Look Before You Book! How to Make an Informed, Safety Minded Busing Decision

It can be hard to know where to start when you begin your search for a new transportation service provider, whether it’s moving work crews to and from an industrial site, chartering a shuttle for an event, or enlisting a coach service for a local sports team, the list of carriers vying for your business is endless. It has never been more important to ensure safety remains at the forefront of your decision, whichever carrier you ultimately hire.

Diversified Transportation has long maintained a proven safety record and upholds a ‘Safely Home’ promise, a devotion to the highest level of precaution, care, and professionalism, but in the end, this commitment goes beyond even our own services. Regardless of the company you decide to hire, we want to empower buyers to take safety into their own hands, and we strongly encourage you to always “Look Before You Book”.

Instinctively, it is common for customers to look to the most obvious factors of location and price-point when they first begin their search. Often, these surface factors lead the path of one’s research, but they are not always indicative of some very crucial carrier qualities and can end up costing you more in the end. A company’s qualifications and previous experiences may not be represented, nor are they correlated. Just because a carrier has been around for many years, or has a lower price point, does not ensure that they are following industry safety standards or in compliance with the law. The first priority and goal in mind should always be the safety of the passengers you intend to transport. It’s important to look deeper into qualifications, experience, safety rating, and resume.

The next question is, how? Below are some inquiries we believe to be integral to getting to the bottom of the matter. Don’t be afraid to ask the prospective carrier, and remember that this information should be shared freely.

1. Can you provide your companies Risk Factor Rating?

   R-Factor is shown as a number. The lower the number, the better the R-score, and less likely the carrier is to have a future collision.

2. Can you provide your companies Collision Rating?

   Reputable organizations track all collisions, big or small, to closely monitor their safety and training programs. It is generally reported as collisions per million miles. 

3. Does your company have an operating License issued by the province/territory that authorizes the service being offered?

   If the trip is beyond the provincial/ territorial borders, the company may require an Extra-Provincial Operating License issued by the province/ territory.

4. Does your company have an MCPCC accredited training program?

   Not all training programs are created equal. An MPCC accredited program with simulator training can greatly increase a driver's professional abilities.  

5. Does your company have a proven maintenance program?

   A strong indicator of a carriers preventative maintenance program is their breakdown frequency. Typically this is tracked as breakdowns per million miles.

6. What is your company's WCB rating?

   Experience rating is a method of adjusting insurance premiums by comparing accident experience to the industry average of 1.15.

7. What is the average age of your fleet?

   A fleet that is regularly refurbished or replaced with newer vehicles is a good indicator of your carriers investment in overall operational quality.

The responses for all of these kinds of questions should help guide you in your decision when comparing carriers and making an informed, safety minded decision about who to hire.

When it comes to ratings and industry standards, Diversified consistently comes in on top. When you’re researching your next School Bus or Motorcoach charter, or in need of Employee or Industrial transportation, take a moment to compare Diversified. With Best in Class Safety, seatbelt equipped fleets, exceptionally low collision rates, and impeccable care and maintenance of our vehicles we are proud to exceed the standards of our competitors.

Always “Look Before You Book” by asking the right questions, and help to keep carriers accountable for their standings! Remember that safety comes first and never settle for anything less.