Free competing quotes from vetted, insured operators — nationwide, no booking fees.
Safety & credentials
Nearly every meaningful safety fact about a US passenger carrier is public and free to search. This is the exact sequence to run before you sign anything — with any operator, ours or otherwise.
The five checks
Five minutes of diligence is the highest-value work in the entire booking process.
Step 01
Every legitimate interstate passenger carrier has one, printed on the side of the vehicle and listed on their website. Search it on the FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot before you go further.
Step 02
FMCSA assigns rated carriers Satisfactory, Conditional or Unsatisfactory. Many smaller companies are simply Not Rated, which is not disqualifying — but then the roadside inspection data matters more.
Step 03
Federal minimums are $5 million combined single limit for vehicles seating 16 or more passengers and $1.5 million for smaller vehicles. FMCSA's Licensing and Insurance system shows whether an active policy is genuinely on file.
Step 04
A charter driver needs a commercial driver's licence with a passenger (P) endorsement, and the carrier must participate in a DOT drug-and-alcohol testing program. Both are legal requirements and easy questions for a professional to answer.
Step 05
Brokers are legal and often useful, but you deserve to know whether the company you booked owns the bus. Ask plainly, and if the trip is subcontracted, run every check above on the operating carrier too.
Eight items every signed charter contract should state.
Missing any of these? Ask for a revised contract. Every professional operator has this document ready and producing it takes them minutes.
Any one of these is reason to pause. Two together is reason to book somewhere else.
That last one deserves emphasis. A bid 40% under the field usually means an older vehicle, an inexperienced driver, or a plan to subcontract at a margin. Cheap is fine — unexplained cheap is a warning.
Our standard
Screening is a floor, not a substitute for your own lookup. Any operator who hesitates to give you their DOT number has told you something important.
Interstate passenger authority confirmed as ACTIVE in the federal register.
Rated carriers must hold Satisfactory; unrated carriers are judged on inspection data.
$5M combined single limit for 16+ passenger vehicles, verified as an active policy.
Authority and coverage re-checked periodically; lapsed carriers stop receiving leads.
Safety FAQ
It is the unique identifier the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration assigns to a commercial carrier. It unlocks the carrier's public safety record — operating status, safety rating, inspection history, crash data and insurance filings. A passenger carrier operating without one is operating illegally.
Federal minimums are $5 million combined single limit for vehicles designed to seat 16 or more passengers including the driver, and $1.5 million for smaller vehicles. Many corporate and government clients require higher limits or additional-insured status.
It means an FMCSA compliance review found the carrier lacked adequate safety management controls in one or more areas. The carrier may still legally operate, but you should ask what was found, when, and what has changed since before you book.
Not necessarily. Many smaller and newer carriers have simply never had a compliance review. When you see it, weigh the roadside inspection data and crash history more heavily, and ask for references from groups similar to yours.
Yes — a commercial driver's licence with a passenger (P) endorsement for any vehicle carrying 16 or more people, plus a school bus (S) endorsement for yellow bus work with students. Drivers must also be in a DOT drug-and-alcohol testing program.
We verify active USDOT passenger authority, a satisfactory FMCSA safety rating where one exists, current commercial liability insurance at or above federal minimums, and recent inspection and crash history. Authority and insurance are re-checked on a rolling basis and non-compliant carriers stop receiving leads.
Every operator in the network holds active DOT authority and current commercial insurance. Compare up to five of them for your trip, free.
