The first National Coach Week took place from 1 April, marking the importance of coaches across the country. Jonathan Welch spoke to the organisers to find out more
National Lorry Week has been part of the haulage and logistics industry’s calendar for a number of years, and now the coach industry has a similar week-long spotlight with the launch of National Coach Week. Orchestrated by the RHA, in partnership with Backhouse Jones, Transaid and Irizar and with the support of the CPT and UKCOA, the National Coach Week tour kicked off in the south of England on Friday 1 April, visiting Wales, the north-west and north east, and venturing into Scotland before heading for the UK Coach Rally at Blackpool on the weekend of 9/10 April.
With its own dedicated website at nationalcoachweek.co.uk, the event marked a time to reboot British tourism and an opportunity for operators and tourist destinations to relaunch their offering into the market as it emerges from two years of hiatus.
The specially-liveried Irizar i6S Integral coach visited Westminster ahead of the event, before going on to visit key coach tourism destinations and engage with politicians, stakeholders, and national, local, and specialist media, and the general public along the way.
Launching the event, RHA Managing Director Richard Smith said: “We’re excited to be launching the UK’s first-ever National Coach Week and we’re encouraging everyone to get involved. Coaches play a vital role, taking us on school trips, to festivals, holiday destinations and football matches, but are often overlooked and under-appreciated. We hope that people will get a better understanding of why coaches are so important. People in our industry have shown great resilience over the last couple of years in the face of huge challenges. National Coach Week is our opportunity to celebrate them and the great work they do.”
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Government support
Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston put his weight behind the campaign, highlighting how the coach sector can play a critical role in the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking during the coach’s visit to Westminster, he said: “It was one of the first and hardest hit sectors, but I can also say it can play such a key role in the recovery, because people love their coach holidays. There is huge affinity, there is huge repeat business, which shows just how much people love them. So I’m here to support them as this sector comes back.”
He also also highlighted how important coaches are as a sustainable mode of transport: “The coach sector is really great for contributing to all the goals we’ve got for the environmental agenda. This is because by large numbers of people travelling by coach that means we’re not having all these people in cars, doing all the pollution and causing all the congestion on the roads.”
Head of RHA Coaches Andy Warrender explained more about the background to National Coach Week: “It’s been an interesting project. It has its roots in the early days of the pandemic. We learned very quickly that nobody had any real idea of what the industry did or how it worked. Everybody just expects there will be a coach there, whether it’s at school, or rail replacement or a diverted flight. Then the pandemic came and almost all the industry’s revenue collapsed and that was far from certain any more. It’s testament to the resilience of the industry that there’s as much of it left as there is. Banks, finance companies and the Government with schemes like CBILS have played a part, and in particular the governments in Northern Ireland and Scotland who supported it directly.”
The last two years have been hard on the sector, which is said to contribute £3.7bn directly to the UK economy, and a wider overall spend of £14bn. “It needed something to give the industry a bit of a profile,” Andy continued. “From that position two years ago where nobody saw what the industry really did, it hit home that there was a desire and willingness to get it to a position where people understand what coaches do, what a contribution they make to the economy and how many people rely on them. The industry seems to sit between two stools; people in transport regard it as being leisure & tourism, and those in leisure & tourism regard it as being transport. At the end of the day its a vital part of the supply chain for leisure, tourism and travel.
“National Coach Week is about getting the industry noticed. We won’t do it in a week, but it will be an annual event from here on. The object is to raise the profile of the industry and make sure that if we ever did reach a position like we did two years ago, we’ll be much better placed to make a case for support. It has its roots in National Lorry Week, which has gone from strength to strength. We’ve started with a fairly targeted approach, which emphasises tourism and the contribution coaches make to that financially and practically. We started with an event at Eurotunnel highlighting the importance of European touring to the coach industry and the green role it can play in terms of European travel.”
Commenting further on coach trips into Europe, Andy added: “As an industry, we’re still feeling our way through Brexit, given that there’s been minimal travel over the last two years. The most critical issue at the moment is the 90 days in 180 rule which only allows UK citizens to spend 90 days in 180 in Europe unless they have residency. It’s probably only significant to a smaller proportion of the industry at the moment, but I think as we return to pre-pandemic levels it will become a greater issue for a greater number of operators. It could become a big problem for the likes of Leger, which runs tours that need a significant amount of knowledge from drivers who operate back to back European tours.
