Tip on Charter Bus Shuttle?

kbhaupt

I'm looking to hire a 56-passenger charter bus to shuttle guests from the church to the venue (ten minutes away), and then back to the hotel (which happens to be next to the church) at the end of the night. Most places are charging about $1,000 for the day and I was wondering if a gratuity is expected on top of that? Our budget isn't huge and it's already kind of a lot for just a few trips. I'd happily give the driver an extra $50 or so, but I'm wondering if he will expect more?

ashleyep

You should tip on top of that since the money probably doesn't go to him directly. I don't know how much to recommend, I would think $50 would be okay though?

MrsAitch

If you want a more affordable option, you could always look into renting school buses. I'm not sure about the tipping though.

AprilH81

Yes, you should tip the driver unless the contract states that gratuities are included.

[Deleted User]

Yes, tipping is expecte unless in your contract it states that it is included. Consider looking for a smaller bus and not booking for the whole day. My husband drives limo and it's not uncommon for them to get weddings where they do the cermony, then come back later in the evening towards the end of the reception to shuttle people to hotel. They are usually gone for a few hours in between which allows driver a dinner break or the company may book him for another quick job between. Not having them sitting there the whle reception can save you some money.

itzMS

We had charter busses. We asked the company, and they said 15% is standard for a driver tip in my area.

orwhatuwill

I charter buses for work all of the time. For a not very complicated job like driving people 2 places, not very far away...I personally would not tip more than 50.

try firststudentinc.com their quotes are almost always several hundred less than the traditional charter services.

syoun1nj

Our rates included a "modest" gratuity, but we tipped $50 anyway. The driver only did one trip, though.

cowgirl8238

If the reception is only 10 minutes away and you only need 2 trips IMO that seems really expensive!  If you can't get a better rate and really want to do it though you should probably tip the driver (unless the contract says he is being tipped) at least $50.