Up-market Essex operator Peter Godward Coaches is celebrating a double anniversary with Irizar: 2017 marks 50 years of coach operation for the Godward family, and the second of two new i6 Integrals that they have taken this year is the 300th Irizar integral to be delivered to the UK.
G & G Coaches, as it was then, was established in autumn 1967 by Peter Godward and his father; initially using just a single Bedford OB Coach. The company was rebranded as Peter Godward Coaches after the passing of Mr Godward Senior, and is now run by Peter and his son John.
The company was an early adopter of the Irizar Integral product, taking two of the first to arrive in the UK five years ago, and the Spanish manufacturer’s products now make up the overwhelming majority of the Basildon-based fleet.
John Godward says: “We carry out a large and eclectic range of work here, including private hire, contracts, day excursions, corporate travel, rail replacements, airport diversions and our own holiday programme.
“Our coaches travel all over the UK and Europe and beyond on a regular basis, but equally do a lot of work running in and out of London.
“Environmental issues are also at the forefront. The London Low Emission Zone deadline of 2019 is getting ever closer, and it’s important for us to get as many Euro 6 coaches on the fleet as possible.
The latest i6 integrals are 12.2m 49-seaters. To suit the multiplicity of roles they will undertake, equipment includes a driver’s bunk, CCTV, a drinks machine and under-seat USB charging-points plus an inverter.
Older Irizar-built vehicles were taken in part-exchange for the new arrivals, which are planned to remain in the fleet for up to eight years.