“Interestingly, we would have expected it to be a bigger issue in the haulage sector, and it is, but the enforcement in Europe has been pretty minimal so far. No one has been stopped or deported, and whilst that’s good news, it does lack the certainty required. It’s something we’re keen to raise the profile of as we go forwards.”
Coins, coal and cheers
On the Monday, the tour moved on to South Wales, where it visited three major coach-friendly attractions which are being marketed to the coach industry collectively as ‘Coins, Coal and Cheers.’ That is the Royal Mint, the Welsh Coal Mining Experience and Hensol Castle Distillery.
“It’s an interesting exercise that we thought worth highlighting. They are marketed as a mini-tour programme on one package, and operators have three attractions which they can build a tour around. Hopefully it will give some insight to other locations into how these partnerships can work.”
The following day, the coach made a number of stops to visit RHA Coach members, and called at the Norton Canes services on the M6 Toll to demonstrate the importance of having high quality roadside infrastructure for coaches and drivers.
“We then moved up north to visit Beamish,” Andy continued. “Beamish was one I was very keen to showcase. It has always been very pro-coach, from an environmental and practical point of view. As such, they’ve catered for coach traffic and groups quite well for many years. It showcases the importance of regional tourism’s contribution to the economy in many areas.”
The tour continued northwards with more operator visits as well as a stop at the RHA Scottish HQ in Bathgate before heading south again to arrive in Blackpool in time for the Coach Rally on Saturday and Sunday 9/10 April where the coach was on display on the Irizar stand (see next week’s issue for more on the Coach Rally itself).
Industry partners
The tour visited a number of members and was supported by other organisations within the coach sector. Numerous sportspeople, including former boxing champion Tony Bellew and Tranmere Rovers star Jay Spearing, also got behind the campaign, showing how coaches are the lifeblood of the sector’s transportation.
One of RHA Coach’s founding members is well-known north-west operator Richard Bamber of Anthony’s Travel. Shadow Local Government Minister Mike Amesbury met with Richard as part of National Coach Week. Richard commented: “#Nationalcoachweek has certainly been a very successful campaign, not just to increase further awareness of the coach industry within Government but to celebrate the wonderful contribution coaches make to the UK and how we as an industry are an integral part of the transport system. Over the course of the week the momentum of the campaign really gathered a pace. It was great to see not only coach companies sharing their posts on line proudly displaying the National Coach Week hashtag but a host of venues, suppliers and notable organisations such as Visit Britain and ABTA. Political and sporting figures were also sharing or featuring in posts. At a time when every penny counts this has been a unique approach to market the coach industry led by RHA with virtually no cost to the operators apart from maybe some tea and biscuits if hosting an MP! I am sure this will in subsequent years go from strength to strength providing coach operators with a unique low cost platform to promote and celebrate the industry.”
Highlighting the importance of sport organisations to the industry, be it supporters or team transport, Alistair Baylis, who set up Bayliss Executive Travel in 2004, spoke of his experiences. He said: “From the early days I was always very keen to fill us up with as many sports opportunities as I could. We’re a very sport-focused business, whether it’s football, golf, Formula One or rugby – everyone in the company seems to be relatively sporty. We do loads of sport, and we always have done. The coach industry knows the summer and holiday seasons are important, but we still must fill the winter work up and sport runs right the way through the year.”
The company transports Sheffield United players to their home games at Bramall Lane, and Charlton fans on their away days. It also provided transport for officials and staff to the Open Gold Championship last summer, as well as undertaking regular work for local football, rugby and cricket sides.
He added: “I get quite humpy at how the Government has dealt with our industry throughout the pandemic because I don’t think they’ve understood just how important we are. The truth is, it’s not just sport that would suffer, life would be impossible without coaches because there are so many people who rely on us. I’ve always said that our industry has completely downplayed its value for many years. You need these vehicles and there’s an extremely high-profile side of the industry that nobody really pays too much attention to.”
Another operator to feature in the tour was North East Coach Travel. Director and Transport Manager Jenna Rush said: “It’s a fantastic industry to be in. You get to travel, not just the country but you travel the world and see the most amazing sights. There is this belief that we’re just part of the leisure industry and we’re here to take people on day trips but it’s so much more than that. When the train lines are down we move in to move passengers; when the airlines are diverted we’re there to help in emergency situations. It’s a 24/7 business for us.
