TRANSPORT/ Get in! The Coach Is Leaving

Even travel experts are often ignorant at how big the coach market is. More than seven million people take a coach tour in the UK each year with getting on for another two million going on an escorted tour to the European mainland and beyond. Another impressive statistic is coach tourism being worth £2.35 billion to the British economy. Underlining the massive value of coaches to local economies is another impressive figure. When they get off their coach in cities, towns and tourist des...

…that buses and coaches are the key to sustainable mobility? Every year, buses and coaches in Europe bring passengers safe and sound to their intended destinations with the lowest impact on the environment. Although the use of collective passenger transport is increasing, many people are still unaware of just how safe, environmentally friendly and quiet buses and coaches are. Buses and coaches are key elements in the sustainable mobility chain, providing safe, socially inclusive and envi...

Perhaps most people's perception of coach holidays involves a group of elderly and sometimes immobile travelers visiting a seaside resort on an old bus style coach. While there is certainly a diverse range of demographics in the coach travel sector, this archaic image simply does not hold true anymore. Other forms of coach travel may include students on the cheap or hoards of school children. This again may be the case but coach travel no longer belongs just to these exclusive groups. Nowada...

European transport and travel political and business leaders discuss best policies and operational practices to further green the travel and tourism chain, highlighting that buses and coaches offer the best transport solution for ensuring the sustainable mobility of European citizens. The 7th European Bus and Coach Forum, jointly organised by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the Belgian Federation of Bus and Coach operators (FBAA), the European Travel Agents’ and tour opera...