First Student

I placed an order for a bus for 2 separate events about 2 months before the event. The buses were scheduled for 3 hours (9:00-12:00).

May 7- The bus was sent to another location at 9:00 but after calling the company twice, it finally arrived to our location 30 minutes late. So technically they were on time but since they weren't at the correct location, I guess that means they were late.
The company apologized and compensated us for our next trip.

May 22-
9:00, no bus. I usually give people a 15 minute leeway before contacting them.
9:15, "Hi, our bus hasn't arrived". "The bus went to the wrong location. They are on the way".
9:45, "Hi, our bus hasn't arrived". "The bus went to the wrong location. They are on the way".
9:50, the bus arrives.

Obviously there's a huge miscommunication on their end because the invoice clearly stated the address and time of the event. I let it slide the first time but being 50 minutes late the second time?! What a disappointment.

On another note, the drivers were apologetic and very friendly.

If I could give zero stars, I would. Kicking myself for not looking this company up on Yelp before hiring them. Our bus never showed up, despite multiple confirmations and charging my credit card the day before our booking date. We had 40 people we needed to transport to our event and had to scramble getting everyone in Lyfts. All the "day of" numbers they gave us, when we called, said they were "closed". I've emailed and called every day since and no one has gotten back to me. The Richmond location, where our bus was supposed to come from, claimed they never got the order - even though we were told we wouldn't get a confirmation UNLESS a local bus had been secured. Terrible service all around.

Absolutely terrible service.

The bus never showed up for the event. When we tried to call them, none of the numbers we were given would pick up the phone as it was a weekend. The event was on the weekend and we had no way to contact them!

We had 20+ kids and no way to take them to the venue and back!
To add to the issue, the company does not care. No one called us back and when I called to ask for refund, I was told we will put a service request to investigate.

The chicago location where this was outsourced to has not bothered to call or does not even bother to call back and apologize.

Hire at your own risk and have a back up plan!

They where at least 30-40 minutes late. We had to attend a basketball game at Stanford and we could not do our important sound check because they where so late. And to top it off, they where late again when they came to pick us up. We where supposed to leave to Stanford at 4:00, but instead we left at 5:00. We where going to leave back to our school to get picked up, and then again they where 25 minutes late. I am honestly disappointed.

Never on time, bus drivers are rude, management is horrible, and they always send the wrong sized bus. They have no regard for children and families. All they care about is if they show up, no matter how late they are. If I could give 0 stars I would.

Yes, they probably have some of the best prices.. But it is not worth it!! Save yourself the headache

This is apparently the SF branch of a national network of school bus operators. A friend recommended them, having used their Sonoma branch.

After spending time filling out their online form, I received an automated reply promising a prompt response. It also included a phone number for the SF office - something I couldn't seem to find online. First clue.

I have now called the San Francisco office THREE times. Each time, I've been told that "Marsha" is gone for the day, having personal issues, etc., and no one else can help me, set up the bus, give me a quote. Nothing.

While I sympathize with Marsha's personal troubles, I find it an odd way to run a business when she is "gone for the day" no matter what time I call, and the entire operation apparently depends on her.

fail. fail. fail.

I have zero confidence that my event should ever rely First Student. I will take my business elsewhere.

7:52 a.m. This morning going East on farms worth crossing Washington boulevard To Halcyon Dr,A school bus that read 1st student Did not stop at the railroad tracks.. Proceeded to go down East on Halcyon Dr,Hit the 2nd railroad tracksDid not stop and continued going through I caught up with this bus at the corner of. Halcyon Dr, And lewelling he made a right hand turn I took pictures of the bus from the back and got the license plate and the number it took me to drive at least 45 miles an hour to 50 to get to the side of this bust so I can see what company it was not only was this driver driving recklessly but excessively fast and not following the rulesIt's stopping at railroad crossings is my kids were in this bus I would have been more furious than I am now.. Specially the speeding aspect.. I call their office at 14735 juniper street in San Leaendro to file a complaint... 1st time I was disconnected so I called back there was no management team to be able to speak with so I left my phone number in a message hopefully they get back to me so I figured if they didn't this would be the next best thing as to warn people about this agency.. I know none of us would want our children to be riding An unsafe environment.... This individual driving this bus has no right to drive students or children Driving aradec and dangerously

We chartered a bus for our wedding. The bus was on time, bus driver was cool and everything went off perfectly.

This was by far the most reasonably priced bus company as well.

It doesn't take a management consultant to know that is a poorly led company . . . with poorly-trained and poorly-paid drivers. One of these days there's going to be a really bad accident.

We booked this company to be the transportation for our wedding. In retrospect there were some red flags early on (e.g. originally sent our request to the wrong field office). However when I finally received the confirmation information, it looked like everything was good to go. Right off the bat, the driver was late picking up wedding guests at the hotel. Because of the first mistake, we called at 8pm to confirm the 2 pick up times scheduled for the end of the wedding. We called off a landline, because the wedding was out of cell phone range and guests had been drinking, it was essential that the bus pick them up. The driver assured us on the phone he would be there for both pick ups. And then, when all the guests were gathering to leave, he never showed up for the second pick up. Guests were stuck forming a line to use the one landline to call cabs one-by-one, most not able to schedule rides out of the venue until close to 2am (pick was supposed to be at 11pm). Some, I fear, got frustrated and just drove drunk. I called immediately the next business day to file a complaint and speak with someone about a reimbursement, since I was originally told the second pick up would add $200 to my bill. The person I spoke with gave me no useful information, refused to refer me to a manager, and said at best I could expect to hear from someone within 2-3 weeks to "process my complaint". I got the distinct feeling they get complaints like this often, as she was adept at dodging my requests for expediting and/or speaking with a manager. I want to warn customers out there not to rely on this service for important events such as your wedding. I cannot stress how awful it was scrambling to find back up rides for approx. 50 people in the middle of night in a rural location.

(Please note that the field office failure was in Oregon, but the customer service team is national.)