Minibus hire is one of those transport services that appeals to a very wide range of customers. People turn to it for large family occasions and for trips abroad, and it is even more popular among companies. Convenient as it is, there are situations where the sheer frequency of travel suggests that buying your own vehicle would work out cheaper. So the question is worth asking properly: who should hire, and who should buy?
Minibuses carry between 9 and 20 passengers. Their size makes them easier to handle on demanding roads — mountain routes and tight bends, for instance. A standard category B licence is enough to drive one, though on long journeys it is far better to have someone experienced at the wheel, capable of handling the unexpected. And on the road, the unexpected is never in short supply.
Who should buy
Buying a minibus is a significant outlay, so it will not pay off for everyone. If your journeys are occasional and involve only a handful of people, the purchase price will not recoup itself quickly and it will not be the cheap option. The odd excursion is not a strong enough argument either. Ownership does make sense when the family is large and an ordinary car is uncomfortable, or when journeys are frequent. A minibus becomes genuinely indispensable if you intend to move goods regularly or run passenger transport as a service.
The deciding factor is money. A band touring regularly, or a small sports team, can save a great deal by travelling together. Buying also lets you choose a model matched to what you actually need — the right luggage capacity, the right number of seats.
Employee transport
Buying can work out better than hiring for companies that decide to bring staff to site in a company vehicle. In many cases an external operator still comes out cheaper, but where a small team travels several times a day and carries a lot of equipment, purchase is worth considering. It needs careful thought, because the purchase price is only the beginning: you will need somewhere to park it, fuel it, insure it and employ a driver.
Or is hiring the better call?
Transport services have grown considerably, which is why both private individuals and businesses of every size now use them. Minibus hire is among the most popular. Buying, as described above, pays off only in specific circumstances — for most people, most of the time, hiring from an external operator is the sensible choice.
Hiring for private customers
Private customers almost always hire, with very large families the exception. Affordable minibus routes from Poland to Germany and other EU countries are now standard, and people travelling abroad for work choose them largely on price — driving your own car exposes you to considerably higher costs. The second group are those with an important occasion ahead of them. In both cases you are putting yourself in the hands of people who are properly qualified and who know the route and the safe places to stop.
Weddings, anniversaries, first communions — these are occasions where a wide circle of family and friends is invited, and hiring a minibus is simply the norm. No complex logistics are needed. Everyone boards a minibus or coach together and steps out directly at the venue.
Hiring for companies
Not every company wants to buy a vehicle, yet staff still need moving from time to time. Rather than pushing the cost onto employees and telling them to make their own way, it is worth using what carriers offer. This works well for company outings, team-building trips and staff travelling on business. There is no minimum group size — you can book a single seat. Hire also covers daily commuting, and employee shuttles are particularly worth considering when the workplace sits outside town and is awkward to reach.
Is it worth hiring with a driver?
Minibuses with more than ten seats require additional qualifications to drive. You can hire a vehicle for a fixed period — a day, a week — and drive it yourself or find your own driver. Logically enough, that costs less than hiring with a driver included. There are, however, a few things worth weighing up.
With a professional driver you have nothing to plan and nothing to worry about: not the route, not fatigue on a long run. You are simply a passenger. If you are looking for an affordable minibus operating across Silesia, we would encourage you to look at what we do. We offer minibus hire with a driver, and we are known for punctuality and quality. We collect from any address you give us, our vehicles are driven by people with the right experience, and they are well enough equipped that passengers stay comfortable even over many hours on the road.