What are tour buses and How to Start a Tourist Transportation Service?

They are used to ferry tourists from one destination to another. As the number of tourists increases, year after year so does the demand for transit services. Think about it, tourists aren't going to travel to a country with their fancy cars or bikes. When they travel to a new destination, they need an affordable, comfortable, and luxurious transporter to hob nob them from one hot spot to another. They will need assistance to reach the hotel from the airport. Then from the hotel, they will need assistance to travel to the various hot spots in the city. If a city has 10 sites of tourist attraction, does one expect tourists to search for a taxi every time they move to the next destination? And even if they do, the cab ride would be expensive which they could save for themselves otherwise.

How to start your own transportation service?

Of course, a multi-seater shuttle vehicle will be needed to carry large groups of tourists together. New shuttles are expensive and the cost of operating and maintaining them can financially cripple a start-up. Therefore, it's better to buy one that is already used, has less than 200,000 miles, is less than a decade old, and has one previous owner from licensed dealerships. Their life spans up to 300,000 miles. So, if they already have 150,000 miles, they can still be used for another 150,000. This is where tour operators can make good amounts of money. They are fairly cheap because they are preowned, compared to their newer counterparts and prices can range from $10,000 up to $45,000 depending on their features.

Getting the shuttle bus delivered to your site

Dealerships selling vehicles that accommodate 15 passengers or more are not located everywhere. They are normally situated far from city centres. Many buyers may not find a dealership in their home state and may have to contact dealers from outside the state. In either case, the dealer will pack the shuttle on a trailer and get it delivered to your site with ease. The buyer will be responsible to pay for the trailer service at a nominal amount of roughly $1.5 to $2 per mile. Once delivered, it can be set into operations right away because they can be operated with a regular license.

Where to park the bus?

A big shed, barn, or garage will be a good place to park during non-working hours. It will be safe and protected from the elements as well as theft. This will increase its trade-in value should the owner decide to sell it after a few years. Expect a shorter life span for it if kept exposed to the elements day in and day out. Moreover, it should be parked on a flat surface when out on the road.

Hiring an experienced and licensed driver to operate the bus

Vehicles that seat up to 15 passengers do not require a commercial license. This means they can be set into operations right away with a regular license. This is one of the greatest advantages of buying a small 15 seater tour bus. But the driver has to be trained to operate a used shuttle. He should make a checklist of all the major components and inspect them before and after every trip. This will ensure passenger safety and avoid breakdowns during operations. This safety measure will alert the driver in advance of any upcoming repairs.

Finding clients to get started

Once the vehicle and its driver are ready to move, the operator should start contacting the various hotels in his city to find out if they need transit services. Most hotels are located within a 10 km radius from the international airports. All hotels need transportation service to ferry their customers to and from the airport at regular schedules. They also need transportation to help their guests go sightseeing throughout their stay in the hotel. As a market penetration strategy, the operator can offer services at a cheaper rate than his competitors. Once he has his book full of scheduled services. He can then slowly and steadily search for newer and better clients who will be ready to pay a premium for his transportation service.

Maintaining and repairing the shuttle bus

Every automobile requires scheduled maintenance and repairs. It's better to get it checked every 6 months even if it appears to be in good shape and functions as usual. This is a precautionary measure and if done judiciously will increase its life beyond 300,000-miles. The longer its operational life, the more money it will make for the owner.

Disposing of the bus when no longer needed

Finally, when its mechanical life has been completely squeezed out, it's time to dispose of it. Many sellers repaint and change the seats to give it a brand new look. Yet they can't find buyers for several months or even years. It's better to dispose of them to the dealership from where they were purchased initially. All dealers are ready to buy back their stock at a reasonable price right away rather than let them sit idle in the owner's garage for several months.

Rinse and repeat: Buy another used shuttle bus and start the process again

After going through the entire cycle of buying, owning, and disposing of their first shuttle vehicle. It's time for the operator to buy another and get his company back on track by contacting the same dealership. This time the dealer will offer him a discount as well because he is a repeat customer and the dealer would be seriously interested in establishing a long term relationship with him. As the operator purchases more and more, he will be entitled to get bigger and bigger discounts on every purchase. Moreover, large dealerships will offer maintenance and repair services at discounted prices too. These savings will go a long way in the overall success of the transportation company.

https://hubpages.com/autos/How-to-start-a-tour-bus-business

Used Church Bus For Sale | How to grow a church congregation?

 

Congregation is a group of people. When you talk about building a congregation for the church. It refers to getting people to walk into the church and becoming regular members. People will become regular members based on the content of your sermons. This depends on the clergy so this answer cannot guide you on what speeches to deliver. But it will definitely help you get people into the church to get started with. This answer will cover the technical aspects of building a congregation not the theological part.

