First Charter Bus Rental - Portland Reviews 

113
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.6

6755 NE Columbia Blvd., 97218 Portland, OR, US


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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

First Charter did such an amazing job for our wedding! They were super responsive and communicated really well with our day-of coordinator, so we didn't need to hear about any of it on the day of our... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Your driver Brian, Was very professional and cordial. He arrive on time and brought us to our destinations timely. The entire reservation process was seamless. Each representative I spoke wi... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I did not attend this trip, but the adults who did said the drivers were great. Seemed one bus needed maintenance - pulled over for about 10 min. Smelled smoke, and also had a heating/cooling issue: s... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

As a small district, we often have difficulty getting buses for field trips. First Charter has come through for us multiple times to provide buses for our students. Without their support, our students... See more


Company details

  1. Bus and Coach Company
  2. Bus Charter

About First Charter Bus Rental - Portland

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.

Your Event
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Contact info

  • 6755 NE Columbia Blvd., 97218, Portland, OR, United States

  • 800-309-1421

4.6

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

113 reviews

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4.6

All reviews

(113)

1,687 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Driver was on time!!

Driver was on time. Willing to find the best route through a big delay from an accident. He knew what he was doing up the mountain and brought our guests safely. Guests thought he was really funny too

August 29, 2021
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

The Mt St Helens Trip with iUrban Teen

The driver, Dina, was professional, interactive, respectful with students and iUrban Teen staff and got us to Mt St Helens and back safely. Excellent rating for Driver Dina!

I had provided specific directions and location of the Mt St Helens Learning Institute to the scheduler/yard supervisor at the Portland location, but Driver Dina was not provided that information. We got it figured out but Dina would have been more prepared having the location & directions prior to our trip.

August 1, 2021
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Lack of communication about delay, frustrating

Pros: Appreciated all the help getting our busses scheduled for our girl’s camp. The process was smooth and straightforward and the policies clear and fair. The busses arrived on time on the morning of July 5th and made it to camp in 2 hours as anticipated.

Cons: I had two situations in which I needed to contact the Portland dispatch office and was unable to reach anyone. I left voice mail but never heard back. The first was mid week when we thought we might have a case of Covid and wanted to get info for contact tracing. I left a message and never heard back. Our camper’s Covid test turned out to be negative so this is not an issue, but at the time, it was frustrating. The second issue was with our Saturday pick up at the camp site. Busses did not arrive at the scheduled 10am pick up time. By 10:30 I was panicking. I had no text or voicemail from your company. My second contact person also had no text or voicemail. I called the after hours / weekend number for Portland dispatch. I was redirected to a different phone number on the first call. On the second, I was given the option to reach out to four different dispatchers. I tried the first and got voicemail. I left a message and then did the same with the next two dispatchers. There is a special kind of panic when you are faced with 120 girls wanting to go home, a campsite that needs you to leave so they can prep for the next group and no busses anywhere and no communication. The busses finally arrived 40 minutes late and we got home without further issue. We were told one of the busses had engine trouble and that is what caused the delay. My feedback is that any effort at communication about this problem would have alleviated a lot of headache and panic on my end. If we’d known about the adjusted eta, we could have passed that info on to our campers and leaders and spent the last hour of camp in a much more pleasant state of mind.

July 11, 2021
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

The dispatcher was very accommodating and helped me with changes. The bus driver got us to our destinations on time and took us on the correct route.

June 15, 2021
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I confirmed the scheduled pickup and…

I confirmed the scheduled pickup and depart times before the Event with dispatch, but I still received a phone call from the driver if it was okay to leave the hotel with the guests. He made that called to me 15 minutes AFTER the scheduled depart time, which made the guests arrive 20 minutes late to the ceremony. Of course, we could not start the ceremony until those guests arrived.

June 7, 2021
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A Great Fieldtrip!

When I called to reserve a bus for a field trip the person I spoke with was very helpful. She patiently answered every question I had, which were many! After I made my reservation I received a confirmation email within a few minutes.
When the bus driver arrived he was everything we were hoping for: good driver, cautious, friendly, punctual, and more. We are hoping we will be allowed to request him in the future!
A good experience from start to finish!

June 6, 2021
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Service

Excellent Service! The buses showed up early for the first pickup of the day and continued to be on-time or early throughout the day. Our bus schedule was quite complicated and on a tight schedule, but there were no issues at all. We hired an on-site coordinator from the company and were very pleased with his service and prompt attention to any questions or concerns.

March 17, 2020
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

The bus was waiting at the different…

The bus was waiting at the different street and departure delayed half an hour. Your company no longer provide driver's phone number, and it takes time to reach to representative even when it's emergency.
Bus driver could contact to the phone number on the bus order if no one showed up for a while.

March 10, 2020
Unprompted review
First Charter Bus Rental - Portland logo

Reply from First Charter Bus Rental - Portland

I'm sorry to read this, and I assure you that this experience is not typical. Can you please reach out to me directly? My name is Cesar and I run the Charter Center responsible for the Western United States. I would like to understand more so we can take corrective action. I would also like to work to make your situation right.
Thanks,
Cesar

Cesar M. Perez
Charter Center Manager – Western United States
Cesar.perez2@firstgroup.com
Desk: 513-665-3003
Mobile: 848-456-0288

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

First Student was good to work with.

First Student was good to work with.
Our driver was safe, fun and made sure we were informed and moving as needed.
After the day at Meadows, the highway was closed in one direction so we were rerouted. Halfway home we were stuck for over an hour waiting for an accident to get cleared up. Our driver was calm, communicated with us and her team and when we finally were moving again, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing.
I will use First Student again.

February 17, 2020
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Oliver and Xavier

Oliver and Xavier, our drivers for the trip on 2/11/2020 were wonderful, well prepared, friendly and professional! We loved having them and would love having them drive on our trips again!

Additionally - they were on time and knew exactly where they were headed. That put our Music Director at ease!

Thanks, Oliver and Xavier! You were wonderful!

February 12, 2020
Unprompted review

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