Honking for hope helps highlight the plight

Inspired by events in Dresden and Berlin, a North-East coach operator was inspired to rally the troops in Britain to raise awareness of the extent of the industry’s difficulties.

At relatively short notice, but with the help of social media, Managing Director of North East Coach Travel Jenna Rush was able to organise a well-supported event at Lightwater Valley theme park near Ripon on Wednesday 1 July, with the aim of reminding the government and the wider public of how important the coach industry is to travel and tourism alike, and put the point across that while bus operators have received significant help, the coach sector is feeling forgotten. Whereas bus operators, who are carrying significantly reduced passenger numbers, have received financial aid from the government, Jenna and fellow operators were keen to make clear that many of them had lost all of their work, with little or no prospect of it returning any time soon. […]