From humble beginnings in the family home’s kitchen, to now operating a 30-strong fleet, South West Minibuses shows how great things can happen with a strong support network
As the saying goes: No man is an island. And when setting up a business, it is the support of those around you that can play a huge part in its success.
It is the help from his family that Jay Raja, owner and Director of Bristol-based South West Minibuses, attributes to the success of his business
Jay was 23 years old when he established his firm in 2005 with one minibus. As business began to pick up, his father, two brothers – Naveed and Sham – and two sisters – Shabnum and Farah – came onboard.
Says Jay: “In the beginning, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. If it wasn’t for my brothers, sisters and dad, I could never have got to where I am today.
“I believe one of the main reasons the business has been such a success so quickly is because of my family’s support.”
Fast forward 14 years and Jay now operates a 30-strong fleet of mini and midibuses and continues to have the help of a strong team behind him.
In the blood
Although Jay started his career as an engineer, he soon began looking at other career paths that would bring in more money and he decided to become a taxi driver.
“Everyone I knew spoke about driving taxis, so I started driving taxis” explains Jay.
“However, the first time I drove one, I knew it wasn’t the job for me. But I soon realised that it was all about moving people and the more people, the more money I could make, so I thought ‘let’s start moving more people’.”
Jay then bought a minibus which he ran co-operatively with the taxi firm he was working for.
“Within a year I decided that it was what I wanted to do, and, with my family’s help, I got my own O-Licence,” says Jay.
It was also his fond childhood memories of his dad’s coach firm that encouraged Jay to start his own business.
“Throughout my childhood my dad owned a coach company and as children we’d go along during the school holidays and help clean the coaches,” he says.
“My dad has been in the transport industry all his life, so I think it’s in my blood.
“I started South West Minibuses in February 2005 with a £10,000 bank loan and I bought a used Ford Transit, which I thought was executive at the time.”
In the same year, Jay’s brother, Naveed, passed his PCV test and joined the firm, and a second minibus was purchased, with their father – who already had his licence – and brother, Sham, not far behind.
Onwards and upwards
The business came from humble beginnings, with the family home’s kitchen being used as an office.
“As we got busier, my mum kicked us out of the kitchen and into the front room. My parents owned the house next door and were letting the rooms. When one of the rooms became vacant, we set up shop in there,” says Jay.
“We operated there for a couple of years and grew the fleet to six minibuses. During that time two of my sisters – Shabnam and Farah – started working with me as well.”
Jay knew the premises were not ideal but says the turning point was when a customer cancelled their booking because of it.
He explains: “We had secured a booking for a wedding and the gentleman wanted to come to our office to pay for it. It was the first time we had a customer came in. He came in, looked around and said: ‘I’m really sorry, I’m not convinced. I’m going to cancel’.”
Deciding they needed professional premises that reflected the service they provide, the business moved to a site at Clay Hill in Bristol.
As the fleet continued to expand and the needs of the business developed, a bigger space was required. Therefore, South West Minibuses moved to its current site in 2012 – one big enough to house its own workshop.
This means all the vehicle maintenance is done in-house, which Jay says is much more convenient and cost effective for the business.
Fleet investment
South West Minibuses now operates a fleet of 30 mini and midibuses, from eight-seaters through to 33-steaters, on a combination of school contracts and private hire work.
Continually renewing and upgrading the fleet is of upmost importance to Jay who says: “We learnt our lesson that the way to bring costs down and be more efficient is by buying modern vehicles.
“We invest a lot into fleet upgrades, and I believe we now have 30 minibuses that are the best in Bristol.”
The latest additions to the fleet are three 29-seat Iveco Daily 70C18s with Noone Turas 600S bodywork from Midlands Bus and Coach Sales.
Jay describes them as being “game changers” for the business and has since ordered another one – this time with 33 seats.
The firm also has a 22-seater minibus from EVM being delivered imminently.
“They all meet Euro 6 standards,” says Jay. “My aim is to have the whole fleet Euro 6-compliant before a Clean Air Zone comes to Bristol, so I want to stay ahead of the game by upgrading the vehicles.”
A strong team
As the fleet has grown, so has the team behind South West Minibuses, with 32 drivers, two engineers, an operations manager, and office staff Julie and Claire joining Jay and his family.
They are all a great asset to the company, says Jay.
“Everyone in each of their departments are amazing at what they do,” he adds. “They really care about the business and they are more like extended family than employees.
“We have some great people working with us and our operations manager, Kevin, is at the helm – he is such a key person in the office.”
Essential software
Over the years, South West Minibuses has invested in various software to help streamline operations and ensure optimum compliance.
This includes Distinctive Systems’ Coach Manager system.
“Before this we were doing diary bookings and one day the system failed. It caused a massive problem for us and we decided we had to go digital,” says Jay.
“When I was showed Coach Manager, I thought it was amazing and we bought it outright. It took us six months to implement the system fully and we’ve never looked back. We’ve had it for over five years now and we can’t even think about operating without it.”
More recently, the firm has also started to use TruTac’s tachograph analysis software.
Says Jay: “We started using its system this year and it feels like we’ve discovered the missing piece of the puzzle. Within a year we want to be part of DVSA’s Earned Recognition (ER) scheme, which makes TruTac’s system so valuable.
“For me, being part of ER will show how credible I know the company is. I feel being part of it will be a massive achievement that I’ve got a company that is to a high standard in every department and the most compliant.”
A bright future
As well as a move towards a fully-Euro 6 fleet and becoming part of ER, Jay would also like the business to eventually expand into full-size coach work.
He says: “We did have two full-size coaches but the mistake we made was buying old ones because the maintenance was so high.
“Our next step would be to buy our own premises twice the size of what we have now and start our own coach division which deals with just the coach side, or to purchase a local coach firm.”
Starting out at just 23 years old, Jay has come a long way from operating solely with one vehicle to developing a successful minibus firm that he is deservedly proud of – with further growth aspirations in the pipeline.
He is a shining example in the industry of just how much can be accomplished through hard work, perseverance and having a strong team behind you.
