Santa Barbara Party Bus Rentals, things to know when hiring a Limousine

5 Things to know when you need to hire a limousine Service in Santa Barbara

Hiring a limousine service is usually done when someone is having a big event, a wedding, a special night out, or a get together with a group of friends. Limousines are very convenient because they shift the responsibility of transporting a party to a professional company that does this every day. But, beware there are many things to consider when hiring a limousine service in Santa Barbara, but this guide applies anywhere else in the US and many places abroad. 

1.- Hire a Limousine company that is licensed.

Limousines companies in California are regulated at the state level by the Public Utilities Commission. The PUC has a website with a list of currently licensed operators all over the state. It takes 2 minutes to check and see if the company you are considering hiring its up to date with the state. You can check on this link https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov

Some of the things the PUC check include, commercial insurance on vehicles, licensed drivers, drug & alcohol test programs, and vehicles inspections amongst other things. If you don find a company on the list, or its license has been suspended or revoked by the stay, it’s a warning sing that you should reconsider hiring a different company. 

2.- Hire a Local Santa Barbara Limousine Company directly   

When you search online, you will find an abundance of companies advertising limousine services in Santa Barbara. The reality of it is that there are about 4 true limousine and party bus operators in Santa Barbara, the rest of the companies you will come across, will be either out of town or even out of state. Most of these companies do not have a presence in Santa Barbara, and are simply brokers. When you hire a broker, you are adding a significant amount to what you will end up paying for that limousine or party bus. The reason for this is that a broker will create a contract for you, and then turn around and hire the local company. In order for this situation to work for the broker, the broker will have to mark up the local company’s price. Therefore by hiring a local company compared to a broker can save you anywhere between 10% – 25% of the total cost. In the rare event that a broker gives you a better price for a Santa Barbara limo or party bus, 1 of 2 things will most likely happen. The broker will eventually cancel on you, or the broker’s limousine or party bus will not show up to your event. A broker will not take a loss, because they are doing this at the national level, and they would soon be out of business, and a broker based in Florida will not be able to send a limo or party bus to Santa Barbara because it bid lower than what a local operator will charge. 

3.- Ask if the stretch limousine has emergency pop-out windows 

The “San Mateo Bridge Limo Fire” that happened in 2013 where 5 people were killed because they could not get out from a burning limo caused legislators to enact new rules where limousine operators had to install emergency windows to limousines in order to keep operating them. The new emergency windows are at hefty price, and caused most of limousine operators across the state to sell their limos out of state where the new safety requirements are not in place. There are many operator’s in California who have an attitude of not following the rules, and as a result you still see many limousines operating without emergency windows. Most consumer’s are not aware of this safety requirement, so they keep booking limousines that don’t meet current California safety requirements. 

4.- When booking a limousine in Santa Barbara or a party bus, ask if all the fees are included.

There are many companies that love to hide their fees in order to seem more competitive when providing a price quote. They then surprise the customer at the end with added fees that the consumer was not aware of that they would pay. Some of the most common fees you will come across included: Taxes, Fuel Surcharge, PUC recovery fee, Gratuity, After hours fees, and meet and greet. 

5.- Ask if They have a current vehicle inspection for the Limousine or Party Bus from the Highway Patrol 

The highway Patrol performs an annual safety inspection of Limousines and Party buses to ensure a vehicle is not likely to be involved in an accident or breakdown, thereby increasing safety for not just the passengers, but everyone around. After each inspection, the limousine operator will receive a report indicating if the vehicles are in a safe and operable condition. When a vehicle does not pass a safety inspection, it may be place out of service until the reasons for not passing the safety inspection have been addressed. It may be that the vehicle is missing fire extinguishers, does not have an emergency exit, work breaks or something along those lines. 

Hiring a limousine service or a party bus rental in Santa Barbara is a very simple task that can become very costly when one is unaware of things to consider.

Golden Limo Santa Barbara has been providing limousine service and party bus rentals to locals and visitor alike for almost 10 years in Santa Barbara. We specialize in providing Wine Tours in Santa Barbara and have an excellent reputation. Check our online reputation on your favorite website, and then contact us directly to book your limousine service, or for a party bus rental.

Golden Limo Santa Barbara

Owned and Operated by Golden Rooster Transportation TCP 31652

www.goldenlimosb.com

(805)364-3118

[email protected]