The importance of contracted revenue to the coach industry has been underlined by delivery of eight Mercedes-Benz Tourismo Access models to Selwyns Travel of Runcorn, where they will primarily be occupied on home-to-education work for Reaseheath College near Nantwich.
Selwyns – once more in the ownership of longstanding industry figure Selwyn Jones – partners with Harry Shaw on those services, with the Coventry operator as lead bidder. Required is Euro VI and PSVAR compliance, although Selwyn notes that PSVAR is desirable regardless of that mandate to maximise versatility and residual value. Like Hollinshead Coaches, he adds that accessibility is also needed by some private hire customers.
To that end, the coaches will be used as necessary on work other than the college contract. The Tourismo Access was developed by Daimler Buses UK during 2021 as a cost-effective way to achieve PSVAR compliance on a new coach. Those with Selwyns Travel are 13.2m, 57-seat Tourismo M/2 models.
Versatility is key consideration for Selywns Travel
The Access concept is founded on a straightforward specification to leverage value for money, although Selwyns has added some elements to the base trim level, including synthetic leather headrest inserts, USB charging points, alloy wheels, and darker tinted glazing. The coaches were entirely completed at the factory in Turkey, including lift fitment.
Daimler Buses UK Director Mercedes-Benz Sales Jonathan Prime observes that Access is a specification level rather than a vehicle, and so it can be configured on other members of the Tourismo range. Those include the 12.1m two-axle model, while a handful of tri-axles have also been sold to Access configuration.
Selwyn notes that such a trim level suits the work that his eight will carry out. “It is to a good specification, but not too high,” he explains. “These are multipurpose coaches that in addition to college work will suit around 95% of our private hire needs. We didn’t go over the top and we tend to buy what we need for the contract in hand.”
The Cheshire operator had one Tourismo previously and that coach performed well. The eight delivered more recently work from depots in Runcorn and Sharston in Greater Manchester, and they cover a wide catchment area for Reaseheath. They form part of a larger fleet investment programme during 2024, Selwyn explains.
He repurchased the business from RATP Group in early 2020. The period immediately after that precluded an updating of vehicles and so 2024 began with a need for new arrivals. “We have a big fleet replacement programme this year and the Tourismos form a large part of that,” Selwyn continues.
Like other operators, availability of new stock is the primary factor that is precluding renewal as quickly as he would like. 2024 “is largely about the fleet for us,” Selwyn adds; the Tourismos are the first stage of that investment, but other new coaches are on order.
Contracted income gives a strong revenue base
Selwyns Travel is heavily based around contracted income. Its proprietor believes that such a position gives a foundation and stability onto which other work can be built. “As we are seeing at the moment, when private hire is good, it is very good, but by the same token, when it is bad, it is very bad.”
To mark the arrival of the Tourismos, all eight were taken to Oulton Park Circuit in Cheshire, where they were driven in formation around its track and accompanied by representatives of the operator and Daimler Buses UK.
Also present was Daimler Truck Financial Services (DTFS) Senior Key Account Manager Jesse Weaver. DTFS has funded the eight Tourismos for Selwyns and acts as a dedicated in-house finance provider for Daimler Buses UK.
Jesse notes that DTFS is seeing its reach with the Tourismo growing rapidly. It now funds the majority of new vehicles supplied by Daimler Buses UK and he expects that level of acceptance by customers to further increase in coming years.
“We have visibility of the sold order line and that gives us a proactive, not reactive, approach to providing funding to coach operators,” Jesse explains. “We are also increasingly visible in the market. I will accompany coach sales colleagues from Daimler Buses UK in visiting customers, as has been the case with Selwyns, and that is working well.”
Selwyns Travel purchase shows industry is keen to invest
Delivery of the Tourismos represents a renewal of almost 10% of Selwyns’ overall fleet of 85, and a higher percentage of its 60-strong coach pool.
Their arrival further backs the theory that the coach industry is in a strong place, although Selwyn’s comments about vehicle availability constraining the rate at which businesses can invest demonstrate that there is still untapped scope for the industry to build further.
Nevertheless, eight new coaches and a day on the racetrack for their drivers and Selwyns’ senior team, and further new vehicles to arrive later, shows that confidence to spend remains high – and also demonstrates that while contracted services may not be the coach industry’s most glamourous revenue stream, they still form the reliable bread and butter upon which other work is based for many operators.