1. Rent a shop or a house to get the church started. A shop will be much better than a house because neighbors might feel uncomfortable with strangers and outsiders visiting their residential buildings. A shop is accessible to everybody hence its better to start with a shop.

2. Try to get a big billboard above your shop with the name of your church, contact information, prayer timings, mission and focus topics. A big bell is important too because most churches from almost all denominations use it to call the faithful to prayers. This will make people living in the adjacent areas aware of the existence of a new church. 

3. Once the people start coming in you need to make sure they remain consistent and enthusiastic about visiting the church on every Sunday. They should have good attendance as well as punctuality. In order to maintain this discipline it's important to offer a bus service to the congregation members. The bus will remove all emotional and physical hurdles people might experience on a Sunday when visiting the church. This can be in many shapes and forms for example they are feeling too lazy to get out of bed on a Sunday morning and just want to take the entire day off, OR their personal transport might have broken down or needs refueling and a tonne of other reasons. In order to make it simple for members to visit the church a bus is a must have.

4. When a bus is purchased, make good use by drawing routes throughout the neighborhood. This might not make sense initially but it's important because the bus can be wrapped with the church's information making it a mobile billboard. When you drive it regularly through every street in the neighborhood, people will automatically get acquainted with the church, thus bringing in members from every street in the neighborhood. Even if the bus runs empty today, it will bring in members from the route it undertakes tomorrow. Never underestimate the power of a bus service.

5. If your bus is running empty on a particular route, then get your staff on board and interact with the local people on that route. For example, if the route has a school, then distribute goodies to the children, set up a community kitchen, organize a cultural event, distribute pamphlets, organize a movie or a TV program for the public - this will be a sure shot success because humans have a weakness for television and drama.

Owning a bus is a path to success for any church. Even struggling churches will revive its attendance if they can arrange a bus service. There are buses available on rent but this can be super expensive for a church which does not have a big congregation. For example, the hourly rate of hiring a minibus is $120 to $150 and hiring them for the entire day can cost $1200 to $1700. Can a startup church do this on every Sunday for 50+ Sundays in a year. The answer is a plain NO, its a huge expenditure and makes no financial sense. The easiest way is to buy a used bus for sale. Buying pre owned buses is profitable because they are 60% cheaper than a brand new bus.

If you can start a church and own a bus at the same time, then people will walk in sooner than expected thus increasing the overall size of the congregation. But used buses have defects just like any other used vehicle and need repairs. There are used bus dealerships selling used buses that are fully reconditioned from bumper to bumper and free of any defects. These vehicles may cost 15% extra than those being sold as is but are the better choice in the long run and will not need frequent repairing and fixing. Church owners should remember that a cheap bus is not the one you buy cheap, but it's the one that will not need frequent repairing in the long run. Buses require a higher degree of maintenance than other vehicles because there are so many people traveling together and walking in and out on a regular basis. In order to keep the maintenance cost low, it's advisable to buy a bus that is fully reconditioned with more than 300 body parts inspected, repaired or even replaced if needed.

A short Google search will easily help you locate a used bus dealership nearby. However, dealerships are not located everywhere, there are chances you may not have any dealerships in your state. This will require you to buy from dealerships that are located outside the state and the used bus for sale will have to be delivered to your site. The real condition of the bus depends on the type of seller. One time sellers will disappear after the transaction is over. However, bus ownership is a process from buying, owning, operating and finally disposal. You need to have a bus expert backing you up always for better advice. Relationship with a used bus dealership will go a long way throughout the ownership process.

Major Vehicle Exchange is one such dealership that has been selling premium quality used shuttle buses for sale to clients across the North American continent for more than 3 decades. We are based in Westbury, New York and have sold our vehicle as far as the state of Texas in the USA. All our buses are certified ready to hit the road by DOT certified technicians and we offer 3rd party inspection services too to ensure buyer satisfaction before making the final purchasing decision.

Majority of our customers are pastors and bishops from startup churches that have a limited budget for buying a bus. We recondition our vehicles in a manner that they are affordable to any church with any budget size. We also have 3rd party financiers who will finance the purchase of the vehicle at attractive interest rates. However, we always advise our church friends to ask for donations from their congregation members rather than making an outright purchase on credit. This strategy will help them save thousands of US dollars in interest charges annually. 

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-build-a-church-congregation/answer/Charles-Kaufman-8

Church Bus | Call 516-333-7483 | How do you transport the church congregation?

