Many small schools have long felt that there’s no chance of them having a minibus. They are simply too small and couldn’t afford it.

It’s a reasonable point to make – for smaller schools purchasing such a vehicle is out of the question, and even leasing looks expensive, when the bus is not going to be used five days a week.

As a result the goodwill of parents and grandparents is drawn upon to shuttle children to special events, and to ensure that they can take up the opportunities that exist in the local area.

However there is an alternative approach: a minibus shared between schools.

By and large the system works in a very straightforward way. Two or more schools agree to lease the minibus. Since all the repairs and servicing are handled by Benchmark Leasing there is no extra workload placed on any school or any individual in terms of maintenance.

The schools then agree a rough division of the leasing costs based on their estimated use of the bus. In the most simple terms if school A has the bus two days a week, and school B three days a week (with no weekend use) then school A pays 40% of the lease.

Then as time goes by, if the log shows that school A is actually using the bus 50% of the time, perhaps taking up usage one afternoon a week when school B is not using it, the payments are adjusted between the schools.

If you would like to talk about how you could jointly lease a minibus please do call us on 01753 859 944.

Alternatively take a look at our website for more information.