BusRates.com

We used First Student for a company outing. We were on a tight schedule and First Student did a great job working with us to get our reservation together and paid for on time. We scheduled 2 buses, even though it turned out we only needed 1. The office staff with First Student was very helpful when we suggested that we only use one bus for our return trip. They provided a refund for the second bus that we did not need, even though we didn't expect or request one. It was a very nice gesture by them. The drivers were scheduled for us were interesting to say the least. One driver opened his door to chat with a high school student who he did not know on the side of the road. Needless to say, this made the individuals on that bus feel uncomfortable. The other driver raised even more concerns. He drove pretty recklessly, and even blew a red light at one point. I don't think two drivers' actions should reflect First Student as a whole, but it is hard to give a great review when those drivers did leave our group with some concerns.

Reviewed By: Company attending volunteer service event
Travel Date: April 2013
Published on May 09, 2013 at 08:59 AM

I spent hours planning a one night trip for 75 people only for the bus company to not show up. It appeared there was a miscommunication between headquarters and the local bussing unit. Having to disappoint dozens of people by turning them away for an event they had been looking forward to for weeks was disheartening. Mistakes like these cannot be made in big transportation companies. I will not rely on First Student Charters for my future transportation needs.

Reviewed By:
Travel Date: Febraury of 2013
Published on April 01, 2013 at 01:41 PM

I help organize a trip from our college in Baltimore to the DC mall area. The bus was on time, the price we agreed on, clean and the driver friendly. I would call to help get everything planned as email can be slow, but great company to go with! Thanks

Reviewed By: College Student Club
Travel Date: February 2013
Published on March 15, 2013 at 05:09 PM

Bus failed to show up until an hour and a half after scheduled time. Had to make multiple phone calls to driver and directors at 5am only to have them show up at 6:30am. The trip was to Lambert Int'l Airport for a group of 30 people flying to Ghana, Africa. This oversight could have seriously affected the outcome of this group's travel and was a very disappointing interaction with First Student.

Reviewed By: Saint Louis University's Global Brigades
Travel Date: Dec 30th 2012
Published on January 16, 2013 at 01:21 PM

I tried to book two buses to transport my wedding guests from the ceremony to the reception. After 2 months of checking for a confirmation I was emailed to call and give payment info. When I did, I asked to confirm the number of people with them and was informed that the lot rejected my order due to the pick up location. We switched the location and it was another 4 weeks of calling back to find out that they rejected the order once more. So now we're scrambling to find a solution with our wedding swiftly approaching. I strongly suggest going somewhere else if confirmation in a timely fashion is what you need. They seem very disorganized in general.

Reviewed By: People Planning a Wedding
Travel Date: 03/22/13
Published on January 10, 2013 at 04:26 PM

Bus arrived early, was clean. Driver was very courteous. We took 33 men to camp with some gear, and the bus was able to handle all the men an gear. It was a school bus, so the knee space was tight for the tall men, nut it was ok. The timeliness was the arrival and departure were the most important drtails to is. First Student came trough.

Reviewed By: Chaplain
Travel Date: Oct 5 2012
Published on October 28, 2012 at 08:42 AM

My son and I arranged to have First Student transport his New Trier Homecoming group (50 people) on the night of Homecoming. I called the Monday before to confirm the itinerary and to book the rental. I gave my credit card and the woman I spoke to said that the charter was booked. I asked if there was anything else I had to do or look for, and she said that we were all set and that the bus would be at the house at the designated time. The bus never came to pick up the kids. They had to walk to New Trier, and then call parents to transport them to the after party. I called First Student on Monday to ask what on earth happened. At first I was told that the bus was "booked and then unbooked". I didn't quite understand what that meant, so I asked for some follow up information. Later that day I talked to a supervisor who needed to talk to the person who booked my rental. Apparently she was out sick for a few days. I was told that I would receive another follow up call to explain what happened after she spoke to the booking agent. I never received any more communication from First Student Charter Bus Rentals. This was really a terrible experience for my son, who had been in charge of arranging the bus. You can imagine that both parents and fellow students were quite angry at this lack of the rental bus. I feel we did everything necessary to book the bus. I know understand there should have been a route number email sent to us, but that was never mentioned at the time of booking. I feel that I have tried to follow up on what happened, but am still completely dissatisfied. My only recourse is to tell people not to use First Student because they are an unreliable company that does not follow up on grievances. Wendy Shelton

Reviewed By: Wendy Shelton (New Trier Parent)
Travel Date: October 13, 2012
Published on October 27, 2012 at 09:03 AM

We had a great ride to Burlington. Richard was our bus driver and was a great sport with our group. He made a couple stops for us and we really appreciate everything he did! No complaints, this was a wonderful experience.