 

Every church needs a private vehicle to reach out to the masses and help people in need. Previously, they used a 15 seater van to transport members of the congregation. But in 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a notification. They said that the vans are not suitable for public transportation. Because several cases we documented of it rolling over at high speeds. And its tires blew out during reflex traffic maneuvers. Studies showed that the van had a high center of gravity. As a result its chances of rolling over increased by 70% with more than 10 passengers. The number of accidents increased by 35% with more than 7 passengers. After 6 months the administration issued another notification about the unsafe nature of these vans. This time the insurance companies jumped in. They stopped providing coverage to van owners. And increased the premiums on existing vans. As a result, it became expensive to own them. Thus, van owners started getting rid of the vans and purchased 15 seater buses for sale instead. Used buses have revolutionized church transportation. And have become their first vehicle of choice. These vehicles are much safer than a van. Because they have an average height of roughly 7 feet so a person who is 6 feet 4 inches tall can stand inside the bus. To compensate for the extra weight, the bus has dual rear wheels which reduces its center of gravity. Thus there are less chances of a bus rolling over when loaded to full capacity. Moreover, it has a heavy duty steel cage construction. It protects the passengers during emergency situations. Due to these increased safety features more and more churches opted to buy a bus rather than a van. The used bus industry has seen a phenomenal growth in the sale of second hand buses since 2006. These sales have kept  increasing over the years with leaps and bounds. So think about a bus when you think about transporting a church congregation. Ideally, these vehicles travel up to a distance of one hour from the church and operate throughout the day picking up and dropping off people from their homes to the church and back. The dependence on these vehicles for member transportation has increased to such an extent that a church's normal functioning will be severely jeopardized in their absence. Big churches have fleets of several buses to transport their congregation, smaller ones may have one or two but it's the startup churches who are eager to buy a secondhand bus for their members. A church will find it difficult to grow and expand without a bus service because if it has 100 members, then chances are high, it would have 50+ vehicles parked outside its premises during Sunday Sessions. Thus becoming a nuisance for everybody in the neighborhood. In short, a bus is a must have to transport the church congregation.

But why buy used buses for sale?

There are several reasons why it makes good sense to buy a used bus for sale for transporting the members. A new bus should be purchased only when it has to be used full time to its fullest capacity. Otherwise what's the point in buying a $50,000 vehicle and letting it sit in the garage for 6 days out of 7. Churches do not require a bus for full time, most of them need it only on Sundays. There are roughly 53 Sundays in a year, does it make any financial sense to buy a $50,000 vehicle just to use it for 50 days in a year?? Most churches do not have the budget to buy a new bus so they will have to purchase on credit. By the time they own the vehicle after a few years, the total cost including interest payments can be $65,000+. Then there are other expenses like insurance, fuel, maintenance, parking fee, driver and staff wages that can put the total cost of owning a bus to more than $100,000 in the case of a new bus. Now, you get the point why churches do not buy a new bus? Experts in the used bus industry advise buyers to purchase these vehicles only if they will be used occasionally i.e. less than 20,000 miles a year and less than 5 years. Now, this precondition perfectly fits the church requirements because a church bus will never add more than 5,000 miles on its odometer. Even if the church activities are stretched to include other community activities like organizing public kitchens and others get together on weekdays, the bus will never cross 10,000 miles. Thus a church should always buy a second hand bus for sale rather than its new counterparts. When you include all the additional expenses mentioned above, the total cost of owning a bus will be up to $40,000 or a little bit more than that which is fairly affordable for a church that is well established among the masses.

What is the life of a used shuttle bus for sale?

A brand new shuttle bus lasts for up to 15 years and up to 300,000 miles. The owner sells it when no longer needed. By this time it has already been on the roads for 7 to 10 years and has registered up to 100,000 miles on its odometer. So the life that remains in this used bus is 5 years and up to 200,000 miles. Keeping these numbers in mind a church bus can take up to 20 years to exhaust all the remaining 200,000 miles if its using the bus more frequently and adding an average of 10,000 miles a year. 5,000 miles is what the church uses normally, in this case it will take up to 40 years to exhaust the 200,000 miles remaining on its used bus. However, it should be remembered that the longer you use a second hand bus, the more it will cost for maintaining it. Thus experts advise not to use a pre owned bus for sale for more than 5 years as it will cost more to maintain it. The used bus markets are full of pre owned buses and it will be cheaper to buy another used bus rather than spending more and more on maintaining an existing bus. It's always the members who pay for the bus and its overhead costs. A church should always find better and efficient ways to spend the money donated by its congregation. Its a wise decision to get rid of the bus after 5 years, purchase another used bus and start the entire cycle of bus ownership and member transportation all over again.A church should always be in contact with a good bus repair shop that will maintain and repair its vehicles on a regular basis at a price that is fairly affordable. Unfortunately, bus repair shops are not available everywhere and a church should maintain a good relation with them once they have been located. This relationship will last for decades and will help fix the various buses owned by the chapel or the parish on demand at a reasonable and discounted price. A buyer has to buy a bus and find a repair shop just at the same time because all used vehicles need to be maintained and a used bus requires more maintenance than any other vehicle. With all these tips in mind, soon a church will learn the art of owning a used bus profitably in the long run. Remember, a church needs a bus which in turn needs a repair shop.

