Why transport is where events go wrong
Guests rarely remember the stage design in detail. They always remember waiting forty minutes at the airport for a car that did not come. Transport is the first and last experience of your event — and the part most often left to the final week.
We plan transport as part of the event, not as a separate booking. Because we are a unit of Vibrantcar Rentals, the vehicles come from the same organisation that runs the event, which makes the approach below easier to execute — but the principles apply to anyone.
Step 1: build one manifest
Everything starts with a single, live list of every guest's movements:
- Name, mobile number and group (family, company, VIP).
- Arrival: flight or train number, date, scheduled time and terminal or station.
- Departure: the same details.
- Hotel and room-sharing.
- Special needs: wheelchair access, elderly guests, infants, heavy luggage.
Collect these at registration or RSVP, and set a firm cut-off for changes a few days before arrivals. After the cut-off, every change goes through one person.
Step 2: group arrivals into waves
Sending one car per guest is expensive; making everyone wait for the last flight is worse. Transfer waves sit between the two: guests whose flights land close together share vehicles, and you set a maximum waiting time.
A worked example. Suppose 120 guests land at Jaipur airport between 10:00 and 14:00 across nine flights. Grouping flights that land within about 45 minutes of each other might give five waves of 15 to 35 guests. A tempo traveller or mini-coach serves each wave, with sedans on standby for VIPs and stragglers. No one waits much more than 45 minutes, and you run about eight vehicles instead of forty.
Step 3: choose the vehicle mix
| Vehicle | Typical seating | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan | 3–4 guests | VIPs, speakers, couples, stragglers |
| SUV (e.g. Innova Crysta) | 5–6 guests | Families, small groups with luggage |
| Tempo traveller | 9–17 guests | Arrival waves, sightseeing, small groups |
| Mini-coach | 20–30 guests | Larger waves, hotel–venue shuttles |
| Coach | 35–50 guests | Shuttles, excursions, intercity moves |
Capacities vary by model and luggage. A coach that seats 45 people does not carry 45 people's suitcases, so plan fewer guests per vehicle on airport runs, or send a separate luggage vehicle.
Step 4: put people at every pickup point
- Meet-and-greet staff at arrivals with placards and the manifest, so guests are found rather than searching.
- Marshals at hotels and venues to load vehicles in order and keep timings.
- A control desk watching flights and vehicles and reassigning cars as plans change.
- Briefed chauffeurs who know the route, timings, guests and dress code.
Step 5: shuttles between hotels and venues
When guests are spread across hotels, run scheduled loops timed to the programme — every 15 minutes in the hour before a function, for example — rather than cars on call. Publish the shuttle timings in the joining instructions and at every hotel desk.
Step 6: VIPs, the couple and backups
VIPs, speakers, the wedding couple and family elders should have dedicated cars with experienced chauffeurs and a standby vehicle nearby. A single breakdown at the wrong moment becomes a story; a backup turns it into a non-event.
Step 7: don't forget departures
Departures are easily forgotten amid end-of-event fatigue. Build departure waves from the same manifest, allow generous time for traffic and check-in, and keep a desk at the hotel until the last guest has left.
Want us to plan your event's transport? See guest logistics and event transport, read about Vibrantcar's event and MICE transport, or send us your dates.