Roy McCarthy Coaches

Leopard

The latest addition to the fleet is a Plaxton Leopard bodied Volvo B9R with Euro5 engine which many readers will recognise as the Leopard launch coach that was unveiled on the ADL stand at last year’s Coach & Bus Live show by ADL CEO, Colin Robertson, and Coach Sales Director, Kevin Wood.

Andy commented, ‘I’m pretty sure our Leopard was the first ordered; it was the first down the production line. I’ve been one of the operators that have pushed for a vehicle with an in-swing door, so I felt I should put my money where my mouth was. I took it on 1 January after it appeared at the show. After they stopped production of the Profile and Paragon they only made the Panther and the Elite, two top of the range models that are not suitable for most of our work. I think manufacturers should ask operators what they want more than they do. We’re the people who have to operate them.’

‘I prefer Paragon to Panther any day because I don’t like plug doors. They take a long time to open and they’re troublesome. We do seven schools a day and they’re unsuitable and troublesome. They’re so temperamental. On the Panther 2 you have to close the door, wait for the door open light to go out, select gear, wait for the hold brake and eventually set off. It won’t do anything without that cycle.’

He says of the Leopard, ‘We’re very pleased with it. It looks smart, passengers like it and it’s nice to drive. It drives a lot better than the Panther B9R and better than the B8R Euro6 demonstrator we tried. This has the steering set a lot harder so that it doesn’t get blown about. I took the Panther to Scarborough at the weekend and the passengers loved it, especially the access, but if it is a bit windy it does seem to pick it up.’

‘Plaxton are very good. I’ve tried other makes but the warranty and back up is not as good. With it being stainless steel you’ve no worries about corrosion. I’m surprised they don’t stress that more in the marketing. I’ve just sold an 05-plate Paragon B12M and the underside was like new compared to a nine year old Premiere, which would be a different kettle of fish.’ The company’s vehicles generally only do between 30-40,000km annually and Andy thinks the Paragon had only done around 335,000 when it went. ‘Miles are money; we don’t want to do big mileages,’ he said.

He also revealed, ‘I’ve got another Euro5 Volvo B9R chassis reserved and depending on how the Leopard goes it will either be a Panther 3 or a Leopard. It’s looking like being a Leopard.’

Andy’s buying policy is to buy three new coaches every two years, which is effectively two one year and one the next. With the exception of a Bedford YNT Paramount 3200 kept for sentimental reasons, the oldest coach currently owned is a 56-plate B12M with Plaxton Paragon body that will go this year. It is McCarthy’s last Euro3 engined coach.

With the exception of the 35 seat BMC Karisma, everything in the current fleet is Plaxton bodied. It is a decision based on value for money, as Andy explained, ‘We had a B10M Van Hool ex Shearings which we liked but we’ve never had a new one because I couldn’t justify the £30,000 price difference. We had a new B12M Berkhof Axial and the back-up was so good that we kept buying Plaxtons,’ he said.

Used acquisitions have not been unheard of in recent years but they are the exception. ‘We buy new because you know what you are getting, we’re in a position to and we can afford to,’ said Andy. ‘I’m probably obsessive about maintenance. I like everything just so. I don’t like other people’s bodges. With the mileage we do we could get away with at least a six-week, possibly even an eight week inspection period, but I stick to four weeks because it’s over the top and that’s how I like it.’

Dan confirmed his father’s stance, ‘I know how fussy he is. If there’s any slight hint a part might fail or that there’ll be an issue with it, that part is changed straight away. He never says, “It’ll be all right for a couple of months”.’

Andy believes his approach pays dividends saying, ‘It’s better financially. We always get a good part exchange price.’ He has always bought from Plaxton at Anston, ‘I’ve always felt I got a keen deal I was happy with.’

I was aware that Andy, Danny and Max had been to Pelican Engineering to see the new Yutong TC12 recently and I asked Andy what he thought. ‘I thought it was well put together, I was impressed with the build quality,’ he said. ‘I thought it was an MAN copy underneath and there isn’t much wrong with MAN running gear. It seemed well designed, drove very well and was solid on the road. At the moment it is not something I’m considering but I am considering the small version to replace the BMC at some stage. I have faith in the dealer. I think Pelican are a good company to be selling them, they’ve supported the BMC well.’

Bedford

I first saw Andy’s 1986 Bedford YNT 500 turbo with Plaxton Paramount 3200 53 seat coachwork at the Plaxton centenary celebrations at Scarborough, where it looked very smart. In 2012 it went to Cobus in Bridlington for refurbishment and the replacement of all of its stretched panels.

He has kept it, ‘because it was the first new full sized coach we had and because I’m a bit of a Bedford fruitcake. I’ve been brought up with them all of my working life. We built the business with them and I thought it would be nice to save one. It’s better to keep it on the road in daily use, usually to come to the rescue of one of the modern vehicles when they come up with some electronic programme fault. “Check diagnostics at next stop” is the favourite,’ he said.

He has told Danny and Max that ‘when UFP goes, I go, and if I go first I want to be transported on it on my last trip.’ He added, ‘I don’t intend going just yet.’