Aren't used buses defective?

Yes, they are and if you purchase them as is then you are certainly going under the bus. As discussed above, these vehicles have been on the roads for more than a decade and have endured a lot of wear and tear due to the hundreds and thousands of passengers walking in and out daily. Chances are high, if the previous owner did not maintain the motor coach well on regular schedules, then rust might have entered its critical parts that need immediate replacement before being put back on the roads. This calls for a full inspection of the vehicle before purchase. For example, the anti lock braking system comprises of thousands of small metallic parts, if rust has taken its toll on these smaller parts, then it's time to replace them immediately otherwise the strength of these parts will be compromised and they might even break apart in transit casing death and injury to those inside as well as other pedestrians on the road. Thus there are two types of used buses for sale, those that are being sold as is by the owners and others that have been fully reconditioned from bumper to bumper with no defects. These reconditioned used buses will cost 15% more than those that are being sold as is but they will give the buyer the confidence that the vehicle will not break down unexpectedly that will require a catastrophic repair cost to fix it. All buyers are advised to spend a few extra dollars and buy reconditioned used buses rather than others. These reconditioned used buses will further enhance and improve your art of owning a second hand bus profitably. Once you get used to this art, you will be looking for business opportunities everywhere.

Major Vehicle Exchange has been selling fully reconditioned used buses for more than a quarter of a century, that is 35 years and still going strong. We owe our success to the long list of satisfied customers across the United States. Many of whom have become repeat buyers thus increasing our sales year after year. We always look forward to having a long term relationship with our customers rather than a one time transaction. So when you buy a used bus from us, you can be sure that we will be with you throughout the bus ownership. Moreover, once you are done with the bus, we will be happy to buy it back provided it has been well maintained on a regular basis. Our customers love this feature, because it helps them get rid of a huge vehicle in their garage or backyard that is no longer needed by making a single phone call to our dealership. That is the extent to which we have simplified the bus ownership process for our customers. Buy from us, use it as long as you can and resell it back to us once done. Check out our inventory of more than 40 used buses for sale, call us at 516-333-7483 today and let us know which vehicle you are interested in and we will get it delivered to your location in less than a week at a very affordable shipping price. 

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-transport-the-church-congregation/answer/Charles-Kaufman-8

What is the best solution if the transportation to your favorite church is too expensive?

How you travel depends on the Church. If there is a church bus service then you will most likely be traveling for free. Even if you stay outside the transportation boundaries, you can travel to a spot within the boundary by yourself and then hop on to the church bus. Most people who stay far away travel in their cars to a parking lot that is situated within the transportation boundaries, then the bus picks them up from the parking lot and drops them off to the church. This is usually how the entire church operated transportation system works. The buses normally travel up to one hour from the church, pickup all the passengers and then get back. The big churches have several buses that form a full fledged ministry. However, the smaller ones may have just one or two buses. Whereas, its the startup churches who do not own a private bus, thus forcing member to travel by themselves. Buying a used church bus for sale is one of the top most priorities of these startups. If you really love your church and want to find a better inexpensive way to travel, then help them buy a bus for the entire congregation. This will be a time consuming effort but will pay off several months down the road. For example, get acquainted with the staff members and win their trust at the same time form a friends circle among congregation members. Discuss the issue of cheap transportation with members and check out if they are facing the same problem. If many of them are, then you can escalate and discuss the issue either with the pastor or the bishop. In most startup churches its the pastor or the bishop who makes the bus buying decision. Arrange for an open ended group discussion between staff and congregation members. Once everybody is excited and talking about transportation take the discussion further by suggesting that you know a good dealership that sells fully functional used church buses at a very cheap and affordable price. A basic 15 seater minibus for sale can cost anywhere between $10,000 to $25,000 depending on its age, mileage, type of engine, transmission etc.

