We’re back. Talk to us

We’ve been missing you, and we hope the feeling is mutual.

The first day of lockdown on 23 March seems like yesterday; the day we all realised that almost all coach and bus business had gone and, due to the relationship of infectious diseases with groups of people, was unlikely to return for quite some time.

We’ve all been in a state of suspended animation since then; not just our operator readers but suppliers which include ourselves. I probably don’t need to explain the way in which we have funded Bus and Coach Buyer for more than 30 years, but suffice to say we depend wholly on advertising, whether classified ads to sell your vehicles or full pages from manufacturers and suppliers. We have no other income stream.

Every bit of that income disappeared at the same time as your bookings dried up. Since then, News Editor Chris Peat and myself have been in lockdown. Not a day has passed when we haven’t thought about you, our readers, and looked forward to getting our feet back under the desk.

Against this backdrop, and after almost six months, Bus and Coach Buyer will again be published. I cannot wait

Against all the odds, a tiny trickle of business is coming back now. Pent-up demand for days out has borne fruit and a sprinkling of other business is returning. Against this backdrop, and after almost six months, Bus and Coach Buyer will again be published. I cannot wait.

Initially, we’ll be feeling our way through this new trading environment. As businesses yourselves, you will understand that we have to be very cautious but we’re planning to get a magazine to you on 14 August and every two weeks after that. Longer term, when the income is there, we’ll be returning to a weekly frequency, offering you what we believe will be the only weekly magazine through which you can buy and sell your vehicles.

But there’s more. Printing and distributing more than 5,000 magazines 50 times a year is a huge cost; our biggest single cost, in fact. We think the time may be coming soon to ask for a contribution to that bill, although the on-line ‘page turner’ magazine will always be free. We haven’t a timescale for this change, but suffice to say that we will cut you such a deal that you will save more than you spend by subscribing, and we will plough that additional income into creating an even better magazine.

We’ve been right behind you throughout this crisis, doing our best through our freelance friends and supporters to keep our website and social media up to date. We’re back at work this week, and firing on all cylinders. We have a great magazine in build and it will soon be landing through your letterbox.

In the meantime, I must just say this. Everything we do is informed by what you think, and the issues which affect you. We aren’t a team which is always ‘in a meeting’ so if you have something on your mind, please call us or email me direct at [email protected] Everyone who contacts us will get a reply.

Mark Williams

Group Editor

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