Specialising in school contracts, Hills Coaches knows the importance of keeping a fleet up to scratch not only for adult customers, but for school children too
When was your first experience onboard a coach or bus? For a lot of people, it was as a schoolchild.
Whether it was a bus on a home-school route or a coach for a school trip, if we’re being honest, the experience was probably not a great one for most.
Cue memories of an often-perceived ill-tempered driver, moquette seating with cigarette burns and over-flowing ashtrays.
However, times have changed and with wi-fi, leather seats and USB charging points becoming the norm, passengers are expecting and are being offered more when travelling on a coach or bus.
With UK bus passenger journeys seemingly in continued decline and coach’s struggle to attract a younger generation, the specification of a coach or bus is important since operators have a big part in changing the perceptions of the passengers of tomorrow.
One operator setting a precedent is Wolverhampton-based Hills Coaches.
Running a 20-strong mixed fleet of 35-seaters to 74-seaters, the operator specialises in school contracts and knows the importance of running high-specification coaches on them.
Says Director Darran Hill: “In the past, operators might have said ‘put an old banger on the school runs’, but we ensure all of our vehicles are high quality. This includes 16- and 17-plate vehicles being used on our school runs and they all have air-conditioning.
“We think children should have the same luxuries as adult passengers, rather than sending out an old coach or bus for them to travel to school in.”
It is a strategy that has proved successful for the operator, which has now been running for over 50 years.
Growing a business
Hills Coaches was established in 1965 by Darran’s grandfather John Hill, known as Jack, and it was a few years after that when Darran’s father, Trevor, joined the business.
“My grandfather started in business with someone, which lasted a couple of years and then he set up shop on his own before my father joined. In those days it was known as JT Hill Coaches and they ran two coaches,” explains Darran.
By the time Darran had joined the family firm in the late 1980s at the age of 17, the fleet size had increased to five coaches and the company name changed to Hills Coaches a few years later.
Says Darran: “As a child, I used to always come to the depot at the weekends and my nan would be doing all the coach bookings.
“When she wanted to retire, my grandad asked if I would take over from her, so I left my job at Henry Venables in Stafford – where I worked for a year after finishing school – to do that.
“My grandad was still driving when he was in his 80s, but he sadly passed away in 2003. We miss him a lot because he taught us everything we know.”
A strong team
With Trevor retiring earlier this year, it’s now down to Darran and his younger brother, Daniel, who joined the firm 10 years ago, to keep the wheels turning.
However, they are ably assisted with a team of office staff – including Darran and Daniel’s sister Rebecca – 23 full-time drivers and Transport Manager Paul Gregory who has been with the operator for 25 years.
It’s not just Paul who has stayed with the company for a long time. Hills Coaches also has many long-serving drivers, including some that have been with the firm for over 20 years.
Darran says driver shortages doesn’t seem to be a problem for the firm and attributes a good work-life balance to the company’s high driver retention.
He says: “You often read in trade magazines that it’s the unsocial hours and things like that, that put people off being coach drivers, so we tend to try and work with our drivers to ensure everyone takes their fair share of doing weekends. This means they don’t end up having to work every weekend.”
Younger drivers
The firm also encourages and employs younger drivers, including TM Paul’s son, Dean, who came to work for Hills Coaches straight from school and is now a driver.
“Over the last few years we’ve had a lot of younger drivers coming through and now have a few drivers under the age of 30,” says Darran.
“We have put a couple through their tests, but the others already had their licences, so luckily it hasn’t been too difficult to employ younger drivers.
“The good thing as well, with our more experienced drivers, is that any continental work we get we can send one of the younger drivers with them to train them up.
“We would never throw them in the deep end, so it’s about making sure they feel comfortable with the work they are doing.”
Olympic coaches
For a company that has over 50 years in business, there must be a number of occasions the firm is proud of.
One particular stand-out moment for Darran was providing transport for the Brazilian Olympic team at the London 2012 Games.
Four new Volvo coaches – a 9700, two B9Rs and a B7R – were purchased for the job, which was undertaken on behalf of First Group.
Each coach was specified with a unique, eye-catching Brazilian Olympic team livery, before being used on other work after the 2012 Olympics.
“It is one of the best things we have ever done,” says Darran. “We are all still very proud of it.”
Returning customers
The firm also takes great pride in the service it provides and keeping its fleet as smart and modern as possible.
“Continual fleet renewal is our main goal to get the vehicles as modern as possible,” says Darran.
“There are operators that can beat us on price, but customers soon return to us because of the vehicles we offer.
“People are expecting more now, so sending out old coaches without features such as air-conditioning, for example, just doesn’t cut it anymore.”
Fully Euro 6
With emission control zones becoming more widespread across the UK, the challenge for Hills Coaches is going to be investing more money into bringing its vehicles up to Euro 6 standards, but it is something it says it is committed to doing.
Therefore, fleet renewal is also important for the firm since one of its aims is to eventually operate a fully-Euro 6 fleet, says Darran.
He adds: “We’re trying to get the fleet to Euro 6 as quickly as possible and we’re halfway there. We try to change a couple of coaches a year to Euro 6 and we’re aiming for completely Euro 6 in the next five years.”
Keeping busy
For Darran, the secret to the success of running a prosperous coach firm is not putting all of its eggs into one basket.
“We do a variety of private hire work, as well as school work, which serves us well,” he says.
“Although our school contracts are the bread and butter work, we have got a very large private hire base. We don’t do our own holidays or day trips because, luckily, we are kept busy with repeat customers each year.”
However, when it comes down to it, Darran says it is his grandfather he has to thank.
“The business wouldn’t be the success it is today if it wasn’t for my grandad who started it all 54 years ago, so we have a lot to thank him for.”
