Coach Hire Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions apply when hiring a coach from Ember. For scheduled public services, please see our Conditions of Carriage.

Company

We are Ember Core Ltd (“we”, “our”, “us”), operating under the name Ember. Our registered address is 23 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 4DF.

We're registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under number ZA575885. Our operator license is number PM2025892.

Quotes, Bookings and Payments

We’ve kept our pricing structure simple. You tell us what you need, we’ll build an itinerary, and then create a quote based on it. Please note that all quotes are subject to the availability of our coaches and drivers.

If you need the coach to stay with your group between journeys, just let us know and we can build this into your itinerary. Please bear in mind that we might occasionally need to move the coach (for example, to charge it), but we’ll always work with you to make sure it’s available when you need it.

The route taken is at our discretion, but we’re happy to agree on a specific route with you in writing beforehand if desired.

Your quote covers the hire of the coach and your professional driver. For trips involving an overnight stay, the cost of the driver's accommodation and a meal allowance will be added to your quote, and we can handle all the arrangements to keep things simple.

To lock in your hire, we ask for a 25% deposit. Once that’s paid, your booking is confirmed. A quote is not the same as a confirmed booking. You can still add or change details in your booking after it's confirmed, but we may update the price to reflect any additional costs. If we're unable to accommodate the changes you've requested, you can either keep your original booking or cancel your booking. We will treat a cancellation in this scenario as one initiated by the customer and so our customer cancellation policy will apply.

You can pay by debit/credit card or bank transfer. We’ll send your final invoice in advance of your trip, with full payment due at least 14 days before your hire date unless otherwise agreed.

If a payment is late, we may have to cancel your booking, but we will always contact you in writing before taking that step. Failure to pay the agreed cost by the due date may result in the hire being cancelled without further claim for loss or damages.

We know plans can be flexible, especially for longer and multi-day bookings, so if you’d like to make a change on the day, please communicate that as clearly as possible and as early as possible with your driver and they will do what they can to make adjustments.

We reserve the right to require additional payments to cover additional driving or waiting hours beyond what was originally agreed. If a quotation was not agreed in advance, these will be charged at our standard rate:

• £60 per hour for active time, including driving or boarding
• £20 per hour for waiting time

Delays and Cancellations by Us

We will do everything we can to show up on time at the start of your booking and will work with you to ensure we’ve allowed sufficient buffer. Let us know if you want to add additional buffer time.

If we’re more than 30 minutes late showing up at the start of a booking, due to a factor within our control, then we’ll refund you £100. If we’re more than 60 minutes late showing up at the start of a booking, due to a factor within our control, then we’ll refund you £200.

In the unlikely event we have to cancel a trip due to a factor within our control, we’ll refund your full hire cost and pay an additional 25% of your hire cost as compensation. If it’s due to a factor outside of our control, we’ll refund your full hire cost. If we’re more than an hour late, you also have the right to cancel the booking and the same refund/compensation policy will apply.

Factors within our control would include a driver or vehicle issue. Factors not within our control would include severe weather (e.g. a red weather warning), unscheduled road closures or exceptional traffic (e.g. due to a crash).

Once you are underway, we will do our best to run according to the itinerary. However, the driver may need to adjust the itinerary or schedule – e.g. in case of severe traffic delays or a vehicle breakdown. This could mean taking an unscheduled break to stay within legal driving limits. Please be assured that we will always try to find reasonable alternatives to ensure minimal impact to your trip. The driver will communicate changes to passengers as soon as possible.

We will not charge you extra if we run late due to traffic delays during the trip, provided you have agreed to reasonable adjustments we have suggested.

In the extreme event that we have to cancel mid-journey, we’ll pay reasonable alternative travel expenses and support you in completing your trip. We’ll also refund the remaining hire cost.

We will not be held liable for any loss, damage, inconvenience or additional costs you suffer as a result of cancellations, beyond what is outlined above.

