First in line to trial the Irizar i4H hybrid coach in not only the UK, but northern Europe, is Travel de Courcey (see B&CB 1442, 11 August 2017 for our coverage of the announcement of this vehicle). Operating green PCVs is nothing new for CEO, Adrian de Courcey, whose fleet includes electric Optare Versas. It […]
My final foray into the world of influencing opinion formers takes us into the heart of each local area; mixing with those dedicated people who are the backbone of local business and community groups usually working on as voluntary basis with no thought of financial reward. These aren’t the politically-inspired councillors, bureaucracy-loving council officers, elusive […]
If you’ve got over the shock of reading my last two columns suggesting you invest time in attending relevant meetings of your local council to get to know and ultimately influence the key people who make decisions affecting your business, guess what?… I’m about to suggest even more meet-ups with influential people. This time I’m […]
Two weeks ago in this feature, I explained the basic structures of local authorities (county, district and unitary) and I encouraged you to attend meetings to see democracy in action as well as provide for a great opportunity to meet councillors and officers and let your presence be noted and noticed. Now, I can appreciate […]
CPT President Ian Luckett wrote in a recent blog: “…as operators we need to keep up the pressure on our elected representatives but equally it is imperative we get involved with our local authorities”. Ian was referring to the Government’s Air Quality Plan, in which local councils have been charged by Government to come up […]
There are plenty of Sprinter conversions around which take the bulletproof van base and give 16 seats. So why go the coachbuilt route? Mellor Coachcraft has been ambitious in the last couple of years, with a suite of products which include the Strata HF – a conventional, high-floor, wheelchair-accessible minibus. Like its lowfloor sister, the […]
Twenty years ago, in 1997, more than 165,000 coaches boarded ferries out of Dover laden with people keen to see ‘The Continent.’ By last year, that total had halved, to just 87,000 coaches. That picture may be explained in part by the advent of Le Shuttle, which definitely ate into the short-sea ferries’ share of […]
You’d be forgiven for thinking the ‘Bus’ part of the show logo had fallen off, Conservative Conference style, when this year’s big exhibition opened. Bus builders were notable by their absence, but the outcome was a focus on coaches and some of the most interesting products in years. Nor did this seem to the detriment […]