We've been renting from bus companies for 20 years. This is by far the best company we've ever used. They are punctual, polite & have great customer service at a great price.
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The bus was perfectly on time for pick up in the morning and from the location in the afternoon. This made everything for our day run smoothly. Only comment would be to get a phone call when the bus... See more
I booked a bus for a Christmas bar crawl. First Charter made it easy to get a quote and book. Our driver, Andy, was punctual, helpful, and friendly throughout our entire day. They weren't the cheapest... See more
Buses were on time both leaving school and leaving the museum to return to school. They allowed students to leave backpacks on the bus which was a big help. THANK YOU to both of our drivers and First... See more
Company details
About First Charter Bus Rental - Chicago - West
Written by the company
Think Yellow for your next event.
From field trips and party buses to corporate events and conventions to national organizations and non-profits, choosing yellow is the fun and flexible choice for all types of groups and destinations. School bus rental prices range from $85 to $125* per hour.
First Student is North America’s largest and most trusted provider of chartered yellow school bus transportation because we have the best drivers, buses and customer service.
The best buses
Because we have North America’s largest fleet, we are able to provide you with the best, newest and cleanest buses in the industry.
The best drivers
Most of your experience comes down to the driver, and we take our responsibility to provide you with a safe, respectful and caring professional driver, very seriously. We have a thorough screening and selection process to ensure we hire only the best and a continual training program to make them even better.
The best customer service
First Student has dedicated charter centers across North America, staffed with transportation professionals who know your region and are ready to partner with you on your most complex transportation needs.
*Location prices vary. Minimum trip time and other restrictions may apply.
Contact info
4155 W Chicago Ave, 60651-3623, Chicago, IL, United States
- 800-204-4362
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Driver was friendly
Driver was friendly, on-time, and wore a mask. The music on the bus was a bit loud and some of the windows were stuck shut. I felt pretty hot since I couldn't open my window. I'll be using First Student again, but hopefully we'll get a bus with better windows.
Three Cheers!
First Student made it so easy to schedule two school busses for my son’s Chicago wedding. They answered my many questions and reassured me that all would be fine. We had a tight schedule with picking guests up at the hotel and transporting them to Navy Pier for the wedding on a boat, with a small window of time between boarding and the boat pulling out. Evelyn and Lisa were amazing, calm, and cool, even though a heavy rain storm coincided with the trip and the Saturday evening traffic was crazy. They were at the right place at the right time after the wedding and got us all back to the hotel happy and safe. Three cheers for the drivers!!!
good service
The driver was excellent in his driving…
The driver was excellent in his driving ability and being on time also with his communication as well.
The driver was awesome and very patient…
The driver was awesome and very patient with my group of seniors. The bus was very clean and equipped with the lift for our wheelchair guest.
Bus Driver Review
The bus driver explained all the bus drill procedures clearly and he was very professional.
Excellent time
Excellent time, great driver, smooth ride, perfectly on time!
Very pleasant experience!
Excellent Service
Job was done flawlessly. Driver was very pleasant and everything that needed to be accomplished was completed. Thanks for everything.
2 of the 4 buses were late which…
2 of the 4 buses were late which delayed the start of our trip. Other than that the drivers were polite. They picked us up from the museum on time. I also appreciate the office being so helpful with the delay of receiving our check in the mail.
Could have been better
The communication between the charter and the driver was wrong about arrival time for our pick up by half an hour. Our trip home had a bus on a two+ hour highway trip with a bus that could only reach max 62mph. It added time and frustration to our schedule, especially since most of the highway is 70mph limits.
Nikole Patrick was AWESOME
Nikole Patrick was AWESOME! She truly went above and beyond to assist with my needs.
May use AI-assist with repliesRead more
The bus driver did not come to correct…
The bus driver did not come to correct spot, and did not make two trips that we paid for. So half of our guest had to Uber to the next location. I would not recommend this company.

Reply from First Charter Bus Rental - Chicago - West
Our bus braked
Our bus braked, so we have to wait 30 min to be picked up. It is a second time already.

Reply from First Charter Bus Rental - Chicago - West
Our experience
Our ride experience was good, however our driver was 30 min late picking us up. I understand weather conditions might have affected timing, however no communication was made to me. I called several times, was placed on hold, was told different pick up times, each time. Besides this, our bus was clean, and the driver was friendly.
Disappointed
I immediately shared with, I believe her name is Sarah, the service we received on our way back to our school. The driver took us on what should have been at most an hour's drive, a return that took 2 hours. I didn't understand and was left to assume that going to pick up bus aides during a charter was normal practice for your drivers, but we should've been informed. I haven't heard back from your representative concerning our experience and that was on January 16th, 2020.

Reply from First Charter Bus Rental - Chicago - West
TERRIBLE Bus never showed up
Absolutely terrible
The bus never showed up leaving us to scramble last minute.
First charter bus did not pick up phone calls and the bus company that they contracted did not either
It’s was an absolute shitshow and irresponsible

Reply from First Charter Bus Rental - Chicago - West
Rental=easy, Driver=not great
The rental process was crazy easy - that was the best. The driver, however, showed up late EVERY time, went grocery shopping between trips (not a huge deal, but kind of weird when we're paying for her time), and then was evidently more than 30 minutes away when we called at 5pm to ask if she could come at 5:30 instead of 5:45. We're paying for this whole day! You shouldn't be more than 10 minutes away. Good grief!

Reply from First Charter Bus Rental - Chicago - West
Awesome
Awesome, the Gentleman was very helpful and courteous...
Thanks a lot Sir... Please pass our taken our appreciation to the Gentleman and we'll be highly obliged...
The driver was very timely and pleasant!
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