With the London Ultra Low Emissions Zone introduced on 8 April and the zone being extended to greater London for buses and coaches from October 2020, it has suddenly seen our industry wake up to the reality that we haven’t got the fleet to match. Admittedly the Mayor has brought this forward, but even so, […]

Private hire is flexible, and the traveling public’s perception is that certain times will cost more. However, I often find that my competitors charge much the same, without thinking about the time of year or a date. This is an opportunity missed. My view is, I will charge more where demand is likely greatest. That […]

Whichever the type of private hire, getting the price right is the hardest part. In theory, it follows the same rules as pricing a contract, as I explained in my school contract costing example. By the way, I won the contract, the school accepting that there was a need to recognise that coaches had to […]

So far, I have covered the direct costs of operation and included the overhead, to bring the daily contract cost to £378.50 per day. This is the purely the cost to provide the service but does not include any profit. Last time I looked, as well as providing a social service and generally having a […]

I have watched several episodes of BBC TV drama, Don’t Forget the Driver, but I am disappointed that it is a stereotypical view of the coach industry. It may make good comedy, but sets us back years. Enough said! To ensure we don’t forget the driver, I have been reviewing several school contracts coming up […]

Having established the basic headings of direct costs and overheads, it is now time to determine the amounts applicable to each, to build up a complete costing picture. Firstly, establish the core information Mileage (garage to garage) 55 miles per day Driver pay hours (right through) 07.30 to 16.30 (including sign on and sign off […]

It is important to break down the types of private hire and decide the best strategy to maximise profitability. I look at private hire, like this. Special occasion Individuals wanting occasional hire are not likely to be repeat customers, and they will have no idea how much it costs to hire a coach; therefore, they […]

With the direct costs calculated for the school contract example (B&CB 21 June), there now comes the thorny issue of the ‘overhead.’ This can mean different things to different people, and how much of the overhead should be charged to each individual job is not an exact science. You may recall, I regard overhead as […]