What the agent handles
- Quotes charters by trip details
- Collects headcount and itinerary
- Books wedding and event shuttles
- Answers accessibility questions
- Coordinates trip-day pickups
Transport and logistics
AI receptionist for bus and coach charters
Quotes charters for school trips, weddings, teams and tours, collects dates, headcounts and routes, and handles trip-day coordination calls.
CallerWe need a coach to take the hockey team to a tournament in Sudbury.
CallerWhat's the difference between a school bus and a coach for a wedding shuttle?
CallerOur group's at the pickup spot and the bus isn't here.
Where calls go
Charter salesDispatchOperationsBilling
Warm transfer: When a group is waiting at a pickup point and the bus hasn't arrived, the agent warm-transfers to dispatch.
What it books
Charters and shuttles
Why charter bus companies miss calls, and what an AI receptionist changes
Charter bus companies sell most trips weeks or months ahead, and the calls arrive in seasons: school trips planned in September and January, hockey and volleyball tournaments all winter, weddings and festival shuttles through the summer. The charter coordinator is building quotes and matching coaches to dates while dispatch runs today's trips, and an enquiry from a teacher who can only call at lunch goes to voicemail.
A RealVoice AI receptionist answers every charter enquiry on the first ring and collects what a quote needs: departure and return dates, pickup and destination, headcount, coach, school bus or minibus, luggage and gear like hockey bags, overnight stays for the driver, and wheelchair lift needs. It books charters and shuttles into your schedule on the dates and vehicles you open and at the rates you set, and anything outside those goes to charter sales as a complete quote request.
On trip day, with your fleet GPS connected as part of setup, it tells an organizer where the coach is and when it's due, and can text the driver's name and the bus number. A group still standing at the pickup point with no coach in sight is warm-transferred to dispatch with the trip name and pickup location read out first. It answers questions about deposits, cancellation terms and onboard washrooms from your information, and it never prices a route you haven't priced.
Example call, start to finish
- CallerHi, I manage a U15 hockey team in Barrie. We need a coach to a tournament in Sudbury on the Family Day weekend.
- AI receptionistHappy to help. How many people are travelling, and will hockey bags and sticks go underneath?
- CallerSeventeen players, three coaches and about fifteen parents. All the bags, yes.
- AI receptionistWith thirty-five people and full equipment, a 56-passenger coach fits everyone and the gear. Which arena are you leaving from on Friday, and when do you come back?
- CallerThe arena on Bayfield Street, at 2 p.m. Back Sunday, unless we make the final. Then it's Monday.
- AI receptionistI'll write it as a Sunday return with a possible Monday, so the quote covers the driver's extra night and the coach staying in Sudbury. Charter sales will send you both prices. What email should they use?
- Callerlisa.moreau at barriebears dot ca.
- AI receptionistThanks, Lisa. The request is with charter sales now and the quote will come by email. I'll text you a copy of the trip details so you can check the times.
After the call: Charter sales gets a text and an email with the full itinerary, the possible Monday return and the equipment note, ready to price. Lisa has the trip details by text, and the summary and recording are saved in the RealVoice portal.
How it fits your day
- School trip season
- Teachers calling at lunch or after the bell in September and January get their trip taken down, with headcount, chaperones and return time, without waiting for a callback.
- Tournament weekends
- Team managers and parents asking about departure times, bag space and overnight stays are answered while dispatch runs the weekend's trips.
- Wedding and event shuttles
- Couples and planners book hotel-to-venue shuttles with loop times and the last run of the night, and operations gets the details.
- Trip-day calls
- A group waiting at a pickup point, or a chaperone reporting a student missing at a rest stop, is put through to dispatch with the trip already identified.
Your software
Today it books charters and shuttles into the RealVoice schedule in the portal, keeps quote requests, summaries and recordings there, and texts organizers their trip details. If your office runs Trapeze, Checkfront or Rezgo, the team can set up a connection to it; custom integrations are quoted separately.
What a missed call costs
A day charter for a school trip often runs $1,500 to $2,000, a tournament weekend with the driver's overnight runs more, and the organizer usually books the same company again the next year. When a teacher's lunchtime call goes unanswered, they move to the next company on the list, and next year's trip goes with them. Losing two of those enquiries a month is about two dozen charters, $40,000 or more a year, plus the repeat bookings behind them. The homepage has a missed-call calculator for your own trip values.
Questions charter bus companies ask
Can it quote a charter price?
It quotes the rates you give it, such as hourly rates by vehicle, minimum hours or set prices for common runs like an airport transfer. Multi-day trips and anything with a driver's overnight go to charter sales as a quote request with every detail filled in.
Does it know which buses are wheelchair accessible?
It knows what you tell it about your fleet, such as which coaches have a lift and how many wheelchair positions each has, and notes accessibility needs on every booking and quote request.
What happens when a group's bus is late?
Once the team links it to your bus tracking during setup, it reads the coach's position and the ETA dispatch has set. It confirms the trip and pickup spot, and if the bus is past due it warm-transfers to dispatch. If dispatch can't pick up, they get a text and email with the group's details right away.
Can it explain the difference between a coach and a school bus?
Yes, from your fleet information: seating, luggage bays, washrooms, seat belts and comfort on long runs, so the organizer can choose before asking for a quote.
Can school groups and teams book after hours?
Yes. Plenty of teachers and team managers call in the evening. The agent answers then, collects the trip details and books it or sends the request, so charter sales has it first thing.
Can it take bookings from French-language schools?
Yes. It works in French and English, as well as many other languages, and asks the caller which they'd like before switching.
Hear it as your own charter bus company's front desk
Request a free demo call and the agent will phone you, set up as a business like yours.