Riddler hands over to JP Mini

Angus based Charlie Riddler of Riddlers Coaches has handed over the reigns of his coach company to Forfar based JP Mini Coaches. Set up over four decades ago, the operator is a familiar sight on the roads of Tayside and surrounding areas. Raised in rural Angus, Charlie went through a mechanical apprenticeship with Tayford Motors in Dundee before sitting his PSV Licence with Greyhound Coaches in Arbroath. He started his own business in 1969 with a Bedford Duple 41 seater bought from Napper Thomson Coaches in Dundee. He began work from premises in Inverkeilor followed by a 1972 move to the Cairnie Loan yard, which has been the company’s base since.

Charlie said, ‘After 44 years my body and my wife Gwen are telling me to give up my steering wheel and keys. In 1974, I bought my first new motor from Moseley’s showroom in Durham an Estoril bodied Ford 53 seater, followed by other new coaches in 1997 and 1998 and 2002. At the height of the business I was changing vehicles on a regular basis and the takeover of Beans Coaches in Brechin extended the fleet to 14. This would not have been achieved without a great workforce of mechanics and drivers, a very thrifty clerkess who has been with me for 32 years and the help of my wife Gwen, who has turned her hand to a variety of jobs, from office to mechanic work. The last few years have seen major changes in regulations and I have decided to retire and do some travelling of my own, including visiting my daughter in Canada.