The school minibus: gateway to education beyond the classroom, but seemingly too expensive to buy, full of red tape and the need to have someone in the school who sees to the maintenance.

Except that there are solutions, solutions which can be used to provide a minibus, whether for the exclusive use of the sports department or to be shared with other departments in the school.

For a start, a minibus does not necessarily require a large payment of money up front. If the school leases a minibus rather than buying it outright the school then pays for it on a monthly basis, thereby overcoming completely the problem of squeezing already limited cash reserves.  And that is only the start of the saving. 

Where some school visits and trips are paid for through contributions from parents and the PTA, this can often generate enough funds to cover the monthly cost of the minbus.

Alternatively, the minibus can be funded through small monthly deductions from various departments’ income.  Or, if you can persuade both the PTA and perhaps half a dozen departments in the school to agree to fund the bus jointly, the funding problem is completely resolved.

The  issue of keeping the vehicle fully maintained and operational at all times can be overcome by an arrangement whereby the company from whom the school leases the minibus is also in charge of maintenance.

What’s more, if you order a minibus in the near future, the chances are it will be delivered to you in September.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses.  If you are interested in the benefits of a minibus do call us on 01753 859944 or click here to see what we can offer.

When you have one it can seem so obvious that this is, of course, a must-have for your school.  If you’ve never had one it might look like a ludicrous luxury.

If you have had one and it has gone wrong or caused you endless problems, you might wish you’d never decided to have one.  If you have one and maintenance is always taken care of elsewhere so that there is never a problem, you might wonder what the fuss is all about.

The topic in question is the school minibus.  A gateway into education in the environment for many schools; one step too far for others.

Cost, red tape, health and safety – there is no end to the justifications that can be given for not having a minibus.

Reduction in coach hire costs, more opportunities to get out and about, time savings, ease of use, “education in the environment” – there is likewise no end to the benefits that can be listed in favour of having one.

Across the school almost all departments, from sports to music, from history to languages, from science to geography, can make use of a minibus.

But still there is sometimes a suggestion that cost is the prohibitive factor with the minibus being seen as a luxury rather than an essential.   Yet as a route to education outside the classroom and the positive impact that such educational events can have, the minibus can be seen as worth its weight.

For schools which have one the minibus delivers over and over again – enabling schools easily to go out to museums and sites of geographic or scientific interest, to visit other schools, art galleries, theatres, concerts, sports fixtures… .

For many who use a minibus there is no doubt that once they are up and running with it the perceived problems of minibuses are found to be exaggerated.  Leasing overcomes the problem of limited cash reserves and an arrangement whereby the supplier of the minibus is also in charge of maintenance resolves that particular heartache.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses.  If you are interested in the benefits of a minibus do call me on 01753 859944 or click here to see what we can offer.