A Leicestershire bus company has invested £1.4 million in its fleet despite a tough two years during the pandemic.
Roberts Travel Group has put the money into two new 70-seater school coaches and two new 16-seater minibuses, which are now available for private hire and holiday customers.
The business, based in Hugglescote, near Coalville, has also invested in six Mercedes Tourismo coaches which it has acquired from other coach companies.
It comes on the back of further spending last year which saw 11 zero-emission buses added to its fleet, for its contract to provide Leicester’s park-and-ride service on behalf of Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council.
The Roberts Travel fleet now comprises 85 vehicles – ranging from executive coaches to zero-emission park-and-ride buses, mini coaches and 44 school buses.
The company employs 141 people and is also investing in their development by bringing driver training in-house for the first time and by sponsoring college and other educational courses.
Manager-development programmes are also planned, to identify the future leaders within the company. Other new developments include a Roberts Drivers App.
The business recorded its best-ever year for coach tours in 2020, despite not being allowed to operate tours until June 21, and this year it is scheduled to run 220 holidays and 200 day trips within the 海角视频.
Most Read
Managing director Jonathan Hunt said: “We have stayed positive and continued to explore exciting opportunities.
“We are the transport partner for Leicestershire’s flagship park and ride service, having won the county’s first and largest electric vehicle contract and invested in state-of-the-art zero-emission vehicles.
“We are focused on delivering the future of transport here and now and transforming the face of coach holidays and day trips.
“We wish to highlight that coach travel should be the mode of choice for all generations, given that even a standard coach generates fewer emissions than any other form of transport, including train.
“We are planning to upgrade more of our fleet to electric, in the not too distant future, and determined to become ambassadors for green travel within our county.
“In this way, we shall continue to provide vibrant job opportunities for local people and stay relevant, in a world in which clean air cities are growing in number and in which the battle against climate change is constant.
“We operate in a sector that is largely just beginning to bounce back, but are ahead of the curve and spearheading innovation within it.”
Sign up for your free East Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the East Midlands including Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our