Booking Information

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Booking & Usage Procedure


Download Usage Procedures
To book vehicles you need to be a vehicle booker for your club / society. Only 2 bookers are allowed per club / society. To be a booker you will need to register with the transport coordinator, and provide a passport photo for your bookers' card. You will be unable to book a bus without this card.

If you require a Minibus, People Carrier, Car, Van or even a lorry, through the Students Union this is the procedure:

Report to the transport coordinator, producing a booker's card and make a preliminary booking for your vehicle. This will include size of vehicle required, destination, dates and times. NOTE: Union Vehicles may be booked up to 1 month in advance. Only 1 Union vehicle may be booked in advance. A club/society may hire additional vehicles for use, or may wait until the day of the booking and take any free buses.
  • Hire Buses
    At certain times your club/society may require a vehicle when all CUSU vehicles have been booked out. At this point the President, Treasurer or Secretary of your club/society may be required to sign forms authorising the debit of funds from your Union account. This depends on the circumstances surrounding the trip, speak to the Transport Coordinator who will be able to advise you on who will be funding your trip.
You will be given a trip request form which you will need bring back completed a maximum two weekdays before your trip. When you have returned this form you will then be issued with an authorisation form for the vehicle you have booked.

Remember: A Trip Request Form must be completed and exchanged for a Vehicle Authorisation form between 10-4 weekdays. Arriving at security with a Trip Request Form will mean that you will not be given a bus
  • The Trip Request Form will remain with the Union. This is kept for emergency information in case of an accident.
The authorisation form will need to be given to the drivers of the vehicle for them to collect the keys from Union security.
  • Collect the vehicle keys from the Union Security Office. Take the Vehicle Authorisation form and your current driver's card.
  • The Vehicle Authorisation form will be signed by security, and given back to the driver.
  • In return for your driver's card, the security office will issue you the vehicle keys.
Once successfully completing the vehicle checks (See the Drivers Handbook - Vehicle Checks),the Vehicle Authorisation form should be signed by the driver.
At the end of your trip (via a petrol station so that the vehicle is left full of fuel) the driver must finish completing the Vehicle Allocation form and return it to security with the vehicle keys. You will be given your driver's card back only when keys are returned. If any problems have occurred while you have been using the vehicle then you must note these on the authorisation form.

Cancellations
If an external bus has been hired for you and you no longer require it then you must cancel it at least 2 weeks before the date it was booked for. If this is followed then the club/society will not be required to pay for the bus. If a cancellation is made within the final two weeks of the booking then the club/society will be charged for the hire, even if they no longer use the bus.

Transport Costs

In the situation that our fleet is not large enough to support the level of activities that is taking place, extra vehicles will be hired in with the cost being paid by the club / society wishing to use that vehicle.

Paying for vehicle use
Externally hired vehicles are to be paid for by the club / society using the vehicle. If an external vehicle is needed then the President, Secretary or Treasurer will need to speak to the Transport coordinator. The Transport Coordinator will speak to the hire company on your behalf, and confirm if there is a vehicle available. You will need to sign an order form to confirm that the funds can be transferred from the club / society account (held in the Union). You will need to ensure that there are sufficient funds available for the hire. The form will then be processed through finance, and the booking can proceed in the normal way.
In summary your clubs / societies will be penalised if:
  • Do not report damage
  • Do not fill in paper work correctly
  • Leave the vehicle dirty
  • Leave the vehicle not full of fuel
    This may take the form of either fines, loss of bookings or disciplinaries.
Fuel Costs
Fuel is to be paid for by the users of the vehicle. The vehicle should have a full tank of fuel when collected and returned. If this is not upheld then the users of the vehicle will be charged for refilling the vehicle, with other penalties possible, such as the loss of bookings.
If you find a vehicle is not returned full, then you must fill it up immediately -do not wait until the end of your trip- and obtain the VAT receipt. This can be claimed back by visiting the Transport Coordinator.
Externally hired vehicles need to be returned with fuel at the same level as they are collected. If this is not followed then the hire company will charge fuel at an inflated rate, and this will be recovered from the responsible club / societies account.
If a vehicle (Union or Hired) is left in a dirty or unsatisfactory state, the club or society will be fined £25.

Driving Abroad

Can I take it Abroad?

CUSU Minibuses
No - the Section 19 Small Bus Permit is invalid outside the UK. Therefore it is no longer possible to take CUSU minibuses abroad. It is recommended you hire a vehicle with driver for foreign trips.

Other Vehicles
Other Union vehicles may be taken abroad, but special criteria must be met. Authorisation must be gained from our insurers and hire companies. If you are thinking about going abroad, talk to the Transport Coordinator well in advance (at least two months). Activities involving travel abroad will require additional insurance and legal considerations. If you are taking a vehicle abroad, it is essential to obtain a green card from the insurers of the vehicle in order to extend United Kingdom insurance cover. If the vehicle is a private car, then this can be obtained by telephoning the insurers direct. If you are hiring a vehicle, then you will need to ensure that the hire company obtains a green card from their insurers. This means that you should allow plenty of notice before you plan to leave the country (a minimum of two months in advance of departure).