By Tracey Buswell Simmons
Bus trips are big business for many worship facilities. Some offer bus trips to attend special religious events, for youth camp trips, retreats and other weekend trips, and shuttles to airports or ship ports.
Chartering a tour bus is one of the most popular and reliable modes of group transportation available in the world.
When your church group is traveling to an event, ground transportation by motorcoach will help get them to their venue on time and with peace of mind. And on a bus, they’ll have fun together!
Bus Expert Advice to Churches
#1 The Trip begins on Time!
Your first day of the trip sets the tone. Putting everyone on a bus (or several buses) at the same time ensures that all your travelers arrive on time and your trip stays on schedule. Once aboard, plan some ice breakers and bonding activities and try to get everyone involved.
#2 Bus Transportation is Eco Friendly
If you take care to run a sustainable, “green” focused church, then you’ll love extending that belief to your group trips.
One motorcoach can take the place of 50 30 or more cars, and a school bus takes 70+ cars off the road. You can cut the carbon footprint of your camp drastically and setting the right tone for your eco-friendly approach.
If you include cleanliness, low impact and no-litter policies at your facility, then a bus charter is a natural extension of your approach. You’ll be able to point out that even the way you transport your travelers is eco-friendly! This will help instill a holistic approach to the trip experience.
#3 Save Time & Money
Depending on where your group is going, especially for camp trips, offering a motorcoach bus or school bus lets parents have the choice of putting their camper on a bus instead and save time and money!
Since camp is an investment, the time and fuel costs for pickup and drop-off could make a big difference for some of your church families. Even if you charge a small fee for the bus, most will save money by using the charter transportation instead of driving themselves.
#4 Peace of Mind for Travelers
Offering a motor coach or school bus with a professional driver lets your travelers know that they are in good hands and shows how well you have planned every part of the trip experience. Seeing a clean, luxurious, well-maintained bus that is in obvious good repair lets your travelers know you’ve invested in their peace of mind.
#5 Friendships Made on Bus Trips often Last a Lifetime!
Make the experience memorable and fun by starting the fun right on the bus. You’re never too old to sing songs, play road trip games, have contests, or watch movies. By the time your group arrives, most will have made a new friend or two.
Friendships made on bus trips often last a lifetime!
Tracey Buswell Simmons is the communications liaison for Trailways Transportation System, www.trailways.com. For 80 years, decades, Trailways has been trusted by churches to transport their groups to and from events across town or across the USA. Nearly 50 percent of their bus business is for religious groups, family, clubs and youth group trips.
