Can I drive a minibus

Kua

Hi

I'm 26 years old, have no points on my licence and have held my licence since I was 17. I don't have a D1.

I was hoping to hire either a 15 or a 17 seater minibus (for £55 or £65 for one day respectively). I was going to fill it with people for a day out to the Lakes. We'd share the cost between us.

Do I need to obtain my D1 to do this?

It seems to me that I fill all these criteria (taken from here). Although I'm not sure whether my intended use counts as "for hire":

You may drive a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats provided:
(i) you drive on behalf of a
non-commercial body for social purposes but not for hire or reward (unless operating under a permit);
(ii) you are aged 21 or over;
(iii) you have held a car (category licence 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 (see below); and
(vi) you do not tow a trailer.

But the hire firm told me I needed a D1... Incidentally can anyone tell me whether their prices are reasonable?

Thanks!

George_Michael

Maybe the D1 requirement is the policy of the hire firm. Have you tried any other companies to see what they say?

iolanthe07

Maybe the D1 requirement is the policy of the hire firm.

It is more likely to be the requirement from their insurers.

mikey72

If you don't have D1 on your licence, you have a maximum vehicle weight of 3.5 tonnes you can drive.
A lot of minibuses have maximum weights in excess of 3.5 tonnes

spiro

Is this trip part of a social club or football team (non-commercial body)? If not I do not think you are not complying with:

(i) you drive on behalf of a non-commercial body for social purposes

The provision was put in to avoid the need for loads of sports clubs etc needing to get drivers to pass a class D1 because of the new rules.

Kua

spiro wrote: »

Is this trip part of a social club or football team (non-commercial body)? If not I do not think you are not complying with:

(i) you drive on behalf of a non-commercial body for social purposes

The provision was put in to avoid the need for loads of sports clubs etc needing to get drivers to pass a class D1 because of the new rules.

No its nothing official. Just a group of friends.

Plushchris

As far as the prices go they seem reasonable enough (check to see if this includes a collision damage waiver though)

As far as the D1 is concerned, if you havent got it the hire firm wont hire you a van, pure and simple, I'm not sure if thats their policy or their insurers but if they ask for D1 and you havent got it then you wont be hiring the van.

I would imagine its probably the insurers, if you think about it, if you have an accident with 15 other people in the bus, the insurers could have up to 15 claims to deal with. You are responsible for the lives of the people you have in the bus. Although you and everyone in the bus may have faith in your driving abilities, the insurers probably wont be so keen to trust you if you dont have that D1

The only other thing to do is lower the numbers and hire a 9 seater MPV (Ford galaxy or something?)

vikingaero

If you passed your driving test after 1997 it's unlikely you'll have D1 entitlement on your licence. Some voluntary organisations allow driving on a car licence for hire and reward purposes. As others have said the weight of a 15/17 seat minibus with passengers is likely to exceed 3.5t.

flutterbyuk25

I drive a 17 seater minibus (on a D1 licence) and mine weighs about 4.2T

x

Tilt

Short and simple answer is no. Unless you passed your normal driving test before 1st Jan 1997 your licence will not cover you to drive any vehicle with more than 8 passenger seats. To drive a vehicle with more than 8 seats in any event would require a PCV licence if carrying for hire or reward and the vehicle would have to meet with PCV requirements.

Yes I would say those prices are reasonable providing the vehicles are fairly new.

Plushchris

Tilt wrote: »

Short and simple answer is no. Unless you passed your normal driving test before 1st Jan 1997 your licence will not cover you to drive any vehicle with more than 8 passenger seats. To drive a vehicle with more than 8 seats in any event would require a PCV licence if carrying for hire or reward and the vehicle would have to meet with PCV requirements.

Yes I would say those prices are reasonable providing the vehicles are fairly new.

I think you are wrong, there are lots of cars out there that have more than 8 seats that dont require a PCV license.

Land Rover County with 12 seats? No PCV license needed for that (or D1 for that matter)

Doesnt bother me as I have the D1 and D1E license

A PCV license is needed when driving a 15 or 16 seater for hire or reward, and a PCV license is different to a D1 license. A D1 will entitle you to drive up to 16 seater as long as its not for hire or reward.