McCalls Coaches was founded in 1997, and since then it has grown slowly but surely to 12 vehicles. It’s a story that’s worth telling, with a strong emphasis on family involvement for this Lockerbie operator
People in the coach industry come from all walks of life, and that’s no more so the case than at McCalls Coaches, which is based in Lochmaben, near Lockerbie.
It was founded by Andy McCall 20 years ago, and since then it has grown into a business that – most importantly of all – has a clear succession plan in place.
In 1997, Andy, who is a mechanic by trade, had purchased two AEC Reliances to serve as projects. One carried a Plaxton Panorama body, the other a Harrington Grenadier.
“I got the bug. I restored them both in the garden between rain showers,” he says. “I sold the Grenadier because I wanted to start operating. It was too fragile, so it had to go.”
The first work was weekend private hire followed by school duties, and Leylands joined the fleet. McCalls remained a one-man band at first but it then started to grow, and it now operates 12 vehicles.
They are a mixture of coaches and buses, with tendered work in Dumfries and Galloway providing employment for the latter.
McCalls is run by Andy and Kirstin Taylor, who joined four years ago. Kirstin brought a degree in marketing, and she holds a Transport Manager’s CPC. Andy’s daughters Demi, 18, and Mairi, 20, are both involved too, giving security for the future.
Getting started
Andy admits that operating was hard work at the start. After obtaining an O-Licence he kept his position as a mechanic, and undertook private hire work at weekends.
“I had one coach in use and another as a spare. I did it part-time for a while; I was unsure about leaving my existing job just because I had two coaches,” he says.
“After finishing work in the garage I’d make things ready for Saturday, which would take until late. I was mindful of the fact that I had a mortgage, but I left the garage eventually and took on coaches full-time, although I was reluctant to do it initially in case the work dried up.”
The coaches for restoration had carried a grey and red livery, but when Andy established the business white became the de facto standard.
Plans were in place to adopt grey and red, but other demands meant that they were never followed through.
Later, when Kirstin joined, things progressed in regard to branding and marketing. In particular, white had created the perception that McCalls operated only one vehicle, but that changed with the development of a modest yet distinctive logo.
“When Kirstin came in she had more ambition than me,” says Andy. “Demi and Mairi also helped by washing the coaches and when they passed their car driving tests they would fetch spare parts, which helped.
“I could have looked at a coach, thought it was OK, and said ‘I’m not going to wash that one.’ But I washed it anyway. Then the girls came of age and they would do it for me.”
Foreign invasion
The AEC and then various Leylands were used early on, with pride of place going to a Duple Goldliner-bodied Tiger.
Tigers with manual gearboxes were tricky to handle, says Andy, but a Goldliner was an aspiration right from the beginning.
“When I started, a Goldliner was what I always wanted, but when I got one I was disappointed. The Tiger could be tricky to drive with its air throttle, and I couldn’t stretch to a Volvo. But eventually I could, so we moved to DAFs, Volvos and some Scania Irizars.”
Back-up from Volvo has always been good. Parts remain easily available for the B10M; the local dealership is open 24 hours, but one occasion sticks in Andy’s memory as an indication of the level of support provided
“I had an early B10M that suffered a major failure. I couldn’t get a con rod for it and after three visits to Volvo it realised that there were none left anywhere. That worried me, but it had some machined and the problem was fixed.”
The Van Hool-bodied Volvo combination is favoured, with one at Blackpool Trim Shops for refurbishment at the time that routeone visited. A DAF-engined Bova is also in the fleet, as is a Noge-bodied MAN.
In a nod to the past, also present is a Plaxton-bodied AEC Reliance. Although it’s a heritage coach and dates from 1979, it has a Class 6 MoT and is available for hire.
The present day
Besides tendered bus work, which is handled by a modern fleet that includes MAN and Optare models, staple duties for coaches remain pupil transport and private hire.
Although Dumfries and Galloway is a rural area, it contains 30 schools, and there is no shortage of work to go round.
Additionally, Lockerbie is not over-burdened with operators. McCalls enjoys a good relationship with Houstons Coaches, which tests all of McCalls’ vehicles at its ATF, and the two work together when necessary.
Bus work was started more recently, but McCalls doesn’t hold its breath on more of it coming available, says Kirstin.
Funding pressures are the same in Dumfries and Galloway as they are elsewhere, and McCalls has a strategy of not focusing on just one area of the market.
“We don’t want all of our eggs in one basket, and we’re fortunate that in this area there is not a huge number of operators,” she adds.
“Spreading work around is why we’ve started doing trips to concerts. It’s travel only; we don’t include the entrance fee, and as with most of the rest of our work, we don’t go far. Carlisle and Glasgow serve us well.”
At the moment, things are happy where they are, and instead of targeting expansion, the wish is to see further improvement in what it already has.
That may change in the future, though. Both Demi and Mairi are immersed in the business and each holds a PCV licence. Additionally, Andy and Kirstin’s young son Leland is showing a strong interest in coaches.
But it’s not only family members that have contributed to McCalls’ success. Tony Glendinning works with Andy to maintain the vehicles and he also drives when required and the operator has many other long-serving, dedicated staff that have helped to drive its growth.
Branding is king
Wedding hires have proven to be a lucrative source of income, but it is the establishment of an overall brand that has contributed to awareness among McCalls’ customers.
“I saw potential in the business, so after I joined, besides having the identity applied to vehicles, we created a brand and had some promotional items made up – things like pens, coasters and the like; not expensive, but with our name on them,” says Kirstin.
“We have also had flyers produced and we spoke to schools, letting them know who we are. That was a valuable exercise. It was well worth getting in the car and going and meeting people, just as it is is going to wedding fayres.”
Kirstin has also overseen an increased focus on social media, and a professionally-designed website went live after she joined.
When taken together, all of these initiatives have contributed to a step change from a business that started out 20 years ago with one vehicle.
Now, the focus is away from British-built coaches, although Andy remains partial to the Bedford VAL. “We don’t need a fleet of new stuff, but what we want is a yard full of good stuff. That’s how it will be before we expand further. It’s taken us 20 years to get to where we are now. When I started out I never had a weekend off.
“We have looked at tours, but after speaking to other operators we realised that we’d need some new coaches. All of ours are bought and paid for, and there is no shame in that.
“The vehicles that we have suit our work. Some operators buy a new coach and it’s paid for by the older examples on school duties. We don’t do that.”
With Andy looking after vehicles, and Kirstin managing operations, McCalls Coaches is in a good place. Things look good for the future with the younger generation involved – and not every operator is able to say that.
