The midi-coach (Midibus)
A midi-coach seats about 29 to 35. It suits a group too big for a minibus and too small to fill a coach, and it reaches streets and venues where a full-size coach struggles.
Where the shorter vehicle helps
Narrow roads, wine villages, small hotels and venue forecourts are easier with a midi-coach. It is still a bus, though. If an old town is closed to coaches, it is closed to this one too. Choose it for easier access, not to get round the rules.
The luggage space is underfloor or at the rear, and smaller than on a full-size coach. For a week-long tour with suitcases, check the space before choosing on seat count alone.
Seats and luggage
- Seats: 29-35
- Luggage: Underfloor or rear luggage space, smaller than a full-size coach
Rules and equipment on board
- Easier than a full-size coach in narrow streets, old towns and small venues
- With more than 16 passenger seats, or more than 8 m long, it needs a category D licence rather than D1
- It is operated under a PBefG authorisation for occasional services (Gelegenheitsverkehr)
- EU drivers' hours apply: at most 9 hours of driving a day (10 hours twice a week) and a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours
- On a single occasional coach trip, national or international, the driver may postpone the weekly rest for up to 12 days
Licence and authorisation
D1 stops at 16 passengers and 8 m. A midi-coach is beyond both, so its driver holds category D. The partner operator runs the vehicle under a PBefG authorisation for occasional services (Gelegenheitsverkehr). For you as the organiser, that changes little: you book one vehicle with one driver, and the operator handles the paperwork.
Hours on a touring week
The hours rules are the same as on a big coach. Up to 9 hours of driving a day, 10 on two days a week, and 45 minutes off once 4.5 hours have been driven. On a single tour, the driver may push the weekly rest back by up to 12 days. That suits a round trip of a week with the same driver. Long transfer days still need planning, so give us the daily route.
Questions organisers ask
Can a midi-coach use the 100 km/h limit?
Only on the same terms as any bus: the speed in its registration, belts on every seat and a speed limiter. Otherwise the limit is 80 km/h.
Which groups usually book one?
Company shuttles between hotels, club outings, wedding guests and day tours for 20 to 35 people. Choirs and Vereine with instruments or banners like it too, as long as the luggage space is checked first.
Does it need the green sticker?
Yes, in any active Umweltzone, and foreign-registered vehicles are not exempt.