Leicestershire-based Nesbit Bros has been in business for 65 years and, as father and son Ian and Joe Foster explain to Andy Izatt, there is real pride in how they go about operating their coaches
The village of Somerby in rural Leicestershire is home to the old established, family-owned operator, Nesbit Bros, and this year the firm is marking the 65th anniversary of when brothers Adam (Ad) and William (Bill) Nesbit and their sister, Isabelle Foster, started operating their first coach.
It’s also a time of transition within the business, with the reins of control being progressively handed over from the second generation of the family, Ian Foster, to his eldest son Joe, the third generation. Both men have a clear view that there’s a right way of operating, taking a traditional approach that has had much to do with the firm’s enduring success over the years.
“The rates work went for at the last local authority e-auction are lower than I was getting 30 years ago,” observed Ian. “I don’t know what my uncle Bill would think about how the job is now. We’re up against firms that go out of business and then just start up again. They don’t have a CPC holder. They just hire someone in. What I do like about e-auctions is that I can watch as the rate drops. I know what my costs are and at a certain price I just walk away.
“There was a time when we could string two or three school runs together. Now we have academies that decide themselves when they start and finish so we can’t do that any more either. That just increases costs for everyone which is crazy. […]
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