Minibus Club Article Archive

“You’re never too old to learn” is a helpful saying and the concept behind it goes far further. Few would dispute that no one is too skilled, experienced or clever to learn either. However, we can all learn from someone who has much experience. David is a Scout Leader who’s been a D1-licenced minibus driver for 30 years. Let’s hear what he has to say.

David favours Ford-engined LDV minibuses, saying that their 2.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine is better than any normally aspirated unit. Regardless of what’s under the bonnet before him, David uses the same pre-flight checks before taking a party of scouts out on a road trip. He recommends that the minibus be serviced at a reputable garage. He prefers the input of qualified mechanics, rather than DIY servicing. That said, David himself also gives the minibus he’s to use a pre-trip once over. This includes checking the tyres’ condition and pressures, as well as taking a look at the oil level and ensuring that windows are clean and that the minibus’s floor is swept. It’s also David’s practice to keep a logbook for each minibus. In this, notes concerning any problems are made, with follow-up actions being logged and subsequently signed off.

With his preparations made, David follows some important self-established guidelines when he drives. When used in the UK, a minibus needn’t be equipped with a tachograph. However, David will ensure he has a rest break at least every two hours. His personal best in terms of trip time was a five-hour sojourn to Ireland for the Irish Jamboree in Dublin. A one-hour ferry crossing, out bound from Holyhead, Anglesey, obviously constituted a bracing rest break!

For any respectably lengthy trip with Scouts, David recommends that another Scout Leader who can drive the minibus should be to hand. He also has some tips about loading the vehicle, preferring not to tow a trailer as this can overload the minibus to the detriment of its clutch. Whilst it’s fine to use a roof rack, David warns against overloading it as this can make for a top-heavy combination. However, especially as many Scout groups use box vans, David warns that LPG gas bottles should be carried on the roof rack. Carrying gas bottles inside the minibus or van is frowned upon because leaking gas and confined spaces never mix.

With his 30 years at the wheel of minibuses, has David any stories to relate? He tells of an incident that took place on the way back from a camping trip to Brownsea Island, the birthplace of scouting. Though David clearly lived to tell the tale, it’s just as clear that a near miss with a foreign articulated lorry driving on the wrong side of the road was a memorable event. This also suggests that constant vigilance when driving is more than worth a place in a minibus driver’s personal portfolio.

David also makes a significant point concerning driving a minibus carrying youngsters. They may be excited at the prospect of a trip but David will temper this with some simple ground rules. In his book, distractions equal potential danger and noise is particularly distracting for any driver. So, while he doesn’t insist on sepulchral silence, David respectfully requests that the noise level is kept within reasonable bounds.

Thanks to David for his practical tips for practicable journeys. He will be telling us more but for now, it’s obvious that his advice can benefit any minibus driver.

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Last time, we looked at how Section 19 permits exempt minibus drivers from having to hold a PSV operator’s licence. Now, we can look at the remaining rules, as well as a how you acquire a permit.

The following rules concern who can drive the minibus. These ensure that drivers may use a Section 19 permit because they meet the following requirements.

All permit drivers must be aged 21 or more.

If a driver passed the ‘car’ driving test (category B on a photocard licence) before the 1st January 1997, he or she will hold the automatic category D1 entitlement to drive a 9 to 16 seat minibus. This will allow such a vehicle to be driven under the permit for as long as the driver holds the D1 entitlement.
When the licence expires, the driver, having proved he or she meets the required health standards by passing a compulsory medical examination, may receive a renewal of D1 entitlement lasting 3 years.

If a driver passed the test on or after the 1st January 1997, automatic D1 entitlement won’t have been granted. The driver may drive a vehicle with up to eight passenger seats. However, he or she may drive a 9 to 16 seat minibus if

• He or she has held a category B licence for 2 years
• He or she receives nothing more than out-of-pocket expenses for driving the vehicle
• If aged 70 or more, he or she can pass the medical examination for category D1 entitlement
• The minibus’s gross weight is 3.5 tonnes or less, or 4.25 tonnes or less, including specialized equipment for disabled passengers

Now for the practicalities of acquiring a Section 19 permit for a minibus. The first of these is how to apply. A permit is normally granted to a specific group, a scout group, for example. However, it is possible for an individual named on behalf of such a body to be granted a permit. With this in mind, you need to know where to apply and there are several sources of application forms, including

Your area’s Traffic Commissioner

Your local authority

Umbrella originations, which are bodies that assist with or co-ordinate community groups’ activates in the area. Examples include The Scout Association and Age Concern and these umbrella organisations are permitted to issue Section 19 permits to groups that are associated with them.