Financing:

But your church needs a budget before it can start searching for a bus. There are a tonne of financing options in the used bus industry, however they are not suitable for churches because any religious institution should ask for donations from members rather than purchasing on credit as it will save them thousands of dollars in interest. Twenty thousand dollars will be a good budget to start with. So if your church has a membership of 100+ adults, then they can be requested to make a kind donation of $200 per person to collect $20,000. The amount may look big for some members, but they can be convinced by suggesting that the bus service will help them save hundreds of dollars on gasoline and parking fee as well as free them from the hassle of driving thus helping them enjoy the journey along with fellow members. Moreover, the wealthy members can be asked for bigger donations of thousands of dollars and they can be offered a return on investment too by using the bus for general transportation in the local community on weekdays because the church will need the bus only on week ends and on special occasions. So the big donors can use the bus for their benefit when its not being used by the church. Many wealthy people will be attracted by the idea of making money and providing transportation for the Church at the same time. Turn this casual discussion into a full fledged program by frequently requesting members to donate for the bus and remind them on how much has been collected till date. Sooner or later the donations will start flowing in, the church will collect $20,000 and will be ready to go shopping.

Licensing:

Many people think buses are huge and cumbersome. Who will drive it? Where to park it? etc etc etc. But the fact is that buses come in smaller sizes too. Just like a laptop is smaller and portable compared to a desktop. There are buses that are available in smaller sizes. These are called minibuses or midibuses. A minibus for sale can seat up to 15 passengers and a midi can seat anywhere from 16 to 29 passengers. Both are built on the same chassis, the only difference is that in the case of midibuses the manufacturers stretch the chassis to accommodate the additional number of seats. Once the chassis has been stretched long enough, then the entire bus is built from the ground up. Because a minibus is smaller in size, it DOES NOT require a commercial license, whereas a midibus will require a commercial license just like any other major vehicle on the roads. Obtaining a commercial license is a long and tedious process, as a result many buyers tend to buy a minibus for sale as they can be operated with a general license. Your church should start with a minibus because, firstly it can be operated with a regular license, secondly its easy to park and maintain. Once the church has a good experience in owning and handling a minibus then it can upgrade to more bigger sized buses in needed in the near future. 

Parking:

Before they start shopping, ask them to find a convenient place to park the vehicle. It parking space can be anything from an over sized shed, barn, garage or simply by the side of the road. However, it should be remembered that parking in the open takes a toll on the vehicles performance and longevity. Nobody keeps a bus forever, there comes a time when its no longer needed or maybe its life has exhausted and its time to get rid of it. The amount you get paid by reselling the vehicle completely depends on the condition of the bus. Good condition pays more whereas bad condition pays less. Keeping the bus exposed to the elements day in and day out will affect its appearance and fade its look. Rust will eat up much of its interiors and will have to fixed on a regular basis, thus increasing the cost of regular maintenance. The amount of rust and rust work conducted in the past has a direct impact on the selling price several years down the line. The simple act of parking the bus in an enclosed environment will save your church thousands of dollars in maintenance as well as earn thousands more when reselling.

Where to buy from?

More and more people have been buying buses ever since the 15 seater van was deemed unfit for public transportation in 2006. As a result, there are more and more people selling their buses because they no longer need them. However, it should be remembered that these vehicles are preowned with a lot of defects. A barber who might have used the bus as a mobile barber shop will have the knowledge and the expertise to fully repair his vehicle before selling it to the next person. So he simply repaints the body, replaces the seats, cover up any defects on the floor and labels its as a reconditioned bus for sale. This a fraudulent practice and such vehicles are not worthy of being called as fully reconditioned or fully functional. It is the dealerships who make a full time living by trading buses for several decades have the thorough knowledge and expertise to fully recondition a bus from bumper to bumper with no electrical, mechanical or hydraulic defects. Buy and sell buses is their sole occupation and they know this business in and out. They know from experience that a customer to buys a bus today will resell it after a few years, hence they always stand with their customers throughout the bus ownership process. A private owner will bid you farewell once the transaction is over and never show his face again. But a dealership will be with you till the last day of their bus in your ownership. All dealers are willing to buy back their vehicles at a reasonable price provided they have been maintained regularly. So make no mistake when buy a bus, always buy them from a reputed dealership. Someone who has been dealing with buses full time for decades with a long list of satisfied customers in the industry.

Major Vehicle Exchange:

We are a licensed and bonded dealership established in 1985 and have sold our vehicles to customers all over the United States and Canada. Its is our long list of satisfied customers who have brought us this far. We owe our business to happy customers and hope you will be our next customer. Apart from doing everything mentioned in the above paragraphs we go the extra mile by offering financial consultation and shipping at the lowest rates in the industry. We always stock more than 40 used buses for sale in our inventory and they are all on display ready for sale on our website. Every vehicle has more than 45 photos and a detailed description below. Check out which bus suits your church the best and then give us a call at 516-333-7483 during normal business hours. Even if you dont plan to buy a bus today but just want to have a talk with some considered as expert in the industry, then just pickup the phone and give us a call. We dont like pushing our customers from one voice mail to another, hence there will always be a real person to answer the phone. We will be glad to provide industry insights as well as details about the vehicles we stock. Alternatively, feel free to send an email to majorvehicles@gmail.com

https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-best-solution-if-the-transportation-to-my-favorite-church-is-too-expensive/answer/Charles-Kaufman-8

Benefits of Buying a Church Bus and How to Finance It?

