For 50 years Terry Wilson has been operating Escort Coaches single-handedly. We find out the secret to his success and how things are about to change
There comes a time in every operator’s life when they have to hang up their boots and make a decision – sell the business or hand the reins over.
But what happens if there isn’t anyone in the family to hand the company over to?
This is the predicament Terry Wilson of Middlesbrough-based Escort Coaches faced – until recently.
His 20-year-old grandson Bradley is now due to start his coach driving training.
But Terry isn’t ready to retire just yet. Instead he will be teaching Bradley everything he has learnt while successfully running a coach operation for the last five decades.
How it began
Terry set up Escort Coaches after getting his PSV licence with a friend.
Says Terry: “A friend I met when I was a joiner apprentice said he was going to get his PSV licence so I followed him to get mine.
“When I went for my test I was 21 and I had nothing to do with transport – it had never crossed my mind to go on the coaches.
“There were two of us on the day of the test. I drove it two miles across town one way and did a hill start, and he did a hill start and drove it back to the depot and that was our test – we passed.”
After finishing his apprenticeship, Terry drove buses for a year before becoming a telephone engineer.
“I did a little spell as a telephone engineer, but driving was still in my blood so I bought a minibus in 1967 to do private tours part-time, while still working as a telephone engineer,” he says.
Terry bought his first coach a year later – a Bedford Plaxton Embassy – and started doing school contracts and private hires.
Blame it on the boogie
Terry attributes his success in the beginning to the flourishing nightclub scene in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
“As the nightclubs were booming, the area was booming and it really took off,” says Terry. “I got a nightclub deal and would transfer the acts between the clubs.”
With the introduction of the breathalyser in 1967, people were also becoming more reliant on being driven home safely.
It was during this period that Terry met his wife.
“I met my wife in 1970 when I was doing my sister-in-law Linda’s hen night,” he says.
“I picked them up at a pub in town to take them to one of the nightclubs. They were all coming up the steps of the coach and I said to Linda ‘who’s your friend?’ when my wife Susan walked up the steps of my coach… and the rest is history.”
Peaks and troughs
Escort was also offering short UK breaks and began running coach holidays to Salou, Spain in 1980, selling holidays from a travel shop based in Middlesbrough town centre.
Says Terry: “Coach holidays to Spain were the big thing back then and all the County Durham operators were offering it.”
He contracted two double-deckers from another firm and, at one point, hired drivers, but running the company solo meant it started getting too much to handle.
“I used to go away to Spain now and then, but it was too much of a worry about what was going on back at home so I thought ‘I can’t keep this up’.”
The trips to Salou then started to fade off in the late 1980s.
“I think that’s when flying began growing in popularity,” says Terry. “It came to the point where it wasn’t worth doing – there were too many operators then chasing too few passengers.”
Terry continued with the private hires and contracted work, however, which included taking workers from Teesside to their place of work.
Says Terry: “I advertised an overnight to Aberdeen service from anywhere between Middlesbrough to Sunderland to Newcastle and that venture took off like a rocket.
“This work eventually faded off too, but there seemed to be a lot of private hire at the time, so things were good.
“In around 2000 I started to slow down a bit – I’d say there were too many coach operators in Teesside back then so I decided to cut back.”
Current work
At one point in his career, Terry had 11 vehicles in total, but he now runs a more manageable two coaches – a 51-seater Volvo B10M Plaxton and, purchased in July, a 49-seater Mercedes-Benz Neoplan Cityliner – mainly doing rail replacement work.
“I also have loyal private hire customers,” says Terry. “I do stag and hen weekends as well, which aren’t as bad as they sound and they pay good money.
“I’ve been off school contracts for about 20 years now. It was a big decision, but I couldn’t see that it was making a real contribution to my finances and the kids were getting a bit wild. I got punched in the chest once and I thought ‘that’s it’.”
Terry helps out other local operators, passing on any work to those that own minibuses, which is reciprocated.
“If I am not available to do the job or if it’s a smaller group, I recommend them to the customer and they will do they same for me.”
Peace of mind
Escort’s coaches are maintained by Stockton-on-Tees- based M&J Commercials.
Says Terry: “I’ve been with M&J Commercials for 10 years now. It gives me great peace of mind on the maintenance side of things.
“In my opinion, for a small operator, it’s better to go somewhere like that – they’re so efficient and they keep such good records and systems – they tell me when my coach is due its inspection and it’s well worth paying for.
“The alternative is to have maintenance facilities and staff and everything that goes with that, but after all these years I want an easy life.”
Secrets to success
With 50 years of experience in the industry, Terry now has a system that works for him – a system he feels is one of the reasons for his success.
“I have this theory that money is made within 70 miles of your business,” says Terry.
“For York, Leeds, Newcastle you can get a good price for a one-day hire, but if you go any further you can’t, which doesn’t make sense.
“If I exceed the 70-mile radius, all I’m doing is burning fuel. The cost starts to increase, but the cost for passengers doesn’t go up as it should.”
A smart appearance and a good attitude are also attributes Terry feels are key, as they encourage repeat custom.
“I cringe when I see a company’s driver being rude, or wearing a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms,” says Terry. “It must be a shirt and tie job.
“I’ve had customers for more years than I can remember by being presentable, friendly and affordable,” he adds.
The next generation
After running the business independently for 50 years, Terry is now welcoming his grandson Bradley onboard.
“I am lucky because I am quite fit and healthy and I love the job, but I can’t go on forever,” says Terry. “So I had to address the problem – sell the company, or get the family into it.
“My daughters don’t have any interest in the business, so getting Bradley involved is ideal.”
Terry took his grandson to this year’s UK Coach Rally in Blackpool to give him a feel for what the industry is like.
Says Terry: “I was talking to Dave Parry from Parrys International and he told me his 21-year-old son, James, is driving a £500,000 coach.
“I introduced Bradley to James and asked him ‘would you recommend Bradley come into the industry?’ and he said ‘yes’. And with fewer young people coming into the industry, we need people like him to, don’t we?”
Once Bradley is qualified, Terry can see the business expanding and the next step for the business is a website.
“I have managed all these years without a website, it’s just something I didn’t feel I needed,” says Terry. “But if we have more coaches again we’ll need a website, and I can then hand it over to Bradley.”
