Coach operators descend on London to protest lack of govt support

Organisers said 500 vehicles were expected to converge on Whitehall after an aid package proposed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport was rejected by ministers last week.

 

The CPT was told no help was available beyond those schemes that capture the wider economy. In addition, coach operators in England are still not considered eligible for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).

 

The sector has already seen the high profile collapse of Shearings’ parent Specialist Leisure Group in May and caused David Urquhart Travel to fold its coach business.

 

Tom Jenkins, European Tourism Association chief executive said: “We are not party to the demonstration, but we are deeply sympathetic to the plight of coach companies – many of whom are our members.

 

“They have huge overheads, invest heavily in low-emission vehicles. Now neither tourism nor education revenues are open to them. They are excluded from business rates relief and the demand for their business has been slashed by government.

“Coaches are the vehicles for the future of tourism: they reduce congestion and emit a fraction of the CO2 and Nitrogen Oxide emitted by other forms of transport. This future, this lower carbon future, is now in jeopardy.”