Coach travel plays a unique and underappreciated role in the UK economy and environment. While tourism is the most preeminent example, the coach industry plays a significant role in wider economic and social activities, including school travel and emergency rail replacement services. Policymakers often conflate the needs of coaches with buses when they operate completely differently in practice.
There are around 3,000 coach operators in the UK, directly employing approximately 42,000 people and contributing £14 billion to the UK economy, over £6 billion of which can be attributed to coach tourism alone. In addition to this economic contribution, coach operators transport 600,000 pupils to schools every day across the UK. They also play a significant role in moving people around the country for large cultural events such as music festivals and sporting events.
Coach tourism is a significant market and for many is responsible for building a buoyant local tourism economy and transforming visitor attractions into long-term, successful businesses.
Whilst in a regulated operating environment, but serving a deregulated market, the coach sector has become increasingly drawn into regulation intended for public transport, and which serves only to increase costs with no corresponding benefit for the travelling public.
Operators focused on European tours post-Brexit have been affected by additional restrictions. Today, coach drivers can only spend 90 days out of any 180 in the EU and no visa is available to supplement the profession. Moreover, the impending EU Entry/Exit system and European Travel Information and Authorisation System risks further damaging delays.
Per passenger, coach travel is one of the lowest-emission forms of long-distance and international travel, comparable to rail travel. The environmental benefits derived from a coach should be seen in the same vein as public transport. A single coach can take up to one mile’s worth of cars off the road or take the place of more than 20 cars.
Coaches occupy a unique position in the transport sector – it’s the only mode that can transport large numbers of people point to point without significant additional infrastructure investments. The next Government should help our sector fulfil its full potential and connect more people to more destinations, boosting economies and minimising the environmental impact of travel.
Our key asks for government are:
- Devise with the sector a roadmap on zero-emission technologies for coaches up to 2050, and invest in supporting infrastructure for the journey towards that.
- Develop a skills and regulation structure that will encourage recruitment and development of staff from age 18 and extend initiatives successful in other sectors to the coach industry to support this.
- Provide a separate regulatory structure for coaches, removing it from the increasingly regulated public transport bus sector and promote growth.
- Work with the EU to streamline forthcoming border control processes, develop pre-registration and online documentation for this, and seek a less restrictive structure for drivers engaged on international journeys
- Work with industry partners, planners, developers and local authorities to invest in the road infrastructure, roadside facilities and parking as well as port and border facilities for UK and international coach traffic.
- Promote inclusivity by legislating for accessibility for all on coaches based on demand, and for the provision of supporting facilities in developments which will attract groups.