Finally, you’ve found the exact business idea you’ve been contemplating for some time and now, you’re ready to jump on the bandwagon. You may have heard about the popularity of buses nowadays which have been converted into vehicles for specific purposes like for school, party, food delivery, shuttling and touring needs, including for restaurant business purposes.

Search the Web and be amazed to see hundreds of bus rental ideas from anywhere in the world. Indeed, the bus rental business is a very lucrative idea but you know, there’s more to launching this type of  business than just merely registering it with the state. Before going further, let’s first clarify the description of regular bus rental (whether luxury or ordinary bus) and a charter bus since both these classifications involve vehicles for hire.

Bus Rental & Chartered Bus Defined

With the former, a customer is only renting the bus for perhaps moving a big group of people or a bunch of goods/supplies and materials from point A to point B. As with the latter, not only is the bus being hired but also including a professional driver with his qualified assistant. The vehicle could be used for a duration of days, transporting people and stocks from place to place until the desired destination is reached.

While a charter bus is mostly reserved for private use, the regular rented bus could be used for public purposes such as for entertainment like in street parades during public occasions, for convoys during an electoral campaign, and so on.

For customers, hiring a bus for sightseeing purposes spares them the hassle of arranging a trip somewhere, thus cutting their worries because most bus companies already have their travel packages with the respective costs. For bus owners/operators, maintaining a good reputation and quality service must be their top priorities in order to keep the business going amidst the stiff competition.

Going into the vehicle rental service means ‘running a tight ship’. With a very significant investment, you need to learn how to build a reputation that should result in referrals, hefty contracts as well as repeat customers.

One bus unit for rent might cost you as much as $600,000 to invest excluding fuel costs, marketing and personnel expenses. That said, you need to consider several factors to ensure the success of such an enterprise.

Tips for a Successful Bus Rental Business

Plan your business well

Prepare a solid business plan after doing a thorough research. This includes meeting with the experts in the industry to gain knowledge about the ins and outs of the business. Know what legal documents are required, how to make a forecast, your target market and above all, the standard operating procedures of a successful bus rental enterprise.

Naturally, you can’t expect your competitors to divulge a hundred percent of their best practices but the Internet is your best bet from where to obtain vital information such as promotional tactics, pricing, routes, and the like. 

Identify your target market

Do you already have a target market in mind? Based on observations made by the American Bus Association, the tour service accounts for 40% of the bus rental industry followed by airport shuttles and sightseeing services. But, in areas where there’s no available public transit, bus rental is a money-making venture. And therefore, it’s important to know where you should focus your effort.

Likewise, buses with limousine-like settings are very popular these days for various social occasions such as wedding and baptismal receptions, proms and graduation parties, debut celebrations and the long list goes on. Looking at different websites offering the same services, you can figure out the rental costs. From then you’ll be able to compute travel-related expenses such as gas and drivers’ salaries so as to predict the amount of profit you’d be gaining from the business.

Legalize your business

Of course, you wouldn’t want to compromise your huge investments by operating a business without the necessary permits and licenses. Make your business legit by establishing a legal identity and registering it for tax payments. If and when something goes wrong, you cannot be held personally liable if your business is established as an LLC or a corporation because it’s your bus business that will be sued, not you personally.  

And since you’d be paying taxes, you’ll also be obligated to create a business accounting system. You’d be able to understand more and know your performance if you keep records of your income and expenses. It will also make the filing of annual tax payments more simplified if you have a systematic recording.

Aside from these, get your business protected by buying insurance in the event of accidents, property damage and financial losses. A great place to start is having professional or general liability insurance.

Promote your brand

The easiest way to do this is to market your brand through your business website. For a wider reach, optimize the use of different popular social media platforms today like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. There are other travel websites that show their brochures and pamphlets which are good sources of information. Create your own promotional materials to advertise your own unique brand both online and offline.

Own a reliable fleet

Finally, to ensure success in your bus-for-rent service, make sure to have a reliable fleet. Even if you opt for used instead of brand new, there’s a plethora of good used buses for sale anywhere in the US and Canada.

Contact our team at UsedVending.com so we can help you find the perfect vehicle for your needs!

You might also want to read these articles:

• 5 Reasons to Consider Buying a Used Shuttle Bus Over a New One

• 6 Things You Should Consider Before Buying a Used Coach Bus

• Beginner’s Guide: How to Start a Party Bus Rental Business

• Where to Find Used Buses for Sale Under $5000