Your school or church group is going on a trip, and you are looking for a bus service to get you where you need to go. So, you Google “bus companies in XX city” and watch as various bus “companies” show up, each advertising they do business in that particular city.
But don’t just click on the first company that pops up. Be on the lookout for third-party companies, or bus brokers, that upcharge customers to try and secure a different bus company to book your trip. These brokers often try to pay the bus company less than its normal rate, and often cannot find a company that will do the job. That means you may end up with an email just days before your trip, letting you know they can’t fulfill your request.
Larry Killingsworth, former interim President and CEO of the United Motorcoach Association cautioned consumers to be careful of brokers
The problem with a third party, Killingsworth explained, is that the consumer is not getting information directly from the company they are hiring. “If you search ‘renting a bus’ in a particular city, sites may pop up. But when those links take you to a broker, that third party is just taking your information, farming it out to bus companies and taking a cut for themselves.”
“They are acting as an unnecessary middle person, and at times, some are disreputable,” he added.
On Your Mark Transportation President Mark Szyperski agreed, adding that some brokers even take money from customers and never pass it on to the bus companies. And, with fewer bus companies in business post-pandemic, customers should be aware of scams that seem too good to be true.
“Prior to the pandemic, there were more than 3,500 individual bus companies. Our industry now only has about 1,600 companies, and most of those are running fewer coaches in their service. So, real bus companies will say, ‘sorry, we are sold out on that date,’ but brokers still take the order and try to fill it,” Szyperski said.
So how do you determine which companies are legitimate?
First, look at the website carefully, Szyperski suggests. “Do they have pictures of real buses with the company name on them, or do they have stock photos of buses with no names on the buses?”
Next, try calling the company you are interested in booking with. Ask for their DOT number, and check that against their safety record by visiting https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/passenger-safety/search-results/by-vehicle. This site will give you the physical address and contact for the bus company you are researching. It will also give you the safety rating, which is even more important than any pricing information for a company, Szyperski said.
“Finally, if you are traveling across the country, you can search www.BusRates.com, a website owned by the United Motorcoach Association, for a list of real bus companies, and you can deal directly with them.
While this may seem like extra work, if you want to make sure your trip gets booked – and by a legitimate company – it’s worth the effort.
“Make sure you do your searches early,” Szyperski said. “And don’t expect to haggle your way on the price. The companies that survived the pandemic are lucky to be here, and are only in business today because they didn’t participate in ‘race to the bottom’ pricing prior to the pandemic. Look for safety first, and price, second.”
