Driving a Minibus

Can I drive a minibus?

If you are looking to drive a minibus, it’s important to make sure that you hold the correct licence. If you passed your driving test after the 1st of January 1997 there are a number of conditions to driving a minibus.

These are:

• You must be at least 21
• You must have held your licence for a minimum of 2 years
• You cannot tow a trailer
• You can only drive for “Social Purposes” for a non-commercial body
• You can only drive a minibus weighing up to 3,500 kg’s MAM *
• You must provide your services on a VOLUNTARY basis

* 4,250 kg’s if fitted with a lift or ramp.

To be able to drive a minibus without these restrictions, the driver needs to sit an additional driving test with the DVLA in order to obtain a D1 entitlement on their licence. LCTS can provide practical training to help drivers obtain their D1 driving licence – further information can be found on our training page.

Driving an LCTS minibus

When hiring one of our buses on a self-drive basis, the driver needs to be registered with LCTS and hold a valid MiDAS certificate.

They will be required to provide:

• Completed driver’s information form
• Licence check code
• MiDAS certificate (if their training was completed with another organisation)

MiDAS (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme) is an assessment and training scheme for minibus drivers in the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors. LCTS can provide training to your drivers if required.

The first time your driver uses one of our buses, they will be given a 10-15 minute vehicle familiarisation, which covers the controls of the vehicle, the location of any health and safety equipment and how to use the passenger lift (if required).

Our buses can be collected from our yards in either Edinburgh or Dalkeith. For weekend hires, keys will need to be collected during the week, while the office is open.

If you are ready to book your trip with us, head over to our Minibus Hire page and fill out an enquiry form or get in touch with us via email or phone!