Shuttle vans can make convention logistics much simpler

You are in charge of organizing transportation for a trade convention coming to your town. What do you need to know and how do you make everything work smoothly? According to Cullan F. Meathe of Peninsula Transportation Group, LLC, it can be as simple as contacting an experienced ground transportation company and hiring a fleet of shuttle vans to move people around as needed.

Shuttle vans are perfect for such group outings. They come with drivers, which eliminates another potential challenge – finding enough people who know the area well and can comfortably handle a van. This eliminates issues such as trying to arrange for local members of your trade association to chauffeur people around during the various days of the convention, when they would prefer to participate in the convention.

The company in charge of the vans will work closely with you to decide how many vans you need, when and where they should be, and the timing on all the routes.

You need to factor into your planning that many of the convention attendees will be flying into the local airport. The shuttle van drivers can meet them as they deplane and help them with their luggage. If attendees are staying at different hotels, they can be driven to their hotels from the airport and subsequently taken to the convention location. If there are offsite meetings and tours, the vans easily can handle those rides.

Meathe says that, from the attendees’ perspective, having one company handling all those details makes sense. They will be able to recognize the vehicles, know where and when to meet up with them and feel confident that they will reach their destinations on time.

Shuttle vans come in varying sizes and can accommodate specific numbers of passengers. In your initial contact with the company, make sure you ask about the capacity of the vehicles, so you know how many you will require. Check the cleanliness and maintenance of their vehicles and the standard of their drivers’ training and ask for references. After all, you want to know everything is being handled properly, professionally and efficiently.

How do you find a ground transportation company that has an adequately sized fleet of shuttle vans? If your organization has previously used one and was satisfied with its performance, you may wish to hire it again. If this is a first time arrangement, then you can ask around for referrals and go online to research suitable companies. You can find out a lot of useful information about the companies, even before you contact them directly.

Before you pick up the phone or email any of these companies, Meathe suggests developing a list of questions and your specific needs. Think about the size of your groups. How often will people be moving from one location to another? Are the hotels near the airport, each other and the convention itself? If the attendees are going on any tours, where will they be heading? How many days is the convention lasting? How does the transportation company charge – by hour, day or numbers of trips? Who is the go-to person for questions and concerns before and during the convention? The more prepared you are, the more likely you are to identify the perfect company.

Once you approach the transportation companies, you can begin to gauge the quality of their customer service. How did their staff seem on your initial call? Were they pleasant, professional, polite and responsive? If you first emailed them, did you hear back from them fairly quickly?

Armed with all the information you can gather about and from these companies, you are ready to make a decision about which firm to hire. Now is the time to sign on the dotted line. Be sure to check that all your requirements are spelled out clearly on the contract before you do so.

To learn more about hiring shuttle vans anywhere on the west coast of Florida, contact Peninsula Transportation Group at 727-799-2222. In northeast Florida, contact 800-829-7433, and in southeast Florida, call 561-689-2222.

Visit http://www.peninsulatransportation.com/