The Minibus, Made for Small Groups in Italy

Family reunions, wedding parties, friends on a wine weekend, a club on tour: for nine to sixteen people, a minibus with a driver keeps everyone in one vehicle, chatting, with nobody stuck behind the wheel.

A bus in the eyes of the law

Counting the driver's seat, a minibus has more than nine, so it is legally a bus (autobus), hired with its driver under Legge 218/2003. Its driver holds category D1, the licence for vehicles of at most 8 m carrying no more than sixteen passengers. With nine seats or fewer the vehicle is a car instead, and comes under the NCC rules for cars with driver.

Being a bus also means the city coach schemes apply: ZTL bus permits, set-down points and coach parks. The operator handles them for each town on your route.

What it is like on board

Drivers of minibuses with more than eight passenger seats must not drink any alcohol before driving (art. 186-bis c. 1 d)
All occupants over three years old in buses (categories M2 and M3) must wear the seat belts fitted when seated, and passengers are told so by signs or pictograms on every seat (art. 172 c. 6 and 7)
A vehicle with up to nine seats including the driver is a car (autovettura); hired with a driver, it comes under the NCC rules of Legge 21/1992
With more than nine seats including the driver it counts as a bus (autobus) and is hired with a driver under Legge 218/2003 (art. 54 c. 1 b; L. 218/2003 art. 2 c. 3)
Category D1 covers vehicles built for up to 16 people besides the driver and up to 8 m long (art. 116 c. 3 n, Codice della Strada)

Belts and a sober driver

Every occupant over three wears the fitted belt when seated, and a sign or pictogram on each seat says so. Once a minibus has over eight passenger seats, its driver is also bound by the zero alcohol rule.

Luggage, and where it shines

The rear luggage space is generous with a few seats empty and tight when every seat is filled. For airport runs with large suitcases, leave a row free or choose a bigger vehicle.

Where a minibus shines: Tuscan hill villages, the Amalfi Coast, the lanes of the Langhe, and anywhere a coach would struggle to pull in. It can wait closer to a trattoria, turn round in a village square and set the group down right by a winery gate.

What travellers ask us

We are eight. Minibus or car?

Eight passengers fit a van-type car with driver, hired under the NCC rules. A minibus gives more luggage space and leaves seats free.

Can a minibus drive into a ZTL?

Only with the right permit. Because it counts as a bus, each city's coach scheme applies, and the operator applies for it in advance.

Is it suitable for a week-long tour?

Yes. The driver keeps to the EU limits on driving time, so the days are planned with breaks and overnight stops.