“At the moment we’re operating a contract with a university where we take students to local hospitals where they shadow a doctor twice a week. Those are our future doctors and medical professionals which in itself plays a massive role on society. Without us, that wouldn’t happen.”
Other well-known supporters include international development and road safety charity Transaid and legal specialists Backhouse Jones.
Transaid’s Florence Bearman said: “It’s a no brainer for us. So much of what National Coach Week is about are the same things we’re passionate about. While most of our work takes place in sub-Saharan Africa, so many of the themes are the same across the world. People value transport and we want people to notice how important coaches are. Whether it be getting people to school or work, no matter what it might be, they’re important in life.”
Steven Meyerhoff, Director and Head of Commercial Litigation & Employment at Backhouse Jones, commented: “The coach sector is absolutely essential to the leisure and tourism industry, as well as providing key services that make sure children are transported safely to and from schools. I think most people involved in the transport industry would agree that the coach industry got a bit of a raw deal compared to other sectors during the pandemic. This week provides an opportunity to showcase the coach industry and its role in modern British society.”
He added: “Many coach operators are multigenerational small family businesses which in itself is worthy of celebration. To provide their passengers with state-of-the-art comfort and environmental compliance these firms invest heavily, often providing personal guarantees. A new coach can cost £250k-£400K. Those businesses who have survived the pandemic should be celebrated as we hopefully return to some normality this summer, a time which usually represents a coach operators’ busiest period.”
Backhouse Jones has a long-standing relationship with the industry. Steven continued: “We have deep roots with the coach sector and have both represented and supported the industry for many years. As well as our ‘Back Up’ business support which allows operators to pay a fixed cost for legal services, we provide regular training and updates to enable industry best practice. We also supported the ‘Honk for Hope’ campaign during the pandemic which was designed to raise awareness of the plight of the industry and the lack of support it was receiving from Government. We like to be active in championing such a vital industry.”
On the road in style
The specially-liveried i6S coach was provided by Irizar UK. Sales Director Julie Hartley commented: “Irizar UK is delighted to be supporting the RHA with National Coach Week. It has been a fantastic opportunity to engage not only with the industry, but also external stakeholders, including Government ministers, local authorities and destinations. Raising the profile of coaches and the economic and environmental benefits they can bring regionally and nationally is essential and I believe that National Coach Week has given us the platform to do this.
“I’d also like to recognise the hard work that Andy Warrender has put into the programme, that has literally covered the length and breadth of mainland UK. We feel proud to have been associated with the campaign.”
Irizar UK Managing Director Andrew Blundell commented on the future of the industry and its role in cutting pollution to meet the UK’s 2050 net zero target: “It boils down to very simple numbers. If your average coach has 53-55 seats and the average car occupancy is around 2.2 heads per vehicle, every coach operating at full capacity is single handily taking at least 25 cars off the road, potentially more. When you break it down and think about the emissions per head, its far better to get people together on a coach than potentially having 25 to 30 cars on the road.”
Some parts of the country have already begun to see the shift over to buses that are zero-emission at the tailpipe, but Andrew highlighted that for the coach industry to follow, infrastructure changes will be needed. He continued: “It’s a relatively easy step to electrify depot-based vehicles – as we have seen with buses where the vehicle is out for a set number of hours per day and returns to a depot overnight for charging.
“This may be achievable for some specific coach operations right away, but the challenge with coaches is the variability of operation and areas covered. For operators to be able to enjoy the ultimate flexibility that they do with diesel, we must have a charging infrastructure that is widespread, from major cities to Cornish fishing villages as coaches cover them all. This will obviously take time, but as the wider commercial vehicle industry invests in a net zero future, coaches will be able to ride this journey and make a significant difference.
“From a passenger perspective, coaches will probably not be that fundamentally different – however ‘under the bonnet’ things will change quite significantly. As this journey continues and as commercial vehicles move towards being zero-emission then the benefits only increase.
“As we see more individuals changing their family car to electric, as we start to see vans and commercial vehicles become electric, the infrastructure will start to evolve, and coaches will benefit from that.”
Look out for coverage of the UK Coach Rally in next week’s issue
