Travel Destinations

Introduction Minibuses are great for transporting a party of friends, family, or a sports team. They seat up between 9 and 16 passengers – not including the driver and provide a great way of getting small groups of people from A to B. To drive a minibus in the UK you must own a driving license with a D1 entitlement. These used to be issued onto licenses automatically but in 1997 the conditions changed:

If you had entitlement to drive cars prior to 1st January 1997 you can drive a minibus provided it has a no more then a maximum of up to 17 seats including the driver’s seat and is not being used for hire or reward. Your minibus entitlement will remain valid in the UK until your license is next renewed.

Meeting higher medical standards When your licence is renewed, the minibus entitlement can only be issued if you make a special application. This special application will require meeting a new higher medical standard. Providing your minibus entitlement is renewed, at the age of 70, you will normally be granted a licence for a maximum of three years that will allow you to drive a minibus although NOT for hire or reward. If your minibus entitlement is not renewed, the entitlement will no longer appear on your licence.

Driving a minibus under the permit scheme In order to drive any minibus that has nine or more passenger seats for hire or reward you will normally need a passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) entitlement. There are some exceptions (see below). To obtain this will mean meeting much higher medical standards and take a further driving test. However, if you drive a minibus for an organisation under the minibus or community bus permit scheme you will not need to have the higher PCV entitlements. Should your license does not include a D1 entitlement then you may still be entitled to drive a minibus under certain conditions.

You are allowed to drive a minibus with up to 16 passengers if: i) you drive on behalf of a non commercial body for social purposes but not for hire or payment, unless operating under a permit; ii) you are aged 21and over; iii) you have possessed a car (category B) license for at least 2 years; iv) you are providing your service on a voluntary basis; v) the minibus maximum weight is not more than 3.5 tonnes excluding any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers. Minibuses up to 4.25 tonnes will be permitted in certain circumstances. vi) if you are 70 years old and over, you are able to meet the health requirements for driving a vehicle (i.e. minibus) which comes within the D1 class; If you meet these requirements there are two further rules you must act in accordance with: you may not receive any payment you must not tow a trailer (of any size).

Any commercial companies operating in the UK MUST be licensed and registered by VOSA. Hire or reward means any payment in cash or kind made by or on behalf of the passengers that give them the right to be carried in a vehicle. This would also include courtesy transport from a sport centre if you are paying for a course for example

Mark JM Bond is a director of The London Minibus Company. Check out his web site for more details on Minibus Hire and Coach Hire in the UK