We rented two school buses for guest transportation at our wedding this past weekend, with staggered pickups from the hotel to the venue and back again after the event. While we were hopeful this would make things easier and safer for our guests, the experience ended up being a major source of stress and concern.

After the wedding, both buses left the venue without the bride, groom, or wedding party. We had to frantically call family members to try to get the drivers to turn around, since we were not given direct contact information for them. On the road, the bus I was in was in the middle lane going about 40 mph at most, braking suddenly and often — at times to nearly a full stop — despite an empty highway. It took a while, but the buses eventually returned to pick us up. At that point, I noticed they were significantly emptier than expected, though I didn’t realize why until later.

On the way back to the hotel, things got worse. The bus I was on was being driven so erratically that many guests feared for their safety. There was genuine confusion about whether the driver was having a medical emergency or if something was wrong with the vehicle. There was a language barrier that made it nearly impossible to get any answers. Guests were discussing calling 911 and asking for the bus to be pulled over.

We tried calling all three contact numbers listed on our confirmation — the ones provided for issues or emergencies — and it took over 20 attempts before anyone finally answered. Once we got through, the person on the line couldn’t even look up our reservation or identify which driver was assigned to us. When we tried asking the driver for their name, the language barrier again became an issue, and we also didn’t want to cause more distraction while they were driving. The only thing the representative could do was suggest asking the driver to pull over and call a manager, which we explained wasn’t a safe or realistic option in the moment.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel, we had missed our after-party. We then learned from guests that the ride to the wedding had been just as bad — frequent braking, going far below the speed limit in the middle lane, taking an unnecessarily long route, and struggling to navigate turns or open parking lots. One of our guests, who has a commercial driver’s license, had to get out and help the driver maneuver the bus. Multiple people speculated that the driver might not even have had a license. They were so shaken that most of our guests opted to take Ubers back to the hotel after the wedding instead of getting back on the buses — which explained why they were so empty when we got on. The few who did take the buses home made a point to get on the other bus to avoid the unsafe driver. Our guests chose not to tell us any of this during the event because they didn’t want to ruin the night for us.

This was far from the reliable and safe service we were promised — and paid for. I’ve spoken to the company and understand the situation is being looked into. I hope this feedback is taken seriously and leads to immediate changes in how drivers are vetted, how communication is handled during emergencies, and how the company supports customers during these kinds of situations.

We were scheduled for 9:30 AM. At 9:35, no sign of the bus. When I called, I bus put on hold and then told the bus driver had mixed up the schedule and forgotten. They were able to send a replacement driver and bus but not until 10:25. This was disappointing and really difficult for the children and families at my non-profit. I scheduled it back in July and then confirmed the week before.

I read many reviews before making calls to get quotes for a bus to transport wedding guests. First Charter had good reviews. I called several companies, and First Charter was the most responsive without being high pressure. Both before and after booking every time I reached out, I got a quick response.
The day of the wedding the driver arrived a half hour early and waited patiently till we made sure everyone was boarded. There was a small bit of miscommunication at the end of the night (partially my fault) but since I had both the bus driver's and dispatcher's numbers it was resolved very quickly,
All and all I was very pleased with the service and would recommend this company.

We used service for a company outing. No issues.

We worked with Earnst, who was punctual and communicative. The wedding Transportation ran flawlessly!

I would rate zero stars if I could. We rented a bus for a football game. There were 21 of us and at 920am when it still hadn’t showed up (9am pickup) and we finally got ahold of someone after we called 3 different numbers that were supplied. They said it was a 930am pickup so we waited. 10am rolls around. Still not there. They said we had no contract and a bus wasn’t coming. We had a contract we signed a month ago and had already paid $700. Most ridiculous thing ever. We ended up all having to drive and it ruined the entire day.

The driver was on time and very accommodating for everything!!

Very good communication and easy to work with. Payment transactions were easy to deal with. Drivers were very friendly and timely!

We used them on our wedding day for transporting our guests from the hotel to our venue. Everything went smoothly. They worked with us to create a timeline for the day and everything went according to schedule. Thank you for being part of our special day!

Johnny was on time, reliable and very friendly! Our day ran smoothly as a result and we are so grateful!

Great price point, it was convenient, and our driver was great!

Our driver, Ronald, was fabulous. He was very helpful with our elderly population. Thank you Ronald!

We used school bus transportation from/to our hotel and the wedding venue on 9/10/22. It worked out fantastic. Our driver, Connie, was so nice and our guests enjoyed her and the ride. And she also decorated the bus! Highly recommend this as option for wedding transportation and much more affordable than a limo.

Students were let on the bus without a staff member present. Other than that he was great!

Bus was clean and driver was wonderful. The problem we had was in the beginning, They had a problem with the bus we were not advised which put us 1 1/2 hours late for our event.

Great company to deal with. Everything was smooth and easy. Our driver was excellent and we will feel in safety all the way.

The bus arrived at our program on time, it was very clean, the bus driver was very nice and helpful in getting the children safely on the bus.

Our bus driver showed up right on time for our wedding. They did the first trip and came back for more passengers. They took the time to call me because everyone had made it on the first bus and asked if it was ok that they leave. This was the perfect transportation for our wedding. The only trouble I had was that FirstStudent is very difficult to reach by phone. But the bus service was excellent.

Overall, a good experience for our wedding transportation. Some confusion on the pick-up point, but once that got straightened out, it ran like a top. Thanks

Bus was early and able to adapt to any last minute requests. Even made an additional stop on the way home that wasn’t requested initially. Would book again !