, we do our best to educate and urge charter-seeking customers to know what to look for and ask a few preliminary questions to determine if they’ve found a perfect match to fulfill their transportation needs.

Specifically, let’s look at what the top complaints were from the 13.6% of negative reviews in order to tip you off to areas that may need your attention.

1. Poor equipment/old or dirty buses (5.1% chance)
2. Bus arrived late (3.3% chance)
3. Amenities did not work: TV/DVD, AC, Heat or Bathroom (2.5% chance)
4. Bad/rude driver (2.3% chance)
5. Company is hard to reach/Won’t return calls (2.2% chance)
6. Bus broke down (1.9% chance)
7. Charged extra after the trip (1.8% chance)
8. Bus never showed up (1.6% chance)
9. Refused to give a refund (1.6% chance)
10. Driver got lost (1.5% chance)
11. Misrepresented fleet (1.2% chance)
12. Company did not follow through with contract (1% chance)
13. Inadequate space on the bus (.8% chance)
14. Failed to change drivers after 10 hours of driving (.7% chance)
15. Company didn’t follow the itinerary (.7% chance)

Asking for photos of the interior/exterior of the bus and collecting the driver’s phone number before the day of departure should help alleviate these concerns. Feel free to ask if the driver will use a GPS  to prevent getting lost, or ask if the company has a hotline for ‘round-the-clock assistance should an issue arise.

Being prepared can help you find an operator who can address your needs and will give you the confidence to enjoy a wonderful vacation or excursion aboard a charter bus.