Can I drive a minibus?

Minibuses are an easier and more cost efficient way of transporting large groups of people without the need for multiple cars.

We recently had 12 fire-fighters from Hemel Hempstead Fire Station hiring one of our minibuses to complete the 3 peaks challenge.

They're great for sports teams. We've seen St Albans City Youth Girls Football Club driving home in one of our minibuses complete with the winners cup. The GB Canoe Polo Squad have taken our minibuses to France, Belgium, Poland, and Spain, and the St Albans girls rugby team have traveled all over the country in the comfort of our rental minbuses.

This summer we've had minibusses going to Germany, the Netherlands. We've also seen families take them on holiday to France, Italy and Spain this year.

Closer to home our minibuses have been taken to the races at Ascot, and we regularly see groups heading to Thorpe park, Alton Tower, and Center Parks for birthday parties and family outings.

To hire any minibus from St Albans Car and Van Hire you must be 25 years or older, and before hiring a minibus you need to ensure that you're legally entitled to drive one on your current driving license.

If you held your driving license before January 1st 1997 you're entitled to drive a minibus as long as you have a D1 on your license, are 25 or older, and you're not charging the passengers for the journey.

If you got your driving license after that date then you can drive a minibus as long as:

  • the maximum weight of the minibus is not more than 3.5 tonnes (or 4.25 tonnes including specialist equipment for disabled passengers, eg a wheelchair ramp)
  • you’re not towing a trailer

If you'd like to discuss minibus hire with us then give us a call on 01727 838151, email rentals@carandvanhire.co.uk, or fill out our online contact form.


This isn't intended to be a definitive guide, please ensure you check the official government guidance before planning on hiring a minibus: https://www.gov.uk/driving-a-minibus.

Posted on November 29th 2013

Loading... Updating page...