VFB has been providing vehicles to the TV & film industry for 15 years

Important information about sleeper bus hires

Please take a few minutes to read through the below important information about hiring a sleeper bus with VFB

TRAilers

We have Standard and Super trailers on fleet. Bus & trailer quotes include a Standard trailer unless a Super trailer was specifically requested.

Standard trailers have internal dims L3m x W1.75m x H2m; capacity 10.5m3, max load 2000kg

Super trailers have internal dims L3m x W2.25m x H2.1m; capacity 14.2m3, max load 2000kg

If you would like us to re-quote for a Super trailer (+£50/day), please let us know

Driver Hours

The attached itinerary takes into account the EU Regulation (EC)561/2006 on EU drivers' hours and is constructed to give you the lowest possible hire fee whilst staying within the law. If any of the timings/routings stated do not fit your plans please let me know and we will do our best to re-arrange the quote to suit.

If double-drivers are proposed for any part of the hire, this is also in order to comply with the drivers' hours regulations and are arranged at the lowest viable cost.

A copy of the full Drivers Hours Regulations is available on request - in essence they are, for a bus with one driver, as follows:

There is a daily driving limit of 9 hours, which can be extended to 10 hours no more than twice in a mon-sun week.
A break of at least 45 minutes must be taken after no more than 4.5 hours of driving.
A Daily Rest period of at least 11 hours must be completed within 24hrs of the start of the previous duty. This rest can be reduced to 9 hours no more than three times in a mon-sun week. It is especially important to bear this in mind if the bus isn't able to park at the show venue, as time must be allowed for a Daily Rest Period NOT INCLUDING travel time between load-in, parking and load-out.
A Weekly Rest of at least 45 uninterrupted hours must be taken after a maximum of six consecutive 24hr periods of work. This rest can be reduced to a minimum of 24 hours (uninterrupted) as long as a Full Weekly Rest (45 hours) is also taken within six consecutive 24hr periods following the reduced weekly break and the shortfall is made up en-bloc, attached to a Daily or Weekly Rest Period before the end of the third week following the week in question.

Drivers on Daily or Weekly Breaks are not permitted to drive the bus (including for hotel transfers, load-ins, creating space for trucks, etc) unless instructed to do so by a police officer. Please check the itinerary we have supplied you against your parking arrangements. If, for example, the bus needs to park away from your next venue before load-in for any reason, we might need to arrange for a feeder-driver to take over, even if it's only an extra 25 metres. The cost for a double-driver arranged last-minute is usually around £400/day.

If you intend to use the bus as accommodation on non-travel off-days, you will be required to provide reasonable hotel accommodation near to your parking location for the driver(s) so they can take their Weekly Break periods. VFB will arrange this and raise a suplementary invoice if necessary.

Parking

Arranging parking and power for the bus during the hire is the hirer's responsibility (unless specifically agreed with us in advance). The bus needs a 32 amp 3-phase power supply (basic systems can be run from a 16 amp supply but the air conditioning would not function). All the cabling is carried on board - all that needs to be provided at park-up is access to a suitable power outlet.

If powered parking is not available at any of the venues during your hire, PLEASE LET US KNOW IN ADVANCE. You will need to arrange for alternative accommodation for yourselves and the driver(s) while the bus is parked. At minimum, the driver(s) will need a dayroom in which to sleep and the bus will be inaccessible.

For environmental reasons we cannot allow the bus to run at idle while it is parked. If you wish to hire a generator to power the bus on parkup, VFB can provide details of suitable units. Generators would need to be hired on a venue-by-venue basis as they cannot be tansported by the bus.

A supplementary invoice for driver accommodation costs will be sent to the hirer in the event that powered parking is unavailable and VFB are required to arrange any rooms for the driver(s)

Double-drivers

If a second driver is required for part or all of the hire, a spare bunk would be needed for their exclusive use as there is only one driver's bunk on the bus. Alternatively, we can re-quote the hire to budget for day-rooms for the second driver if you would prefer.PLEASE NOTE THAT AN EXTRA DRIVER REDUCES THE MAXIMUM LEGALLY PERMITTED NUMBER OF PASSENGERS BY ONE.

Post-Brexit travel

If your tour leaves the UK it is the responsibility of the hirer to ensure all members of the touring party are fully compliant with all requirements relating to overseas travel. Vans For Bands Ltd will ensure the bus (and trailer, if towing) and driver(s) meet all their requirements.

ATA Carnet

If your tour leaves the UK at any point you may need an ATA Carnet and GMR/PBN references. Please check with your carnet provider about this. You will need to ensure that the Holder of the Carnet or an officially nominated representative will be present and awake on the bus when it crosses any borders where the Carnet will need to be presented to Customs. VFB will accept no responsibility for any fines, seizure/destruction of goods etc where the driver has been left in charge of the Carnet.

Ferry travel

Under Maritime Law it is forbidden for passengers to travel on the vehicle decks of ferries. If your tour includes any ferry travel all passengers and drivers must leave the bus after boarding the ferry and travel on the passenger decks. Cabins are not included in the quote but (if available) we can book cabins for you in advance, or you can arrange cabins once on board.

HOW TO CONFIRM A HIRE

If you would like to go ahead with the hire please email us, using the quote number as a reference.

15% of the hire fee will become due as a non-refundable confirmation deposit.
The remaining balance will be payable as detailed on the invoice and hire agreement.
No hires can be confirmed in our schedule until we have received a signed copy of the Hire Agreement and the confirmation deposit has been paid. Please do not assume that by receiving the invoice & hire agreement your hire has been fully-confirmed, "held" or "pencilled" in our schedule.
By confirming the booking with us you are accepting the points laid out here and agreeing to our standard terms and conditions as shown here. Please note the cancellation policy outlined in clause 10.4 of the T&Cs.
We have also included an itinerary for the hire with your quotation which is based on the information you have provided. The quoted price is based on the bus following these movements, so please take some time to check it over to make sure it still matches your intended travel plans. It includes fairly accurate estimates of arrival times in each city, based on a bus call of 01:00am after each show (unless otherwise indicated), taking into account reasonable wiggle-room for heavy traffic, border crossings, ferries etc.