Bruce Coaches of Salsburgh has completed an upgrade of its fleet used on National Express work after the delivery of five Scania K 410 EBs with Caetano Levante bodywork. All have been procured with support from Bank of Scotland through a seven-figure asset finance facility.
The new Scania Caetanos have replaced five older coaches that had covered an average of 1.2m miles each over the previous five years on services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Birmingham and London. One of the latest batch carries the Saltire as part of its livery and a cherished registration – NX71 SCO.
Six further such coaches are expected to arrive in 2023 and the North Lanarkshire operator reports that booking volumes on its National Express services continue to rebound well.
Says Bruce Coaches Director John Bruce: “As demand ramps up, we needed to make sure that we had the capacity to continue to deliver a great service. Our five new coaches will enable us to do so and provide travellers with a first-class experience.
“The new Levante coaches are fitted with a host of high-quality features, including leather seats and LCD screens. We wouldn’t have been able to acquire the vehicles without Bank of Scotland, which has supported us as a business for over 30 years.
“We are confident that the business will continue to bounce back, and we plan to further upgrade our fleet as we head into what we hope will be a strong year of growth.”
Adds Bank of Scotland Associate Director for the North East and Scotland Meganne Hodgson: “It is encouraging to see business begin to return to normality for the firm and we hope that the new fleet of coaches will help to support the continued delivery of Bruce Coaches’ fantastic service. With conditions steadily improving, we will continue to stand by Scottish firms over the coming months to help them grow and prosper this year.”
