That well-respected operator Whitelaws has chosen to end its coaching operations and focus on bus work comes as a big surprise, sitting as it does against a backdrop of what has become an oft-claimed state of buoyancy in the coach industry.
The South Lanarkshire business’s comments around long-term difficulties with recruitment will resonate with other operators, although the Confederation of Passenger Transport has found that driver shortages in the coach sector have fallen significantly since January via a survey of its members.
Nevertheless, they still exist, and one can push water uphill for only so long. The situation described by Whitelaws has echoes of that encountered by another well-known, albeit smaller, coach operator in 2023. It gave consideration to selling a pair of vehicles and right sizing its business to the driver resource available.
Whitelaws’ observations on cost increases and a rising regulatory burden will also ring true with others. It is clear that the operator has elected to withdraw from coaching entirely rather than lower its standards; a commendable stance to take, although one no doubt made easier by the presence of a substantial bus operation to focus on.
Such news comes at a time when some in the coach industry speculate whether rates have reached a ceiling. Competition – particularly for school hires – is now often not just among operators, but between whether the party can afford to travel or not.
Changes to drivers’ views on work/life balance is said by another business to have impacted the viability of shorter hires at weekends; paying three or four hours for a job at those times no longer works, and when a full day’s wage is factored into a short local trip, it becomes unattractive to the customer.
Costs are not about to come down. The impact on employment law of an inevitable Labour government remains to be seen. Parts prices – and in some cases, availability – are well known, while longstanding and seemingly unfixable difficulties in some parts of the vehicle market mean that stock (when available) attracts top dollar.
Despite the above, the coach industry overall is undoubtedly in its strongest position for a long time, and much hay is being made even with little sunshine.
But the shock news from Whitelaws, the ever-worsening horror story out of the bankruptcy of Van Hool, PSVAR, the looming problem of how rail replacement sits with accessible information requirements, and much else, is a reminder that the sector will always have its challenges. Thanks goodness it is as resilient as it is.
