Planning a multi-day event fleet

Size for continuous running, not a single day

The first shift is that a multi-day fleet cannot all be working at once, because vehicles need to charge. On a single day you might size the fleet to the peak movement; across several days you size it so that, with some vehicles always on charge, enough are still running to cover the work. That means a multi-day fleet is usually a little larger than the peak-movement figure alone would suggest, because part of it is always cycling through charging rather than working.

So the sizing question changes from "how many do we need at the busiest moment" to "how many do we need running continuously, allowing for charging". Tell us the daily pattern and how continuously the vehicles run, and we size for the rotation rather than the single peak.

Charging rotation keeps the fleet available

The mechanism that makes continuous running work is charging rotation: vehicles cycle through a charging point on a schedule, so there is always a charged vehicle available and never a moment when the whole fleet is flat. On a permanent site this means enough charging points in the right place; on a green field it is built into the generator supply, covered in the festival checklist. Cold weather tightens this, because reduced winter range means more frequent charging, so a winter multi-day event plans the rotation more carefully still.

The rotation is planned, not left to chance. A fleet where drivers plug in whenever they remember is a fleet that runs flat at the wrong moment; a fleet on a charging schedule is one that is always available.

Plan for reliability and a spare

Over a single day, a vehicle rarely fails. Over a multi-week event, the odds rise, and a vehicle out of action is a problem every day until it is fixed. So a multi-day fleet is planned with reliability in mind: well-maintained vehicles, and for a longer or larger event, a spare so that a breakdown or a routine service does not leave the operation short. The spare is not waste, it is the difference between a fleet that copes with the inevitable and one that scrambles when a vehicle goes down. For the heaviest crew running, this ties into the vehicle mix in crew and staff transport.

Discipline across a long event

The longer an event runs, the more the operational discipline matters, because small problems compound over days. A key policy with a named owner per vehicle, a charging schedule everyone follows, and a clear handover between shifts stop the fleet from drifting into the state where buggies are scattered across the site with flat batteries and lost keys. This is the least glamorous part of multi-day planning and the one that most reliably separates a fleet that runs for a fortnight from one that falls apart in the second week.

Cover the full period

Finally, a multi-day hire spans the full period, build through breakdown, because the setup and the strike are usually the heaviest use and they bracket the public days. A multi-day event that hires only for the show days finds the build and breakdown were when it needed the fleet most. Tell us the full site period, the daily running pattern and the conditions, and we plan a fleet sized, charged and maintained to run continuously from the first day to the last.

Common questions

How is a multi-day fleet sized differently

For continuous running rather than a single peak. Because vehicles need to charge, part of the fleet is always cycling through charging, so the fleet is usually a little larger than the peak-movement figure alone suggests. The question becomes how many are needed running continuously, allowing for charging, not just at the busiest moment.

How does charging work across a multi-day event

By rotation: vehicles cycle through a charging point on a schedule so there is always a charged vehicle available. On a green field it is built into the generator supply. Cold weather tightens it, because reduced winter range means more frequent charging. The rotation is planned, not left to chance.

Do we need a spare vehicle

For a longer or larger multi-day event, yes. Over weeks the odds of a breakdown or a routine service rise, and a vehicle out of action is a daily problem until fixed. A spare is not waste; it is the difference between a fleet that copes with the inevitable and one that scrambles when a vehicle goes down.

Should a multi-day hire cover the build and breakdown

Yes. The setup and the strike are usually the heaviest use and they bracket the public days, so a hire booked only for the show days misses when the fleet is needed most. Tell us the full site period and daily pattern and we plan the fleet to run continuously from the first day to the last.