How many people fit in a party bus, and how to pick the size

The question everybody asks first is how many people fit. The question that actually decides the night is how many people fit comfortably for three hours, with coats, with bags, and with somebody wanting to stand up. Those are different numbers, and here is how to work out both.

What sizes does a party bus come in?

Broadly three tiers, and the tier matters more than the exact number. A small bus is a stretch limousine with more headroom. A mid bus is the workhorse most groups end up in. A large bus is an event on wheels.

How many seats should you book for your group?

Your headcount plus two to four, and round up at the boundary rather than down. A vehicle loaded to its exact rated capacity has nowhere to put coats, nowhere to put a bag, and nowhere for the one friend who always brings a plus one you did not know about.

• Group of 8: book the 10. It leaves room for coats and a late addition.
• Group of 12 to 14: the 22 is the comfortable answer, and it is usually the one that keeps the group together.
• Group of 18 to 20: still the 22, and it will feel full.
• Group of 24 to 35: the 38 seat coach, especially if anybody is bringing luggage.
• Group of 40 or more: the 50, which is also the vehicle behind our ticketed group outings.

One caution about splitting. Two vehicles for a group of thirty sounds like flexibility and behaves like chaos, because the two halves arrive at different moments all night and somebody always ends up waiting in a car park. One vehicle that is slightly too big beats two that are exactly right.

Do party buses have seat belts?

It depends on when the vehicle was built, and the rule is narrower than most people assume. A federal rule published on November 25, 2013 requires lap and shoulder belts at every passenger seating position in new over the road buses, and in new buses over 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating with certain exclusions. Its effective date was November 28, 2016.

Read that carefully, because the honest version matters more than the reassuring one: it applies to newly manufactured buses. It is not a retrofit requirement, and it does not reach most stretch limousines. If belts are important to your group, ask which vehicle you are getting and what it has, rather than assuming the year covers it.

Source: Federal Register, Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Motorcoach Definition, Occupant Protection, final rule

Can you drink on a party bus in Massachusetts?

Adults can, and the reason is written into the open container law itself. Massachusetts General Laws chapter 90 section 24I states that the section does not apply to the passengers of a motor vehicle designed, maintained and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. A chartered bus is that vehicle.

Two hard limits sit on top of it. The same statute says the driver of any motor vehicle shall not possess an open container, with no exception, so nothing crosses into the driver's compartment. And where anyone on board is under 21, the vehicle carries no alcohol at all and the chauffeur enforces it for the whole trip, which is the entire subject of our prom piece.

Source: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90 Section 24I

What a parent should ask before booking prom transport→

What licence does a party bus operator need?

In Massachusetts, the seat count decides it. The Commonwealth's own guidance is direct: to operate a for hire vehicle carrying 10 or more people including the driver within Massachusetts, you first need operating authority from the Department of Public Utilities, and every year you must submit current proof of insurance and an application for decal renewal.

Cross a state line and a second layer applies. A for hire carrier of passengers operating in interstate commerce needs federal operating authority, which is what an MC number is, and its required insurance steps up with vehicle size: $1,500,000 for a vehicle seating 15 or fewer including the driver, and $5,000,000 at 16 or more.

Which means the 22 and the 50 sit on the far side of that line and the stretch does not. Worth knowing when a New Hampshire pickup is part of the night, and worth asking about even when it is not.

Source: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Apply to be a passenger carrier in Massachusetts

Party bus or coach: what is the difference?

The simplest test: if people will spend the journey talking to each other, book the bus. If they will spend it getting somewhere, book the coach.

What should you ask before you book?

1. Which specific vehicle, not which class. Capacity and comfort vary inside the same size bracket.
2. The company's USDOT number, so you can read its safety record before you pay anything.
3. Whether the hourly rate starts at pickup or when the vehicle leaves the yard.
4. What the overtime rate is if the night runs long, agreed before the night rather than during it.
5. Whether there is a minimum number of hours, and whether evening rates differ.
6. What the policy is on alcohol, and how the operator handles a group with anyone under 21 in it.

What does a charter cost?

Group charters are quoted per job, because a four hour prom run and a ten hour wedding day are not the same product. Tell us the headcount, the date, the pickup town and the hours, and you get a figure in writing before you commit to anything. Evening rates differ on some vehicles, so ask when you call.