Michigan Music Conference Bus Chartering Cheat Sheet

Each year, Indian Trails buses carry more than 1 million passengers, including high school bands and other young musicians performing in parades and other events, throughout Michigan. If you are looking ahead to the 13^th Annual Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids, January 25-27, now is the time to book your group’s charter.

Thanks to our 107 years of professional transportation service, we make it simple to complete the process and have developed this five-point cheat sheet to help you and your musicians enjoy a great charter experience.

1) Create your group’s itinerary: including going, coming and every place in between. Include a timed schedule for the entire trips, all stops, and hotels, and other destinations. Once everyone agrees the itinerary is complete, require all decision makers to sign off on it. Check out our road trip itinerary builder for help, and remember your charter bus company will need the details of your trip to ensure service is timely and adequate.

2) Dispense and collect all necessary signed forms including:

• Participant agreement – this document is the rule sheet and sets the expectations for student behavior (i.e., no drug or alcohol use, conflict resolution, respect for others, etc.).
• Parent permission – all parents or guardians, even parents who are chaperoning, must sign and return this form for their children.
• Chaperone rules agreement – this is a list of agreed-upon rules for chaperones to refer to when interacting with students.

3) Provide parents and/or students with optional medical forms. For example, students with known chronic health concerns such as diabetes, heart problems, and allergies can fill out a health history and medical release form, which can provide important information in the event that medical care is needed. All students or parents should be provided an emergency medical treatment form to sign, giving parental permission for emergency medical treatment.

4) Plan group activities that can entertain and help keep students in their seats. For the musically inclined, sing-a-longs are a great pastime that can also double as a practice, when time is short. If your charter bus has seat or ceiling screens, DVDs can fill a few hours for many passengers. Note that charter companies must be licensed to show movies, even those brought from home. Free WiFi and charging also allow passengers to use their own mobile devices for a variety of entertainment options from music to books to streaming sports. But having a few preplanned activities queued up is a great way to nip restlessness in the bud. For more ideas and information about traveling with kids, download our Professionals Guide to Bus Trips with Kids.

5) Ask the right questions of charter companies before you sign on the dotted line:

• What route will the charter company follow for your trip?
• Does the charter company have 24-hour dispatch service in case of a breakdown?
• Can the charter company provide you an emergency telephone number?
• What free amenities does the charter company offer: WiFi? Charging? Cargo storage? DVD players?
• Does the charter company use GPS, both directional and diagnostic, to track the bus, diagnose problems, expedite assistance, and monitor traffic?

These are a few questions to ask up front and more questions and other helpful information can be found in The Complete Guide to Booking a Bus.

To learn more about chartering an Indian Trails bus for the Michigan Music Conference, contact us today at 800.292.3831, or go online and request a quote, view our services and amenities and book your charter today.