In its dismissal of CPT’s coach deserts concern, the government implied that coach operators could rapidly be replaced if they fail. routeone presents a different opinion from on the ground
When the Confederation of Passenger Transport warned of the consequences of the loss of coach operators at the Transport Select Committee hearing on 24 March, Transport Minister Baroness Vere dismissed those concerns – her reason being that assets such as coaches and drivers could – simply put – be acquired by another company.
In addition to a disregard for the disruption that would inevitably cause, the minister’s comments dismiss decades of work put in by families across the UK to weave longstanding relationships with local authorities, community groups, customers and charities – and operators have expressed their anger that such effort should be seemingly ignored.
Bibby’s of Ingleton celebrates its 65th anniversary this year. The tide is now turning in the operator’s favour with the return of schools and sports fixtures, and the company is in a strong financial position – but this has not stopped Director Chris Bibby acknowledging that, had things been different and the company disappeared, there is no doubt it would leave a void that would be very difficult to fill.
Vital part of the community
“We have as a business, and as a family, deep rooted connections – not just in our village of Ingleton, but with many communities locally,” says Chris. “We have over 60 years’ experience of operating school contracts. That is 60 years of co-operation with North Yorkshire County Council, and 60 years of connections with, in some cases, four generations of local families. You cannot buy up that relationship.”
The refusal from government to support coach tourism, despite being the main source of income for many operators, has put those sorts of relationships at risk up and down the country. Chris describes his reaction to the hearing as “demoralised and disheartened.
It was unbelievable what we were hearing. Baroness Vere believes we are easy to replace. But every company that is deep rooted in the community such as we are knows this is just not the case. Nobody can just pick up the baton from 65 years of experience.”
Bibby’s strong ties to the community began with operating educational work. From there, it developed links to local businesses and families, and, as a result, Bibby’s place in the community goes far beyond simply driving passengers from A to B on a coach.
In the mid-1990s, its entire fleet was called out to a nearby town to evacuate residents after a gas leak. It co-operates regularly with local cave rescue organisations, a unique feature of the region, and helps maintain their emergency vehicles. More recently, Bibby’s put its fleet on 24hr standby to move a diving team when severe flooding hit the Yorkshire Dales.
That exemplary reputation has long had an impact the economy of the region and the careers of its young people too. As routeone learned in 2019, Bibby’s strong connections to the local area have for many years attracted young people out of school into careers with the coach industry.
“We are constantly involved, delivering presentations, afternoon and evening talks to schools, young farmers, pubs, pensioner groups, WI groups and it goes without saying that we are constantly raising money and supporting local charities,” Chris adds.
During the pandemic, Bibby’s organised a vintage parade for VE day 2020 to provide something for the village to look forward to. “It was a dark, difficult time for everybody and we did it to support the village,” says Chris. “All we did was ask everyone to stay at home while we paraded past with vintage vehicles.
“After we did the event, we were flooded with thanks. That was a highlight for a lot of people last year – and it was a simple thing, but for the people that had the pleasure of seeing the vehicles driving past, it meant a lot.”
Chris also describes how Bibby’s organised drive-in church services at its depot, which has also helped keep the community connected during the pandemic: “These were a huge success and it was a reinforcement that family coach businesses like ours are vital to the community. It isn’t just about the coaching – yes, the vehicles and drivers may remain and another operator could take them up. But our worth in the community extends beyond just taking people on a coach. Pick a dozen random family coach operators, and you will glean a similar story about their worth in the community.”
Whenever Bibby’s was forced to shut its doors due to COVID-19 restrictions, the reaction has been largely a positive one, if only through the sense of concern and willingness of support from the community. “But that comes from the years of working in the community,” Chris explains. “If you have been in one location as long as we have, and operate in the right manner, there will be a lot of support.”
If the government’s exclusion of interest in the coach industry stems from a misunderstanding of how coaching truly engages with individual communities, it should look to operators such as Bibby’s – a trusted lifeline to all aspects of its region, with a reputation that took years to build up. Chris believes an operator could move into the area to take up a volume of work, of course – but without the knowledge of that community, the loss comes regardless of the new operator’s standard of work.
Support: Nothing certain
While many operators in England have faced a lack of interest from Westminster, those in Scotland have at least been comforted by the availability of the £10m Scotland Coach Operators – COVID-19 Business Support and Continuity Fund, distributed by VisitScotland and intended to support operators in the coach tourism and coach private hire sector with Euro V and VI vehicles.
However, application for funding has not been smooth sailing and has left some operators wanting. To be eligible an operator’s prepandemic tourism and private hire business turnover must have been more than 55% of its total turnover, which has led to complications and frustration for Milligans Coaches of Mauchline, which, according to the accountancy firm procured by VisitScotland, was determined not to be eligible – because its tourism and private hire business came up short at 53.6%.
