Swindon & Wiltshire News
Weston MP told coach firms need government support
Weston-super-Mare MP Dan Aldridge has visited the headquarters of coach firm Bakers Dolphin to hear how rising costs, driver shortages and the shift to zero-emission vehicles are squeezing one of the town’s best-known employers.
The regional coach firm welcomed Aldridge to discuss the challenges facing the industry, following a Westminster Hall debate earlier this month on the coach sector.
The industry supports 81,000 jobs across Britain, carries passengers on 450 million journeys a year and contributes £8.3 billion annually to the economy through tourism, shopping and leisure.
Managing director Max Fletcher showed the MP how Bakers Dolphin provides school transport, holidays, excursions and private event travel across the area. Aldridge also heard about the pressures created by rising fuel prices, the transition to zero-emission vehicles, driver shortages and a lack of coach parking.
Aldridge said: “My number one priority is supporting businesses in Weston, Worle and the villages.
“It was great to speak to Bakers Dolphin Coach Travel, meet the team and learn about their long history.
“I work hard to support businesses in our town, but I can’t do that without first listening and understanding their concerns and successes. I’m so glad I could sit down and do that with this vital Weston business.”
Fletcher said coach operators are often “the glue that binds local communities together”, providing daily school transport and stepping in when rail disruption leaves passengers stranded.
He said: “It was great to meet Dan Aldridge and explain to him the very real issues that we have on a day-to-day basis.
“The recent Westminster Hall debate saw representations made in support of regional coach operators, many of whom are burdened by significant cost increases that are difficult to be passed on to clients.”
Sales and marketing director Amanda Harrington said the company is a major Weston employer, providing thousands of local people with holidays and leisure trips as well as transport for schools, colleges, sports clubs and community groups.
“Decisions made in Westminster affect us all and it was good to show our MP what the coach industry is doing in his constituency,” she said.
