1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136 
Fat profits call
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Improved profitability in the bus and coach industry is vital if it is to shake off its downmarket image and successfully compete with other forms of transport, said speakers at last week's Bus and Coach Council coaching symposium.
Delegates heard BCC president Alan Westwell say that the industry was in danger of becoming "a victim of its own policies" and it must strive to make fatter profits.
He suggested careful marketing of added-value packages as one way forward, a strategy underlined by keynote speaker Dan Dipert, a multimillionaire US coach operator, who is successfully marketing bus packages to the over-50s.
Operators need to put some hard graft into improving their industry's image, suggested Dr Roger Sexton of Nottingham Polytechnic. "Price wars only reinforce a downmarket image", he claimed, with underpriced fares on coach and bus travel making the situation worse.
Fees charged must reflect the extra financial burdens being foisted by the Government onto the industry, in areas such as extra safety fittings, warned BCC technical and operations director Alan Gurley.