Reviewed By: Dude who rented the bus
Travel Date: October of 2012
Published on October 16, 2012 at 11:31 AM

We rented with First Student Charter Bus Rentals for my wedding last month. Disclaimer: I didn't ride the bus. Disclaimer 2: I kinda wanted to (it was a school bus full of my drunk relatives and friends) I reserved the bus to pick up our guests from one hotel, bring them to the hotel we were having our wedding at, and bring them back at the end of the reception. The bus got everyone to the ceremony on time and showed up early to pick people up at the end of the night. Our guests were having fun so I asked the driver if we could extend by another hour and the company and the driver were completely accommodating. I would like to mention that the driver also seemed very friendly and polite. I heard no complaints from anyone riding the bus and knowing the passengers like I do I can say that if something went wrong I would have heard a complaint. The prices were comparable to the "discounted" prices we were quoted by the hotel. I had a very positive experience with this company and I would recommend them!

Reviewed By: the groom
Travel Date: 18 August 2012
Published on September 17, 2012 at 07:21 PM

The driver was early, courteous, and on time and waiting for us.He helped load the bus with supplies. Our contact person, Karen Kramer from First Student was most helpful and even showed us how to save some money on our trip by the way that she scheduled the bus and the driver. The bus was clean and well-maintained. If we have need of bus services again we will remember our good experience. Thank you! Fr. Jim Shaughnessy

Reviewed By: Pastor
Travel Date: Aug. 18, 2012
Published on September 04, 2012 at 10:45 AM

Our Church had been using First Student for about 1 year. They had missed a few pickups of our College students (at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt) due to the Pittsburgh Marathon or bad weather (First Student did not call us to let us know that they were not coming). We then scheduled them for our College Retreat. On the day of the Retreat - they called 2 hours before the pickup time to tell us they had no drivers for trip! This left 85 College students waiting at Carnegie Mellon / Pitt for the Retreat. We scheduled this trip 2 months in advance. First Student had no explanation, no alternative transport and no regard for our situation. We had to call another Bus Company that afternoon to find transportation for our students. Our Students waited hours and the Retreat had to start late. Calling First Student later, we found First Student to be unapologetic and did not care as we stopped doing business with them. I highly discourage use of this company.

Reviewed By: Elder Pittsburgh Chinese Church
Travel Date: January 2011
Published on August 23, 2012 at 11:21 AM

Excellent and courteous service. Prompt and great to do business with. Would use them again for sure.

Reviewed By: Richard Jack
Travel Date: 6-24-12
Published on July 07, 2012 at 01:20 PM

Good service and responded to mistake made by bus company.

Reviewed By: Wright State Soccer
Travel Date: June 2012
Published on June 27, 2012 at 05:39 PM

We used First Student and the bus driver was excellent. She arrived earlier than our departure time, got off the bus and greeted our children and was an excellent driver. Never, have we had a bus driver that smiled and was very professional. Kudos to "Suzette" (don't remember her last name) who work at First Student. We will be using this company again and definitely recommend any group to use their services!

Reviewed By:
Travel Date:
Published on June 20, 2012 at 06:08 PM

Lynda Olson, our contact at First Student, was very responsive, helpful and flexible. She advised us on parking at our destination, alternate routes due to road construction, and the best options for our group in terms of the types of vehicles she could provide. Our driver was professional and friendly, arrived on time for both pick-up and return, got us to our destinations safely, and was flexible in various requests for leaving articles on the bus, etc. Overall a great experience with First Student and would recommend for large group or team activities.

Reviewed By: A Tough Mudder Team
Travel Date: May 19, 2012
Published on June 11, 2012 at 10:22 AM

Both of the buses were great! They were basically there on time and the bus drivers knew exactly where to go and when to get there. They were great!

Reviewed By:
Travel Date:
Published on June 08, 2012 at 07:04 AM