 Financing the church bus

As the size of a chapel grows, it can ask its members to offer donations to buy a bus. This is one of the best ways for them to buy a vehicle that can transport several people together. A religious institution should never buy a motor coach on credit as it will substantially increase its purchase price. It will also hurt the institution's finances in the long run. The operating cost of a bus can be more than what a pastor might have budgeted for. Expenses such as driver's wage, parking fee, fuel, regular maintenance, insurance premiums, registration fee, tire replacement in case of blowouts, monthly instalments, etc. should also be considered in the budget. When all these factors are included its costs will be far higher compared to the selling price listed by a dealership. Hence, a pastor or bishop should always consider crowd funding to finance their ministries and not outright purchasing on credit.

Benefits of buying a church bus

It can considerably change the daily operations of the chapel.

1. It will increase attendance since members like the idea of being picked up and dropped back to home.

2. Members even get a chance to mingle and engage with fellow members during the journey.

3. It significantly reduces the cost of fuel each member pays which otherwise would be spent on fueling their cars. A pastor can rightfully ask members to re-invest the savings and help pay for the vehicle.

4. It is environmentally friendly because it emits less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which otherwise would be emitted by the several cars used by the congregation.

5. It offers free advertising space as it can be wrapped with the chapel's mission and contact information spreading awareness throughout the route which it undertakes.

6. It will also offer employment opportunities to local community members because there will be a need for a driver with at least a regular license, a captain and a cleaner to regularly clean before and after every trip.

When seeking donations, the real monthly expenditure has to be calculated, and not the selling price listed by the seller. And so, the donations should be collected on a monthly and recurring basis.

How often will you use the church bus?

Normally a church bus will run up to 5,000 miles a year. That is a very small number compared to other industries like tourism and general transportation. This is because parishes occasionally use them on weekends or bi-weekly basis. The vehicle is not pressurized to run at optimal levels. A used coach with one previous owner can be operated up to 20,000 miles a year. This leaves up to 15,000 miles that are not used by the institution. They can either use these more miles to offer general transportation services to the public in their local area or dedicated transportation to other companies, institutions, or organizations. Or they can save the miles for themselves to increase longevity. The motor coach can either become an extra revenue-generating vehicle or its increased life span will give quality transportation service to the congregation for several years down the road. A good preowned coach should have at least one previous owner and less than 200,000 miles. But when reconditioned and occasionally employed by religious institutions they can last up to a million miles. The owners and managers simply have to keep up their vehicles on regular schedules of 6 months.

Should you buy a 15 passenger church van or a church bus?

Previously many parishes across America used a 15 passenger van to transport their congregation. But this changed after 2006 when the National Transportation Safety Board declared that the van was not safe for public transportation. The van would often roll over when manoeuvring sharp turns and experience tire blowout as well. After 6 months the Board issued another warning on the same lines. This time the insurance industry stepped in and either cancelled their policies on 15 passenger vans or increased their premiums. Soon after many owners including religious institutions abandoned their vans because it was no longer safe and became a financial burden. That's when the demand for 15 passenger motor coaches increased and has kept increasing ever after as they are far safer than a van because of their low centre of gravity and the less likelihood of rolling over. Moreover, there is more space on the motor coach to freely move around than in the van, thus making them more comfortable for public transportation. Remember, buses are designed to transport large groups of people, whereas a cargo vehicle like a van is adapted for public transportation.

Should you buy a church bus with or without a Wheelchair Lift?

There are two types of buses that are available for sale in markets. One that is equipped with a wheelchair lift and the other that isn’t. A bus with a lift will cost roughly around $5,000 more than others. It completely depends on the people who the buyer wants to transport. If the congregation has a lot of senior citizens and physically handicapped people then the Bishop or Pastor will have to buy one equipped with a lift. The lift is ideally designed to ferry passengers on wheelchairs from outside to inside the passenger cabin at the press of a button. But senior citizens who are not able to climb the steps often use these lifts too. They simply stand on the lift and get transported inside.

Should you purchase a diesel engine or gasoline engine church bus?

