School trip transport in Sharjah.

What this guide covers

A school trip, here, is a chartered bus that leaves the gate, goes somewhere and comes back, on one day or over several. The daily home-to-school run is a separate service. It follows its own rules and schools arrange it with a school transport provider, so it is not on this page. For the venues and bus sizes, our school bus rental page has tables. This guide is about the planning.

Who decides what

Two parties are involved, and mixing them up costs time. The school decides where the trip goes, who goes and whether it is approved. The education authority that oversees your school sets the rules for outings and the paperwork they need, and those rules change, so check the current version with the authority and your own school office before you collect forms.

The bus company decides nothing about approval. Its job is the vehicle, the driver, the route and the timings. When your forms ask what the transport will be, give the seat count, the vehicle type and the times from the written quote, and ask us if the form needs something else.

A countdown to the day

In October to April, when most trips happen, book earlier than this, and book several vehicles earlier still.

Numbers and supervision

Give us pupils and adults as two figures, not one. Adults take seats too: teachers, assistants, the nurse and any parent helpers. A class of 26 with four adults is 30, which is exactly one 30-seater with no spare seat. Add a fifth adult and you need the next size.

What ratio of adults to pupils you need is the school’s call, and it depends on the age group, the venue and the length of the road. We do not set it. Every seat on our vehicles has a seat belt, so each pupil and adult sits belted in their own seat and nobody stands or shares.

Timing a Sharjah school day

Sharjah’s main roads are packed during the morning run and again from mid-afternoon. Al Wahda Street, Al Ittihad Road, the roads around University City and the Al Khan stretch of the coast all clog. A bus that pulls out of your gate at 9:15, after the peak, has an easier day than one trying to leave at 8:00. For the return, aim to be back before the pick-up queue forms, so that the coach does not sit in traffic outside your own school.

Heat matters more than most plans allow. From May to September, move the outdoor part of the trip early or keep it short, carry more water than seems sensible and ask us to cool the vehicle before the pupils board.

Trips by length

A short visit close to school can cost less as a return trip than as a half day, and we show both on the quote. Beyond an hour and a half, treat the road as part of the lesson and plan a stop each way. Our Khor Fakkan and Hatta pages show what a full day on that road looks like.

On the bus

Small habits make the day. Put adults at the front, middle and back so no stretch of the bus is unsupervised, and keep any pupil who gets travel sick near the front and a door. Do a headcount when the pupils board, again when they get off, and again before the bus leaves any stop. Keep the driver’s number and ours in the trip lead’s phone, plus the school office number in the driver’s.

Bags go under the seat or in the racks, not in the aisle. Medication stays with an adult. For the toilet, tell us the stops you want. A long drive with no break makes a bad afternoon.

What it costs

We quote a trip from your Sharjah gate for the real route and hours, in writing. Our vehicles start from AED 550 per day for a 30-seater, AED 600 for a 35-seater and AED 650 for a 50-seat coach, for a full day of up to 10 hours within Dubai with driver and fuel. A trip that starts in Sharjah is priced on its own route, so read those as starting points.

Example: 34 pupils and four adults make 38, so one 50-seat coach. At AED 650, the starting price, that is about AED 17 per head. At the top of the typical market range for a 50-seater, AED 800, it is about AED 21 per head. Use arithmetic like this for the fee letter, then replace it with the real quote. The price guide lists every vehicle.

Booking your bus

Send the school and the gate, the date, the venue, the leave and return times, the numbers of pupils and adults, any pupils who need extra help, and any kit or equipment. Use the booking form, email info@emiratesbushire.com or WhatsApp +971 54 126 1681. You get a written quote that you can attach to the approval file, and nothing is charged until you confirm.

Planning for a whole term? Send the dates together and we price them in one go. If your trip is in Dubai, see planning school trip transport in Dubai.

Related: School bus rental UAE · School & University Trips · Bus rental Sharjah · School trip transport guide · Bus size guide · Dubai to Khor Fakkan bus hire · Get a quote

Keep reading

• School bus rental UAE: Seat-belted mini coaches and coaches with drivers for school and university trips from Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah.
• School trip transport guide: A step-by-step guide for trip leads: headcounts, ratios, timings, seat belts and the day itself.
• Sharjah to Dubai by bus: How the public buses between Sharjah and Dubai work, where they struggle at rush hour, and when a private bus is worth it.
• Sharjah to Dubai staff transport: Daily staff routes from Sharjah and Ajman into Dubai, on a fixed monthly timetable with a regular driver.
• Bus rental Sharjah: Vans, minibuses and 30 to 50-seat coaches with drivers, collecting from anywhere in Sharjah.
• University transport in Sharjah: Chartered buses for University City Sharjah: field trips, student routes, orientation days and graduation, with timing and cost.