It isn’t just the YNT he has saved. Andy has seven other preserved vehicles, all trucks and all but one of them Bedfords, the exception being a 1945 6×6 Diamond T recovery unit and even this has been fitted with a Bedford engine. ‘It has only once been used in anger’ said Andy proudly. The fleet includes a 1943 OY three-tonne military truck, a 1945 QL recovery crane, a 1970 KM tractor unit, a 1984 TM tractor unit, a 1984 TL16-30 and a 1986 TL7-50 with platform body that will shortly transport the OY to France. Andy puts the interest in trucks down to having served his apprenticeship at a Bedford truck dealership.

As he recently took on a PR role for the Bedford Enthusiasts Club he asked me to mention the Griffin Gathering on 5/6 July 2014 at Ellesmere Port. All the details can be found on the www.bedfordenthusiastsclub.com website.

Premises

From the lay-by where the business commenced, there were a couple of moves but no proper premises until the late 1970s when a yard was rented on the Hurdsfield Industrial Estate. It had an open pit and a small workshop you couldn’t get a coach in. Around 1985, the current premises on Snape Road were purchased as a green-field site. Andy says they have outgrown it because one midicoach has to be double parked, but many operators would consider it spacious for 11 coaches. Facilities include offices, a two bay garage and a steam cleaning ramp. ‘Position and access wise it’s brilliant. Two minutes and we’re on the bypass and we’re on the right side of town for most of our work,’ said Andy.

‘I don’t have any axe to grind with VOSA,’ he said. ‘I don’t do anybody else’s maintenance. My garage is for my vehicles only. They come first every time.’

He added, ‘I’ve only met Beverley Bell once, about five years ago, and I had a good discussion with her about Section 19 because the Local Authority had put three full sized buses on school contracts and they were doing private hire between and at weekends. We are following one set of rules and they’re following a totally different set. She told me Section 19 wasn’t going to be sorted overnight and she was right.’

Touring

A key reason why McCarthy’s are able to buy new coaches regularly is that they operate their own tour programme. Andy said, ‘We started our own tour side very early on in a small way and when deregulation allowed it we expanded with our own programme. Since my sister Chris came on board 22 or so years ago she’s developed it. We produce one brochure a year as well as flyers and extras. We do approximately 45 advertised tours and probably 10-15 private tours plus at least 60 day trips.’

‘We like to offer unusual day excursions, something a bit different, and we find our private hire customers then ask to do the same trips,’ said Andy, though he finds what will prove popular is unpredictable. ‘This August we’re doing a day trip on the Waverley paddle steamer from Liverpool to Llandudno via Anglesey. It’s not cheap at £55 for seniors and £58 for adults yet we’re now on coach four. We sold the first two coaches without advertising it. Yet the other day we had a trip to the Co-op at Rochdale along with the Eccles Organ Heritage Centre that went with only 15 people. It’s fickle and it’s not down to price. Another good one was a trip from Manchester to Liverpool on the Ship Canal which generated four coach loads.’

The main brochure is a chunky 76 page A5 sized black and white publication with colour covers that covers both tours and excursions, and this is supplemented by a separate folded single sheet leaflet that, perhaps surprisingly, features pictures of the Volvo B12M Paragon that is the oldest coach currently owned.

Perhaps 25% of the company’s workload comes from its own tour programme with private hire work contributing a roughly similar amount and schools related business the other half.

Andy believes that what sets the company apart is that, ‘we like to think that we treat people how they like to be treated. We like to look after people. It’s hard to attract new tour customers but once they’ve been with us they tend to come back year after year. There are a lot of operators who care about people. We like to engender that through our drivers. We’re friendly with them and we encourage them to be jolly. We soon know if there’s someone the passengers don’t like because it’s a small business.’

To satisfy bonding requirements, the company has been a member of Bonded Coaching Holidays for more than a decade, finding the system simple to administer. ‘We used to use insurance bonding but it was more expensive,’ said Andy. ‘I think it gives you more street cred being bonded but whether Joe Public thinks that I don’t know.’

They are also CPT members because, ‘I think when you are a small operator it’s nice to have someone you can ask questions when you’re not sure about something. John Burch is a good man to ask. Whether it is good value for money I don’t know. We don’t go to many meetings,’ said Andy.

Future

In conversation I asked Andy whether he’d ever been tempted to consider service bus operation? His reply was illuminating, ‘I’m probably not very ambitious. I like to do what we’re good at and keep doing it. I think it’s so competitive now. Because of the size we are we’ve got our finger on the pulse. Why would I want to get bigger? I’m not saying the lads won’t want to; just as long as it doesn’t involve me.’

‘The boys have been involved for around 18 months now and it will be a while before I’m ready to relinquish everything, though they’d be quite capable of handling it.’

‘My plans are to slowly hand over to the two of them and take a back seat. I’ll just be here when they need me. How many operators do you see who die in their early sixties? I don’t want to. My Dad was 64. I’m 54 now and I don’t want to be working as hard at 60. I’m not greedy; I don’t want to be a millionaire. We’ve got a camper van we like going away in.’

Last Word

Talking to coach operators I encounter varying levels of confidence in the future and Andy’s is towards the upper end. He commented, ‘There’ll always be a need for coaches, perhaps on a smaller scale, and quality operators will always shine through. We had a good year last year. Hopefully this year will be as good. But it is very competitive out there; very competitive.’

Whatever happens, Andy McCarthy’s philosophy will remain, ‘Do what you do and do it right. That’ll do won’t do for me; it’s got to be right. It gives me peace of mind; money doesn’t come into it.’