A story in a local Northumberland newspaper recently told of a village school whose minibus was stolen. 

The minibus was a vital part of this particular rural school’s life, and its disappearance meant an immediate curtailment of several school activities.

Worse, as the Headteacher commented to the journalist covering the story, “We are insured but the insurance will not by any means cover the value of the bus to us.”

In other words the school was, as a result of the theft, unable to continue with many of its planned activities, and it saw no way of gaining enough money quickly to allow it to buy a new bus.

That bus was owned by the school, and not leased, but it does raise the question as to what would have happened if one of our leased buses had been stolen? 

In fact I have to say that I can’t recall any of our buses ever having been stolen. Indeed the fact that the school had insurance that would not cover the cost of a new bus suggests that the vehicle in question was quite old. 

This raises an important point, for security systems in minibuses have improved dramatically over recent years, which probably explains why that school’s bus was targeted.

So the theft of a recent model is much less likely than the theft of an old model, but if it were to happen to one of our leased minibuses, then we would deal directly with the school’s insurance company, taking quite a large administrative load away from the school.

What’s more we generally have some stock for urgent situations and would be able to supply a replacement within 7-10 days in most cases.  We also have a daily rental facility that could supply a stop-gap vehicle within 4 working hours.

The supply of a bus within a few hours however does come at an extra cost, but it is normally possible for schools to be able to get this cost covered within their vehicle insurance policy.

There’s more information on our website.  Alternatively call us on 01753 859944.