Umbrella Global Bus dispatches from its own South San Francisco yard, about 40 minutes from the Civic Center on US-101 and the Golden Gate Bridge, with a second yard in Hayward for East Bay legs. No marketplace, no subcontractor, no 20–40% broker margin. San Rafael is the one Marin city with real bus staging, which is why county events, fair weekends and campus moves all work better from here.
CPUC TCP 0037963 · USDOT 3126263 · commercial auto liability on every coach · certificates of insurance issued same business day.
Our own vehicles, photographed by our crew. Not stock photography, not a partner's coach.
Distances are road miles from the Marin County Civic Center. Times are typical off-peak. Every row is a trip type we stage regularly, not a keyword.
| Trip | What it usually looks like | Miles | Drive | Best vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civic Center and Veterans' Memorial Auditorium eventsCivic Center Drive, North San Pedro Road | Concerts, county functions and conferences at the Frank Lloyd Wright building, where the campus has room to hold vehicles but the lots fill early. We run park-and-ride from the outer lots and hold the bus on site between waves. | 1–4 | varies | 69-pax double-decker |
| Marin County Fair shuttlesFairgrounds lots, Civic Center lagoon area | Fair week around the Fourth of July is the heaviest crowd Marin generates all year. A double-decker moves 69 people a lap, which is how you keep a shuttle line moving instead of adding vehicles to a lot that is already full. | 1–6 | varies | 69-pax double-decker |
| Dominican University group travelGrand Avenue campus, Angelico Hall, Conlan Center | Commencement guest shuttles, admitted-student days and athletics travel. The campus streets in the Dominican neighborhood are residential, so we load on Grand Avenue and keep the coach out of the interior loop. | 2–120 | varies | 56-pax coach |
| SFO and OAK airport groupsUS-101 south, or I-580 over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge | SFO is about 36 road miles down 101 and over the Golden Gate; OAK is about 33 the other way over the Richmond bridge. We tell you which one prices better for your group instead of defaulting to whichever is closer to us. | 33–36 | 50–60 min | 56-pax coach |
| Northgate and Terra Linda corporate shuttlesUS-101 corridor, Lucas Valley Road, Smith Ranch Road | Recurring runs along the 101 office corridor north of downtown, including connections to the San Rafael Transit Center for staff coming up from the city. Fixed schedule, same driver, monthly invoice. | 3–12 | 10–20 min | 24–35-pax minibus |
| Downtown festival and street-fair shuttlesFourth Street closures, San Rafael Transit Center | Street painting weekends and downtown festivals close Fourth Street and push parking blocks away. We work off the closure map the city publishes and set the shuttle stops where a 45-foot vehicle can actually pull clear of traffic. | 1–5 | varies | 24–35-pax minibus |
| Wine country and Point Reyes day tripsUS-101 and CA-37 north, or Sir Francis Drake west | Sonoma is about 35 miles up 101 and across 37; Point Reyes is about 25 the other direction on Sir Francis Drake. Past Olema the road narrows enough that we put the group on a minibus and leave the coach at home. | 25–45 | 45–60 min | 24–35-pax minibus |
| Weddings and private events in San RafaelFalkirk Cultural Center, McNears Beach, Ross Valley venues | Guest loops from Marin hotel blocks with a shuttle at the end of the night, plus the wedding party on a separate vehicle when the timing does not line up. The driver stays on the clock until the last run, quoted up front. | 2–20 | varies | 24–35-pax minibus |
Not on the list? Any group of 10 to 69 out of San Rafael, Terra Linda, San Anselmo or Ross, anywhere in Northern California, including multi-day. Describe the trip and dispatch will price it.
Every unit below is titled to Umbrella Global Bus, maintained in our own shop and driven by our own employees. The vehicle you confirm is the vehicle that shows up.
Our double-deckerSixty-nine seats with a wheelchair lift and a restroom. Fair week and Civic Center concerts are exactly the volume it was bought for, and the Civic Center campus has the room to work it properly.
Our coachFor airport groups, university travel and long hauls out of Marin, with luggage bays, Wi-Fi, USB and a restroom on board.
Our minibusTwenty-four to thirty-five seats for downtown festival loops, corporate shuttles on the Northgate corridor and anything heading west past Olema.
Our SprinterFourteen seats for executive arrivals, small county delegations and late airport runs where a coach is more vehicle than the trip needs.
Same vehicles, photographed inside by our crew. Leather seating throughout, wood-look flooring, LED cove lighting and a wheelchair lift on the ADA units.
Most sites ranking for "charter bus San Rafael" do not own a single vehicle. They resell operators like us and add a margin. Here is what changes when you skip that layer.
| Question | Umbrella Global Bus | Booking marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the vehicle? | We do. Titled, insured and maintained by Umbrella. | A third-party operator assigned after you pay, often unnamed until day-of. |
| Who is driving? | Our employee, in our DOT drug-and-alcohol program, known to our dispatch. | Whoever the assigned operator sends. |
| What is the price built from? | Our operator rate, itemized: hours, deadhead from South San Francisco, tolls, gratuity. | An operator's rate plus the platform's margin, typically 20–40%. |
| Who answers at 5:40 a.m. when the bus is late? | The dispatcher who assigned the driver, with the coach on GPS. | A call center that has to phone the operator. |
| Certificate of insurance for a venue or employer? | Issued by us, usually same business day. | Requested from the operator through the platform. |
| Can I track the bus? | Yes, a live tracking link for every trip. | Depends on the operator. |
Ranges are published so you can budget before you call. Your quote is itemized to the hour and the mile, and for county work we can invoice against a PO with net terms.
Driver included. Five-hour minimum, so a half day runs $750–$875. Campus loops, festival shuttles, corporate runs.
Driver included. Quoted per itinerary on top of the hourly rate because deadhead, tolls and return time change the total.
Fixed routes for San Rafael employers, the county and campus programs, with monthly invoicing and PO-based billing.
Always included: driver, fuel, standard insurance, live tracking. Quoted separately: tolls, parking, driver overnight on multi-day trips, gratuity if you choose to add it.
A half-day (5-hour) 24-35 passenger minibus in San Rafael typically runs $750–$875 including driver. A 56-passenger motorcoach is quoted per itinerary because deadhead from South San Francisco, tolls and your return time drive the number. Event shuttles are usually quoted hourly with a vehicle count.
Yes, and this is one of the few Marin venues where large vehicles can stage on site. We plan the loop off the event's own parking map, run double-deckers when the crowd justifies them, and put a dispatcher on the phone for the whole event, not just the load-in.
Yes. Commencement means guest shuttles from remote parking to Grand Avenue on a tight headway; athletics means coaches with luggage bays and drivers cleared under our DOT drug-and-alcohol program. Both get a live tracking link for the staff running the day.
SFO at roughly 36 road miles is the default and has the most flights, but OAK at about 33 miles over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is often faster on a weekday afternoon. We will quote both and tell you which one we would pick for your timing.
We are the operator. Nineteen vehicles on our own title, drivers on our payroll, our own dispatch and our own maintenance shop, under CPUC TCP 0037963 and USDOT 3126263. For county and school work we can produce the operating authority and insurance documents directly.
Yes. Recurring and event work is invoiced monthly against your PO with net terms, and we issue the certificate of insurance naming the county, the district or the venue as certificate holder, usually the same business day you ask.