Charlotte Haye 16th April 2018

Everything You Need To Know About Driving A Minibus

At some point in your life, you have probably been on a minibus. They are a great way to transport big groups of people from one place to another and can be a cost-effective and efficient method of transport. From taking your friends and family on holiday to helping a loved one move house, the possibilities are endless. But how much do you really know about driving a minibus, and what you’re allowed to do when you drive one?

Who Can Drive One?

Technically, absolutely anyone can drive a minibus, providing they have a full car driving license. Full car licenses include driving a minibus as standard, and if you’re not sure you can always check the back of your license. Make sure you check this before you hire one out though, just in case! Of course, it’s not just the physical being able to drive one that is the issue. There are certain rules around driving minibuses when there is payment involved. Thankfully, the rules are pretty simple.

Driving For Free

If you are driving a minibus for personal reasons, and not professionally, for hire or for reward, then you don’t need a separate license to operate one. You are legally allowed to drive a minibus with up to 16 passengers for free without any separate licenses. But there are some restrictions. For example, you do need to be over 21, and you need to have held the license for at least 2 years. You will also need to meet the ‘group 2’ medical criteria as defined by your GP to ensure the safety of your passengers. You will also need to make sure that the weight of the minibus doesn’t exceed 3.5 tonnes in total, and you aren’t allowed to tow a trailer at the same time as driving the minibus. If you are an older driver (i.e. over 70 years old), you might need to take a further medical exam and fill in a D2 application in order to drive a minibus.

Driving For Cost

Of course, it’s not always practical to drive a minibus for free. Hiring them out can be expensive, and if it’s a long journey you could end up spending a lot of your own money for a free trip. Even if you’re only driving for friends and family, or even a charity of volunteer project, you want to be able to cover the costs of renting and running the vehicle. If you want to do this though, you will need a minibus permit. This is something you apply for through the DVSA, and you do need to be over 21 years old to apply. The conditions that go along with the permit is that the minibus must be used for a specific group of people, and not available to the general public. It must also be sized to carry between 9 and 15 passengers – no more and no less.

Driving For Profit

And finally, we have driving for payment. If you are looking to drive a minibus professionally and for hire, then you will need to get a new license to do so. The first thing you will need is a provisional entitlement to drive a minibus, also known as a Passenger Carrying Vehicle (or PCV) license. You’ll also need a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license as well. It’s pretty simple to get these licences and will require you to undertake some training, driving hours and a test. But both of these licenses mark you out as being professionally capable of driving a minibus at a safe standard and allows you to legally charge for your time to do so. This means you can now drive a minibus freelance for profit, or seek out work as a professional minibus driver.

At Easy as HGV, we specialise in helping people gain the qualifications and licenses they need to realise their dreams of minibus driving. Our trainers have years of experience in driving a wide range of vehicles, including minibuses, and can help you with all aspects of driving professional. From managing safety on the road to rowdy passengers, we are here to help and support you. For more information, just get in touch with us today

Charlotte Haye

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