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Email template to request a charter bus quote

You need a bus for a wedding shuttle, a school trip, a team, or a company outing. Charter companies price by the hour with a minimum (often four or five hours), or by the day and mileage for longer trips, and then add things the first number leaves out: driver gratuity, fuel surcharge, tolls, parking, and a hotel room for the driver on overnight trips. Federal rules also limit how long a bus driver can work in a day, so a long day may need a second driver at extra cost. Email is the way to get an all-in number from several companies on the same itinerary, and to get each company's USDOT number so you can check its safety record on the federal regulator's website (FMCSA) before you hand over a deposit.

Before you send

  • The headcount and the bus size that fits it. A full-size motorcoach seats around 56; a minibus seats roughly 25 to 35. Leave a few spare seats.
  • The full itinerary: pickup address and time, every stop, and the return time. Say whether the bus should wait on site or leave and come back; waiting is usually billed as time.
  • The date, or a couple of possible dates if you have flexibility. Saturdays in wedding and graduation season book out months ahead.
  • What the group needs on board: a restroom, a wheelchair lift, luggage space, wifi, or nothing special.
  • The date you want to book by, so the company knows this is a real request and not a survey.
Subject Charter quote request: [number] passengers, [date], [pickup city] to [destination] 
Hi [company name],

I'm looking for a quote to charter a bus for [group description, e.g. wedding guests / a high school robotics team] on [date].

Itinerary:

- [Time] pickup at [address], about [number] passengers
- [Time] drop-off at [address]; the bus [waits on site / returns later for pickup]
- [Time] return pickup at [address], back to [address] by about [time]

We'd need a [56-passenger coach / minibus for about 25] with [a restroom on board / a wheelchair lift / room for luggage]. [Any other needs.]

Could your quote show the all-in price including driver gratuity, fuel surcharge, tolls and parking, plus the overtime rate if we run late? Please also tell me the deposit amount, when the balance is due, your cancellation terms, and your USDOT number so I can check your safety record.

I'm comparing a few companies and would like to book by [date].

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good quote is itemized, states how many hours are included, and gives the overtime rate. If you get a single number, ask what is not included; gratuity and fuel are the usual surprises.
  • Look up the USDOT number on the FMCSA site. You want to see the company authorized to carry passengers with insurance on file. No number, or a number that doesn't match the company name, is a reason to move on.
  • If your day runs past about ten hours of driving, federal rules require a second driver. Ask about it before booking rather than discovering it on the final invoice.
  • Walk away from a large non-refundable deposit with no written contract. The contract should show the itinerary, the price, and the cancellation terms.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get me charter bus quotes 
Hi StandIn,

Please get me charter bus quotes for a group trip and help me pick one.

The group: [who it is and how many passengers].
The date and itinerary: [date, pickup address and time, stops, return time, whether the bus waits].
Bus needs: [size, restroom, wheelchair lift, luggage, anything else].
Budget: [amount or "no fixed number"].
Booking deadline: [date].

Contact four or five companies that serve [city], get all-in quotes with gratuity, fuel, tolls and overtime spelled out, check each company's federal safety record, follow up with any that don't reply, and bring me the options side by side.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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