VisitScotland works on the basis that ineligible businesses are those which receive more than 45% of their annual turnover from noncoach tourism and private hire sources such as bus service and local authority work, Ministry of Defence contracts, rail replacement and home-to-school contracts. This was not the case for Milligans, which undertakes only home-to-school work.
“Our problem was that we had done the occasional coach conversion from a 49 seater to a 70 seater, and we had completed three that year, which was high turnover but has a low profit margin – and that was included in our figures, which our accountant agrees was unfair,” says owner and Operations Manager Morag Milligan.
Because of the inclusion of the coach conversion work into the figures, Milligans came 1.4% below the threshold, and thus was excluded from a potential £72,000 in support. Morag is hopeful a second round of funding will prove more fruitful.
For a 73-year-old company that has long revolved around the coach tourism and private hire sector to be refused funding perhaps demonstrates the uncertainty of operators even in areas where support has been promised. The Baroness has suggested the ease with which new coach operators may start up to replace failed ones, but Morag certainly does not envy anyone looking to try. “There are too many obstacles for somebody to just jump in and start operating. Look at the work in getting an O-Licence, and the expense of buying vehicles. We sought funding for two coaches last year, and were refused by our bank as being a ‘high risk’ industry, despite working with it for 60 years and having never defaulted on a payment.”
And the preservation of a company like Milligans goes further than preserving the economic benefits of a tourism and private hire business. The company is believed to be the second biggest employer in Mauchline. It has formed its own community with a low turnover of employees – the longest has worked there for over 30 years – and as an operator it has capitalised on its involvement with the community, going above and beyond to assist when it can.
A reduction in bus routes in the area has meant Milligans has been vital to connecting those rural communities. Could an operator step in and pick up where Milligans left off? According to Morag, it would be difficult indeed – even relocating to the area comes with barriers.
“At one time we tried to relocate, and planning rules meant we could only move to an industrial site. We own our own yard at the house and had to downsize our fleet because it was difficult to get a bigger yard as a coach company.”
Changing perceptions
BusyBus, based in the North West of England, qualified for tourism sector specific financial support but did not qualify for the business recovery grant scheme. Now it says it feels as though it has been “dumped” along with every other coach company, while co-founder and Director Peter Rosenfeld highlights his despondency at the prospect of being left behind on the basis that another company could simply hoover up the remnants.
“We’ve been thrown under the bus,” he says. “The coach industry does seem to have suffered a genuine case of selection, and a strategic round the table decision has been made as to which industries will recover with new wealth coming in.”
Much like Chris at Bibby’s of Ingleton, Peter feels a lack of perception by government around what the coach operator means to customers and individual communities has much to answer for. “The country seems to have the perception that coach travel consists of elderly people, home-to-school transport, and rail replacement. And that does not give the full picture.” The reality for Peter is that starting a company like BusyBus is not something any operator can do overnight. “We have 20 years of evolving a dynamic, thematic coach trip which involves guiding, logistics, strategy, and empathy with customers. The industry is not just about rail replacement, school contracts, elderly passengers and seaside resorts – we are an industry that is essential for the inbound tourism perception of quality, value and delivery – none of which was discussed at the Transport Select Committee. Tourism is a key economic driver, and to deliver tourism starts with the transport, the coach, the welcome – and not everybody can do that.”
Peter recently took a call from the owner of a forest lodges company to supply a tourism product to his business. Those partnerships come through established, exemplary products of quality and assurance to customers. “Many coach operators have worked to become integrated and completely trusted without question or challenge that the quality will be delivered to the consumer. Quality is not just at face value – it stems right down through the legislation, the assurance that a vehicle is properly insured, CPCs and that O-Licences are in place and a good relationship with DVSA is established.”
For Peter, that level of exemplary service is then embraced by the local community: “It takes ownership and becomes proud of it. In Chester, Liverpool and Manchester, people are proud of BusyBus. I’ve seen the emails and the recommendations. It is not just my business at stake here – it is the community that is so proud of the assets it has.”
Sustainability consequences
Like the others, BusyBus has been involved in local charities, recently partnering with Stick ‘n’ Step to donate a bus for the Three Peaks Challenge. And when the business was forced to close its doors during lockdown periods, Peter says it was obvious that the community did not want BusyBus to go.
Operators like Peter recognise that the value of existing coach and bus tourism business extends to the environment too. The reputation that BusyBus has built over the past 20 years, for example, has made it a reason to come to the area. That has economic benefits, of course – full day trips mean an overnight stay is usually necessary, and cash is injected into local hotels, restaurants and shops. But if operators such as BusyBus disappear, Peter warns that it may not be other operators that fill the void – it will be an influx of cars.
“If we don’t take those passengers on tours, and if nobody else does, people will try to self-service what has been removed. One coach of 40 people will become 20 cars of two people. Scale that up across the whole industry, the whole country – that’s thousands of cars.”
Confidence in a rapid domestic tourism recovery has been stated before – but for Peter, the coach industry must be scaled properly to be a beneficiary. A lack of support from government risks missing that opportunity, with immediate and direct consequences.
