Charter Bus Policy
These are the Gray Line Minnesota policies for all of our transportation services. They are designed to ensure the well-being of all of our valued passengers, drivers and staff.
Contract Acceptance
A written quotation does not guarantee availability. To reserve a vehicle, a charter contract must be issued by Schmitty & Sons Transportation personnel, signed by client and returned to Schmitty & Sons personnel. Please double check accuracy of charter details and make corrections as required before returning.
Confirmation
Charters must be confirmed prior to departure.This includes confirming final pickup /drop-off locations, times, and vehicle requirements. Confirmation ensures accurate scheduling and allows us time to prepare for your charter with final details.
Payment
Your salesperson will work with you to customize all details for your upcoming trip. They will review booking terms with you. Please know that we understand that every customer’s situation is unique, and we will do our best to work out a customized plan for you.
Pricing
Pricing is calculated per final itinerary, deviations from itinerary in mileage or driver labor hours may result in a difference in quoted price.
Cancellation
Details of our cancellation policy will be outlined in advance on your trip confirmation. If you wish to review prior to booking, please contact your dedicated account manager. We understand that life happens and we try to remain as flexible as possible.
Insurance & W-9
We carry a $15 million liability insurance coverage to protect our guests, employees and the public. Contact us to request an insurance certificate or our corporation’s W-9.
Itinerary
We ask that if possible, you submit a completed final itinerary at a minimum 7 days prior to departure. This will allow us time to schedule the driver and to ensure that the professional driver has all the details of your trip, prior to departure. We provide the best experience possible for our clients. Final itinerary should include exact physical addresses, timing for each stop location and a contact name and phone number for the day of.
Driver Restrictions
By law, drivers may not drive more than 10 hours during any 15 hours on duty without an 8 hour off duty period. During off duty periods, the vehicle shall not be occupied by passengers. If itinerary requires more than one driver, additional drivers may be employed onboard or exchanged en route for an additional charge.
Driver Lodging
The group is responsible for individual hotel rooms for drivers on overnight trips. Overnight accommodations should be made at same hotel as charter group if possible (with over-sized vehicle parking). If the group is not staying in a hotel, or in any other case where the group & driver are not in the same place for overnight stays, hotel rooms will be at the responsibility of Schmitty & Sons Transportation at an additional charge unless indicated.
Gratuity
Schmitty & Sons believes in leaving the discretion of gratuities to our customer. Though gratuity is not mandated, it is greatly appreciated by our professional drivers. Customary gratuity ranges from $1 to $2 per person or 10-20 percent of the total charter trip. Gratuities are not included in charter price unless otherwise noted. By request, we can add gratuity on to charter total and will be passed in full to the professional driver or tour escort.
Food & Drinks
Food and drink are both allowed on our vehicles. We request that all drinks brought on-board our vehicles be screw-top containers and we ask that our customers refrain from bringing glass onto the vehicle for safety concerns. Please use the waste baskets provided for your garbage.
Smoking & Alcohol
At no time is smoking of any type permitted aboard any Schmitty & Sons Transportation vehicle. A stop can be made as requested by group leader at any time for smoking. Alcohol is permitted on our vehicles and may be subject to a cleaning fee.
Damage & Cleaning Fees
Damage or excessive clean-up to our vehicles inflicted by charter group will be billed at book repair value to contracting group. Excessive cleaning required by irregular use of vehicle interiors will be billed up to an additional fee per vehicle cleaned. Contracting person is responsible to pay any damages.
Lost Items
Please make sure you have collected all of your items off of the coach at the end of your trip. Schmitty & Sons Transportation is not responsible for any uncollected items. Our dispatch office does maintain a lost and found, so you may call our office in the event of a lost item. Typically, these items are held for a maximum of 30 days. If we do recover your item, we will be happy to work with you on getting the item back.
Overall Comments
Schmitty & Sons is an employee-owned company. Our staff and drivers will do everything we can to ensure you have a pleasant experience. We will do our best to accommodate your group right down to the very last detail. This will make sure that when you do business with us, you will be doing it with style, class & luxury. We at Schmitty & Sons Transportation want to make sure to exceed your travel expectations.