The full-size coach
For a group of about 35 or more, the full-size coach is the default. Expect 49 to 57 seats and underfloor luggage holds. The exact layout depends on the vehicle the partner operator supplies.
Where a big coach cannot go
Size and age shape the route. Heavy vehicles may not enter Avignon inside the walls; coaches stop for 30 minutes at most on the Esplanade Saint-Bénézet. Mont-Saint-Michel is out of reach by road: every coach stops at car park P7 on the mainland. At Carcassonne, groups are dropped at the Porte Narbonnaise except in July and August.
Airports have height limits. The quick drop-off zone at Bordeaux-Mérignac stops at 3.00 m, and the express car parks at Toulouse-Blagnac at 2.75 m. Both are too low for a coach. On the climb to Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille, coaches over 13.50 m are banned from rue d'Endoume. In Cannes, tourist coaches of Euro IV or older may not enter the commune at all.
Capacity
- Seats: 49-57
- Luggage: Underfloor luggage holds
Rules and equipment
- A company carrying passengers by road for hire must first be entered in the register of road passenger transport companies (registre des transporteurs publics routiers de personnes), kept by the regional DREAL
- Registration requires four conditions: good repute, financial standing, professional competence and an effective establishment
- A company using buses or coaches holds a licence communautaire, valid for national and international work; numbered certified copies are issued according to its number of vehicles
- International carriage by coach needs a licence communautaire; an occasional trip, such as a tour or a group taken to an event in another EU country, also needs a journey form
- The driver holds a category D licence, which covers passenger vehicles with more than 9 seats including the driver
- Every passenger must wear a seat belt where the seat has one; French law requires coach transport to use vehicles fitted with seat belts
- Coaches carrying more than 9 people including the driver need a tachograph to record driving, breaks and rest under the EU drivers' hours rules
Licences, belts and the tachograph
We arrange the coach; a licensed partner operator supplies it. That operator appears on the regional DREAL's list of road passenger carriers and holds a licence communautaire. The driver holds category D. A tachograph records driving, breaks and rest, and passengers wear the belt wherever one is fitted.
For the Grand Paris low-emission zone, a coach needs a Crit'Air 1 or 2 sticker to drive inside the A86 between 08:00 and 20:00. Check the sticker against every city on the route.
Organisers ask
When is a midi-coach the better choice?
When the group is under about 35, the streets are narrow, or a hotel can only take a short coach. In Toulouse, a coach serving a hotel on the Place du Capitole must be 10 m or less.
Can the coach go abroad?
Yes. International work runs under the licence communautaire, and an occasional trip such as a tour also needs a journey form.
What luggage fits?
The underfloor holds suit suitcases for a full load. Mention skis, bikes, folded wheelchairs or instruments when you ask for a quote.