In the second in his series of London Tourist Coach Operators Association (LTCOA) member interviews, Peter Bradley converses with Richard Slack of Slacks Coaches
Established in 1952, Slacks Coaches is a family run business operating throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. The business had its origins with Richard Slack’s grandfather, Ken Slack, driving a coach for a friend in the village of Tansley, near Matlock in Derbyshire. Having enjoyed the experience, he bought his own coach and the shoots of the business we now know today sprouted.
Today the operator occupies a site on the northern outskirts of Matlock. Now run by Richard’s father Graham Slack, in normal times it offers holidays, day excursions, private hire and contract services, with a fleet of 25 vehicles.
However, on the day I spoke with Richard, there was not much happening.
“In September, it was like someone had turned the tap on and we were flat out with enquiries. It was all very promising. But then out came the message again to stay at home and the phones literally switched off overnight. Thank goodness the government extended the furlough scheme, as the office-based staff had very little to do.”
Richard is more positive about 2021. “We have already had a few enquiries from regular customers for next year. People are just desperate to get out. Their lives have been put on hold.”
PSVAR is one of Richard’s greatest concerns, coupled with the whole question of vehicle emissions.
“The problem we have,” he says, “is we have no idea what life span a coach has now. If we were to retrofit one of our Euro V coaches to PSVAR standards, how much work are we actually going to get out of that coach? Is it worth my while undertaking that retrofit, if in five years I cannot use a Euro V coach anywhere? On the other hand, if I don’t retrofit, will I be able to use it on a school contact post July 2021? We are in an impossible situation.
“How much money can you throw at an older coach to, in effect, tick a box for the government when there is little demand and rates for home-to-school transport are not significantly increased to account for this? You could spend £50,000 on a PSVAR and Euro VI conversion for a vehicle of similar value just to be able to continue using it. The point is, we are investing a huge amount for very little extra return.
“Where we are based,” Richard muses, “there are no proper coach or bus stops in many of the rural areas we serve, let alone a suitably adapted kerb where a lift could be deployed. Indeed, in a number of places we block the road when picking up school children. How is that going to work if I spend 10 minutes loading a wheelchair user onto the vehicle with a queue of cars and vans behind me? We did look at using buses for some of our school work, but on rural services pupils could be standing on the bus for up to an hour. Is that really what we want to do?”
These issues, Richard suspects, are faced by a number of fellow operators up and down the country and need urgent consideration.