Changes and Cancellations by You

If you wish to cancel your booking, please email hire@ember.to. Cancellations with more than 7 days’ notice will receive a full refund. For cancellations with more than 24 hours’ notice, we will issue a 50% refund. For cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice, we will issue a 25% refund.

If you wish to change your booking, either before or during your journey, we’ll do our best to accommodate the request. However, this is at our discretion. If we can not accommodate the change then you have the choice either to cancel, in line with our cancellation policy, or stick with the existing booking.

We’ll provide a quotation for the change, if it's made with sufficient time. For last minute changes – e.g. any additional stops agreed on the day – we may not be able to quote in advance. In this case, we will charge you retrospectively based on our standard rates.

Refunds

Refunds will be processed to your original payment method. If this is not possible (e.g. due to a closed account), we will contact you to arrange an alternative refund method. Compensation exceeding the cost of your booking will be paid by bank transfer. We reserve the right to decline a refund or compensation payment if it violates the law.

Liability

Our total liability to you for any loss or damage, whether arising from contract, negligence, or otherwise, shall not exceed 125% of the amount you paid for your hire.

This doesn't apply to:

• Death or personal injury caused by our negligence
• Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation
• Any other liability which cannot be excluded by law

This limit applies to each booking and covers all claims arising from the same incident, regardless of the number of people affected.

We're not liable for any indirect losses, including lost profits, missed opportunities, or wasted costs arising from delays, cancellations, or other service issues, beyond the specific compensation we've outlined elsewhere in these terms.

Conduct

Our drivers are human beings who are doing their best to provide you with a safe, enjoyable experience. They will not tolerate abuse, rudeness or a general lack of courtesy from you or other passengers travelling as part of the hire.

We want to ensure your trip is in a safe, comfortable and enjoyable environment so we have the following rules in place:

• Please don’t eat hot food onboard, we want to keep the vehicles smelling fresh for everyone.
• You can bring hot drinks onboard but they must be in a cup with a spill resistant lid.
• Having an alcoholic drink onboard is ok. Being drunk and disorderly is not.
• Take your rubbish with you or put it in a rubbish bin onboard.
• You must wear a seatbelt at all times while seated, where one is provided.
• Do not smoke conventional or electronic cigarettes of any kind whilst onboard.
• Do not bring weapons onboard, either on your person or in your luggage.
• Do not use our Wi-Fi to download, view, or distribute illegal material.
• Do not distract the driver whilst they're driving, unless you have an emergency. If possible, wait until the next stop and then alert the driver to your issue.
• Under no circumstances should you or any passengers require the driver to drive more or outside of their regulated hours unless it is a serious emergency.
• Do not exceed the legal seating capacity limits of the vehicle, as specified at the time of booking.
• Where we are carrying children, you must ensure that there is appropriate adult supervision at all times.

If you or your group break these rules, we reserve the right to terminate the hire. This will generally be a last resort, but in this case you will not be entitled to a refund. If appropriate, we will seek legal redress to remedy the damage, loss, or injury caused by your actions.

Luggage and Excess Luggage

We will do our best to accommodate your luggage on our vehicles, but if you know you will be travelling with particularly large or long items, then it’s best to let us know in your enquiry so we can make reasonable accommodations to ensure that we can carry it.

You are responsible for any items you bring onboard and Ember will not be held liable or responsible for any loss or damage incurred, except in the case of gross negligence on our part. If you are travelling with very expensive items then we strongly recommend that you have adequate insurance.

We reserve the right to refuse carriage of any item of luggage and final discretion is left to the driver.

Special Requests

If you’d like to make any special requests for your coach hire, such as custom wrappings, tour guide microphones or bike racks, let us know and we will see if we can make it happen. Any of these special requests will have an additional cost and will be agreed upon in advance.

Cleaning Fees

We work hard to keep our buses as clean as possible for the comfort of all passengers.