Many buyers have a very limited budget. Hence, it is advisable to buy a gas engine motor coach. It's also the most dominant engine type in America. So it's not difficult to find a mechanic to repair a gas engine. Gasoline engines are $4,000 to $8,000 cheaper than Diesel engines. Many believe that diesel engines offer greater fuel economy than gas engines, that's true but compare this with paying upfront of up to $8,000 to buy initially. Moreover, a diesel engine costs more to repair and keep up than gas engines. A diesel engine lasts up to 500,000 miles, and a gasoline engine lasts up to 300,000 miles. Both engines don't log major mechanical repairs until they have crossed 100,000 miles.

Conclusion

In short, religious institutions like a church should buy a bus by crowd funding. Once in possession, it can be used to generate alternate streams of revenue and will last a lifetime with the new owners if maintained regularly.

Reference:https://hubpages.com/autos/Crowd-funding-as-a-source-to-buy-a-Church-bus

What do you do for your church?

 Any idea that you can think of to make the place better and get a good experience from is worth doing in a church. For example, every church needs a bus to reach out to people and help those in need. So when you are in one of its buses, you can share the responsibilities of the church by engaging with people, trying to know what difficulties they face in life and then finding solutions to the problems they face with the light of the Bible and references from religious stories. A few trips to the church and its various programs will equip you with the knowledge of the common problems people face in life. Then when you have new members coming in you have a chance to transfer the knowledge you have collected in the past few weeks. This is an activity you should definitely do in a church rather than not doing it. You can become a valuable asset for the church in helping share its divine responsibility of helping people.

Apart from becoming an unofficial preacher for new members. You can also participate in helping the church collect funds to meet its monthly expenditure. Of course you dont have to pay for every penny the expenses but a little bit of contribution will go a long way. For example, if you have managed to make a friend circle of 10 people visiting the church, then encourage them to contribute something or anything they can for the church. Even a small amount of $1 by each member will contribute $10 towards the monthly expenses. You will be surprised that people will go a step further and shell out $10 or even $50 from their pockets. This small amount helps pay for the wages of staff members, utility bills and even finance social activities like setting up community kitchens or atleast pay for the fuel cost of the bus service.

So, your question should be rephrased into "What I should do in a Church rather than what I should not do in a church?".

The don'ts are more than obvious because you are at a public gathering and are expected to behave just like you would at any other public spot.

However, much thought needs to put into what you should do in a church.

1. Gather knowledge and transfer the information to fellow and new members.

2. Form a friends circle and encourage them to contribute anything to meet the expenses of the Church.

3. Help the church find better ways to reach out to more people - For example help them find a good deal on a bus to help provide pickup and drop off services to fellow members. This one single vehicle will help the Church reach out to more neighborhoods and get more people walking in. There are a tonne of other benefits that bus service can do for a church.

4. Arrive early to clean the floor or dust the chairs. Or clean something or anything in the premises.

5. Apply fragrance to yourself and also take some along with you for the church.

6. Make donations to the church and also keep some change for the beggars that may be standing outside.

7. Help them buy a printing press so they can print their own books and pamphlets for propagation.

You may not realize it, but God and the spiritual beings living in the church are watching you and they will help you in return. They will help you for the reason you are visiting the church, thus bringing to fruition the time and money you have invested in the religious institution. For example, there is a reason you believe in God and visit the Church every week. Maybe you want to build a Mansion for yourself in Heaven or simply get Divine help in any task you undertake in this world. The spirits will help you in all your undertakings because you have been very helpful in the path of God and to the Church in all its undertakings. It goes without saying. Just do your religious job, play the role of a true devotee and leave everything else to God and the spirits. They are the real friends that you will never find among humans, what else could you ask for?

Church growth is severely hampered by the limited number of parking space in its vicinity. As a church grows, the clergy has to search for better and bigger locations to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles being parked near their premises. One of the best things you can do for a church is to help them buy a used bus for sale so they can start offering home pickup and drop services to members. On an average a minibus for sale would cost anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000 depending on the vehicles age, mileage, features, size, seating capacity, type of engine, type of transmission etc. You personally dont need to pay thousands of dollars for the entire bus because firstly the church will have its own budget to buy the vehicle. If the budget is not big enough then the dealership will assist the church in getting financed by 3rd party institutions at attractive interest rates. The Pastor or Bishop can make a public announcement and ask members to make a one time contribution to help them pay for the small bus. For example, if there are a total of 100 adult members then each can be requested to make a one time contribution of $250 to pay for a decent $25,000 bus. This is a win-win deal for the members because they no longer have to drive their private vehicle, wait in a que for refueling, pay for gasoline or parking. The annual savings can be transferred in advance to the church to help it buy the bus. This will eliminate the financial advantages for the members but will help them relieve the stress of driving in their personal vehicles. Members love the idea of traveling together in a church bus.

