RHA is urging coach operators to lobby their MPs to support National Coach Week 2023, which will be held between 12-19 May and involve various initiatives.
Further information on work to support the profile-raising campaign will follow soon, but RHA says that it again aims to celebrate the role of coaches within both public transport and the wider economy. National Coach Week in 2023 follows a successful debut in 2022 that saw strong engagement with politicians, the mainstream media and other parties.
Key to National Coach Week this year will be the launch of a coach manifesto. It will set out RHA’s priorities for the sector and will complement an updated coach policy paper from the trade association.
A parliamentary event will be held on 15 May where those policy priorities will be launched. The gathering will host coach operators and politicians with an interest in the coach space and it will involve discussion of challenges facing the industry and the associated calls to action.
RHA will target MPs responsible for transport, tourism, education, business and Treasury matters. In addition, it will seek support for National Coach Week from the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Transport, in addition to their shadow opposite numbers.
RHA also says that it will work with government “to come up with solutions that support the [coach] industry to make progress in certain areas,” including the net zero move within a realistic timeframe.
On a more local level, RHA is again inviting MPs to show support for the coach industry via social media or by visiting an operator. That drew success in 2022, where Anthony’s Travel Managing Partner Richard Bamber, a founding coach operator member of RHA, reported that dialogue with politicians in Halton had served to significantly increase awareness of coaches among them.
National Coach Week website, including resources.