If you make a mess or damage the vehicle, for instance by vomiting or spilling a drink, you will be responsible for the cost of putting it right. In the case of vomiting, the cleaning fee will be a minimum of £50. However, we reserve the right to pass on all additional cleaning costs, the costs associated with helping other passengers complete their journey in a different vehicle and the lost revenue from having to take a bus out of service. Payment of cleaning or damage must be made within seven days of invoice date.

We would much rather avoid these incidents if at all possible. If you are feeling unwell, tell the driver. We generally have sick bags available and may be able to stop for a couple of minutes of fresh air. As a matter of politeness, we would also ask that you tell the driver proactively if there has been an incident, rather than leaving them to find it later.

CCTV

We have CCTV on our vehicles to keep people safe, prevent crime and improve our service. Most of the cameras only record video but those at the front of the vehicle may also record sound. Where relevant, this data may be passed on to the police and prosecuting authorities to provide evidence in legal proceedings.

Our CCTV equipment and systems are operated in full accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Full details can be found in our Privacy Policy.

Wheelchairs, Buggies and Mobility Scooters

We welcome wheelchair users and have a lift and wheelchair space in all of our vehicles. The lifts will support wheelchairs with a seated passenger up to a total combined weight of 300kg. The maximum dimensions are 1200mm (length) x 700mm (width) x 1350mm (height).

If you use a wheelchair or lightweight mobility scooter and are able to climb a few steps on to the vehicle then we can store your mobility device in the hold. Drivers will do their best to help you to your seat in this situation. Wheelchairs or lightweight mobility scooters must weigh no more than 20kg or be capable of being dismantled into parts that weigh less than 20kg each. We are not responsible for dismantling or erecting your mobility device but a driver will do their best to assist you.

Collapsible buggies, prams and strollers must be folded up and put in the hold. Should you have a non collapsible type then it will be up to the discretion of the driver to decide if it can be permitted onboard or in the hold. We'll do our best to help but on particularly busy services there might not be enough space available.

So we can support you best, please let us know if any of this will be needed at the time of booking so that we can make as many accommodations for you as possible.

Animals

We welcome guide dogs, hearing or assistance dogs accompanying registered disabled persons. Assistance dogs must be properly harnessed and under your direct control at all times.

All other dogs (or small animals) are welcome on our coaches provided we have been given advance notice. Any animal that travels with you does so at your own risk. You will be solely responsible should the animal make a mess that requires additional cleaning, cause damage to the vehicle, or injure other passengers or employees. We may seek to claim back the costs we incur as a result.

Animals are not permitted to travel on a seat. Instead, they should remain on the floor in front of your seat or on your lap. If your pet is too large to sit here, they may travel on the floor in front of the adjacent seat. They are not allowed to sit in the aisle.

All animals are welcome at the discretion of the driver. If your dog or other animal becomes a disturbance you may be asked to leave and we will have no liability to you as a result.

Lost Property

If you find any property which someone else has left in a vehicle, please hand it to the driver.

If you leave something on a vehicle, please report it via email to ride@ember.to as soon as possible. Lost property will be held in one of our offices for one month unless it is a perishable, objectionable or illegal item (in which case it will be disposed of immediately).

Data Protection

Where we collect your personal data, we will store, process and safeguard that data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Complaints Handling

We try to handle complaints quickly and fairly. We aim to acknowledge your complaint within one business day and respond fully within two weeks. Where this is not possible, we’ll explain why and provide you with an alternative timeline.

Amendments

These Terms & Conditions apply to all Ember coach hire services as of the date at the top of this page and replace all previous versions. They may be amended from time to time. A copy of any previous versions will be available on our website.

Legal Notice

The governing law for these Terms & Conditions shall be the laws of Scotland and the Courts of Scotland shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

Should any provision of these Terms & Conditions be invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

These Terms & Conditions apply to all coach hire services operated by Ember.