So the bus is paid for by the members, all you have to do is locate a good dealership that sells fully functional, reliable and dependable used buses to its customers anywhere across the USA. Of course you can do your own research online but Major Vehicle Exchange is one such dealership that has been selling its fully reconditioned shuttle buses to churches across the United States for more than three decades. We are a licensed and bonded dealership in compliance with state automotive regulations. By now you know we are the good guys, bonded by law and fair in all transactions. We have a long list of customers who have purchased our vehicles, used them for more than a decade and then sold them back to us when it was no longer needed. We stand by our customers throughout the bus ownership process, from purchasing, owning to disposing off. Before we sell our used buses to a new buyer we fully repair them from bumper to bumper. More than 300 parts are inspected, fixed and replaced if needed. This makes sure the bus is fully operational and ready to hit the road. As a mark of quality we even get them certified from DoT technicians and encourage test drives and inspections by qualified inspectors.

For more information on who we are and what we do, visit our website and call us at 516-333-7483 during normal business hours. We are open from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and on weekends by appointment.

https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-do-for-your-church/answer/Charles-Kaufman-8

Wheelchair bus | Call 516-333-7483 | 2010 Chevrolet Express C4500 Shuttle Bus 24 Seats For Sale

 Buses all over the world are box shaped vehicles. They ferry thousands of people to and from various locations. But it's the seniors, handicapped and disabled people who do not get the opportunity to travel in a bus. Seniors have difficulty with mobility and cannot climb its high stairs. Whereas people bound by wheelchairs cannot get inside along with their chairs. It would be too dangerous and discomforting to lift a disabled person into a bus. Even if it's done then traveling long routes would prove to be a nightmare. Because buses are usually not designed for comforting the disabled. 

The increasing number of seniors in the United States increased the demand. For vehicles equipped with wheelchair lifts. These lifts are fully automated that can lift weights up to 800 lbs and can easily transport elderly and disabled passengers along with their equipment inside and outside at the press of a button. Such a bus is termed as a wheelchair bus. These vehicles are especially designed to accommodate passengers with wheelchairs. For example they have folding seats so the number of healthy and wheelchair passengers can be adjusted as per the situation. When the healthy adults are more the flip seats can be unfolded and when the disabled passengers are more the seats can be folded and tucked to the side walls of the bus to make space for the passenger along with their wheelchairs. They also have automatic restraints to prevent the wheelchairs from hurtling all over in the passenger cabin during reflex traffic maneuvers or when applying emergency brakes. This ensures the safety of the disabled passengers and those seated around them. One will never find such facilities in a normal bus. The difference is more than obvious. As a result the wheelchair bus will cost more compared to a normal. The price difference can be as high as $5,000 when buying a brand new bus for sale. However, the price difference between the two types is negligible when buying in the used bus market. Even the driver needs special training to operate a wheelchair bus. Many times drivers forget that the lift is deployed and they tend to start the vehicle, thus hitting the lift with something that either damages it or deforms its physical structure. These minor accidents are encountered way too often if the driver was previously driving a bus without a wheelchair lift. The new driver needs the time to learn and adjust to the operational demands of his new vehicle.

Used buses for sale are roughly 60% cheaper than a new bus. They have already gone though the rapid depreciation phase that a new bus is subjected to in the first year of hitting the road. As a result the depreciation process is much slower in a used bus. Buyers always get what they pay for with a used bus. Though a second hand bus might be functionally defective because of the wear and tear it had been subjected to by the previous owner. Buyers get a really good deal when they purchase the vehicle from a licensed and bonded used bus dealership. Because the dealers fully recondition them from bumper to bumper to give them a new appearance as well as a fresh life. On the other hand if the motor coach is being purchased from private individuals then the buyer will either have to fix the defect himself or ask the seller to fix it up before buying. Buyers also need to have a trusted bus repair shop in sight to get the bus repaired if the seller refuses to fix it. Unfortunately bus repair shops are not located everywhere. Most buyers just want to ride the wheelchair bus and not get bogged down about fixing the vehicle. Thus, its advisable to make the right decision at the start of the buying process and get involved with a dealership that will also stand by the owners throughout the bus ownership process.

Major Vehicle Exchange has been selling its wheelchair buses to customers across the USA for more than 35 years. We know our buyers and the various industries they come from and we know exactly what customers are looking for. However, there are exceptions always, hence we take the time to listen carefully and deeply understand the requirements of every client. Once we have a clear picture of all the why's, what for, when etc. that's when we proceed to show them our stock that will match their requirements 100%. We always maintain a large inventory of 45 vehicles and a majority of them are wheelchair buses.

For more information on how to buy a wheelchair bus, visit our website at the link mentioned above to check out our inventory and call the owner Charles Kaufman at 516-333-7483 today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS2159DEuAg

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