A designated body. These are national voluntary organisations and in some cases, they can issue permits to other bodies with similar interests.

Schools and other bodies associated with education, provided they fulfil the authority’s duties under the Education Act 1944.

As you can see, tracking down an application form will require some web searches and/or phone calls but there are some aspects of Section 19 permits that are easy to convey. For example, the cost. Currently, a permit sourced via your area Traffic Commissioner costs £7. Local authorities set their own charge, but the maximum appears to be around the £12 mark.

A section 19 permit for a minibus lasts indefinitely and each comes with a disc, to be displayed on the vehicle, in the same way as a tax disc. The rule is one permit, one vehicle at one time but permits can be swapped from minibus to minibus, provided each comes under the small bus parameters mentioned above. You can use your permit on a hired minibus but if another non-profit making organisation rents your minibus, it cannot use your permit(s). It must use its own. Finally, if you lose your permit and/or disc, you can request duplicates. However, if either turns up, you must return them immediately.

In the final analysis, a Section 9 permit is a licence to charge your passengers fairly and legally, without a PSV licence. Taking advantage of this exemption makes sense, just as meeting the regulations to do so is easy.

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At first glance, a minibus relevant ‘Section 19 permit’ sounds just a little bit sinister, bringing to mind phrases such as ‘the Roswell incident’ or ‘Area 51′. However, Section 19 isn’t a top-secret US Military base in Nevada, nor is it a place where the remains of crash-landed aliens were (allegedly) taken to be studied. Section 19 is in fact part of the Transport Act. Now, there’s no need to become enmeshed in the shades of meaning in the Department for Transport’s deathless prose. Happily, we can simply look at the bottom line, which reveals that with a Section 19 permit, non-profit making organisations may make a charge for carrying passengers, without holding the normally-essential Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operator’s licence. The relevant Traffic Commissioner, among others, grants a permit.

One needn’t read between the lines to appreciate that this facility is valuable for, let’s say, ‘club minibuses’. Nevertheless, there are plenty of lines to be read and this article is to guide you through the rules and regulations. You must know about these to apply for and use a Section 19 permit.

First, we need to have a definition of a minibus in the context of Section 19 permits. Here, a minibus is a passenger-carrying vehicle with more than eight seats but fewer than 16 seats, as well as a driver’s seat. Next, we need to define ‘hire or reward’, as applied to the kind of minibus use we’re proposing. For this, hire or reward is any payment that gives a person a right to be carried on a vehicle. In short, it’s a fare.

Now, we must understand the rules that apply to the non-profit making organisations which can use minibuses to transport fare-paying passengers without holding a PSV operator’s licence, courtesy of the exemption offered by a Section 19 permit. Deep breath? Not yet, because there’s one simple rule. This says that you cannot offer transport to the general public under the permit and you can’t use it outside the UK.

Next come the rules that define a non-profit making body. These say this is a body that runs transport services without a view to profiting from them and doesn’t run them as incidental to a profit-making activity. Generally, registered charities qualify, as do non-profit making bodies that run activities that benefit the community or are concerned with recreation, social welfare, religion or education.

Here’s where the rules become a bit more complicated but they exist for a reason. The following rules are used so that the voluntary organisation concerned takes proper responsibility for its passengers. The rules – simplified – say this…

(a) Vehicles used under a Section 19 permit must always be in a fit and serviceable condition.

(b) Drivers must be told to report any vehicle defects as soon as possible

(c) Records of all inspections of vehicle defects and of repairs must be kept and retained for a minimum of 15 months.

(d) Any hire vehicle used must meet the relevant conditions of fitness for use.

These ‘rules of responsibility’ apply to the vehicle(s) used. Two further such rules apply to what must be carried on board at all times…

(a) At least one fire extinguisher complying with the relevant British Standard, with…

1: A minimum test rating of 8a or 12b
2: Water or foam inside, or the indication it contains Halon 1301

(b) A clearly marked first aid kit that’s easy to reach, is regularly checked and has…

Ten foil-packed antiseptic wipes
One disposable bandage no less than 7.5cm wide
Two triangular bandages
A packet of 24 assorted adhesive dressings
Two sterile eye pads, with attachments
Twelve assorted safety pins
Blunt ended, rustproof scissors

Part two of this article goes on to describe the rules concerning who may drive under a permit, where to apply for one and how to use it.

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