Another 70 seater - this time a double-decker bus

 

Another 70 seater added to the fleet!

 

Welcome to our 70 seat double-decker "posh bus". So much more than a normal bus, our 'decker has 70 high-backed and comfortable coach-type seats with seat-belts. It's quicker than a normal bus too and cruises happily at motorway speeds. For safety, and to comply with legislation, it is speed-limited by an electronic device to 100km/h. Absolutely perfect for moving large groups in a very cost-efficient way. A very useful addition to the fleet - it even has a radio to keep the kids amused!

 

 

"766" is a MKII MCW Metrobus built in Birmingham. It was new to one of the big bus companies before being brought with another identical bus by Motts Travel of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire where it was used on school contracts, local private hires and a network of bus routes to Wycombe Wanders football club on match days. Replaced by newer buses brought from Ireland, this bus and it's identical sister were sold to J&L Travel Ltd near Chesham in Buckinghamshire. The other bus suffered a mechanical failure and was stripped of spares and scrapped whilst this one "766" was being used on school work and local private hire jobs right up to the closure of the company in August 2014.

 

See the lights with www.blackpoolcoachhire.com

Coach travel through the Blackpool Illuminations 2014

Well we had the big switch-on of the Blackpool Illuminations last weekend with Peter Kay and some girl band. The lights are looking great this year and you really should get a group of people together and hire a coach from us www.blackpoolcoachhire.com to show them to you!

 

 

Isn't this picture from KC Photography of the Illuminations, and especially the Tower, fantastic?! More superb pictures of Blackpool can be found here http://www.flickriver.com/places/United+Kingdom/England/Blackpool/Hoohill/

 

This evening we went for a walk to the Wyre Estuary at Thornton Cleveleys which was nice followed by dinner in a "Hungry Horse" www.hungryhorse.co.uk/pubs/iron-horse-thornton-cleveleys which was also pleasant (and very busy too).

 

Tomorrow I have a meeting with a local business that may need our help running a shuttle-bus service for their workforce for about 10 weeks  http://www.blackpoolcoachhire.com/other-services.html so hopefully that will become a firm booking.

 

Fingers crossed :-)

 

Schools back from Summer holidays

Oh and of course the schools went back today and tomorrow so we should start getting busy with enquiries and bookings from them now too....

Ride the Lights (but not in a www.blackpoolcoachhire.com coach this time)

Ride the Lights 2014 www.blackpoolcoachirehire.com

 

Yesterday was the annual Ride the Lights event (more info see their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/673454132723632/?fref=ts )

 

From 6pm till 10pm the Promenade was closed to all motor traffic and the Illuminations were on in advance of the "proper" switch-on this weekend. Thousands of cyclists (and some unicyclists) came from all around the area to ride up and down the Promenade unhindered by cars, lorries and buses to enjoy the unique spectacle.

 

The Illuminations look great and the lights on the Tower this year are very cool as they change colour around the Tower, up & down, in waves. The local radio station was there supporting the event with music and activities by the Comedy Carpet www.comedycarpet.com

As our son hasn't quite got the hang of cycling yet our bikes stayed at home and we "walked the lights" instead. Some things that struck me as potentially dangerous were the amount of cyclists on the pavement; cyclists ignoring RED traffic lights and the general lack of organisation. Traffic signals to side roads/T junctions that were closed should have been covered-up, whereas the ones where pedestrians can cross should have been enforced. With only two accidents we saw (an Ambulance in attendance at one of them) I am amazed there weren't more.

The other problem, was the problem Blackpool always has: By the Tower there was a lot of rubbish being blown around by the breeze.

Blackpool Council www.blackpool.gov.uk really need to get a couple of motorised road sweepers out at this type of event, before it and after it. The town often looks a mess with loose rubbish blowing around. Clean it up please!!

Apart from that - what a fun event for the town! We walked from North Pier to the Pleasure Beach and back (stopping for Donuts to share on the way back!) and it was lovely to see. There were many bikes that had been decorated with lights, some with music and some pulling small trailers with little dogs or small children in them. Another great Blackpool event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rail Replacement at Blackpool North

Rail replacement at Blackpool North Station

Last night we had an urgent call from the company that organises coaches in the event of trains being unable to run needing vehicles urgently at Blackpool North Station running to Manchester.

 

We sent out our 57 seater and here is a picture of her at Blackpool North Station waiting to become the 22.30 train to Manchester!

 

 

A day at Southport with Blackpool Coach Hire

A day at Southport

 

On Sunday we took a trip to Southport. This is a beautiful town with some fantastic architecture, a lovely park and gardens with a big lake and a long pier (none of which was anywhere near the water when we were there!). The pier is unusual in that the start of it is quite some distance in land and it has a tram that travels the full length of it. The weather was good and there is a big permanent fun-fair there called Pleasure Land www.southportpleasureland.com

 

From the seafront - where there is also a McDonalds, a KFC and a large cinema complex - you can see across the water all the way to Blackpool. You can easily see the tower and the Big One at the Pleasure Beach. Southport is an ideal destination for a day trip from Blackpool, with something to interest people of all ages. It takes around 1 hour to get there from Blackpool by coach.

 

 

The boating lake at Southport

 

The bustling main street with historic glass roof.

Getting ready to go Back to School?

Back to school?

 

Like school teachers, coach hire businesses are already getting things prepared for the new school year in September. For some schools there are big changes taking place - such as the creation of the Blackpool Aspire Academy from the amalgamation of Bispham High and the Blackpool Collegiate - for others it's just a question of catching-up on things, maybe a bity of a tidy and maybe a lick of paint.

 

The same here. Today I have been painting in between doing a bit of invoicing and quoting as well as getting the vehicles ready for when the kids go back to school and sorting out our marketing.

 

 

Transport for schools - School Buses

School transport makes up a large part of the works carried out by most operators, and in this respect we are no different. So if you are involved in organising of travel for a school or college we would be really delighted to hear from you.

 

 

 

Great value transport for schools!

 

we undertake all sorts of coach jobs for schools and colleges including daily home-to-school transport, regular daytime trips (such as to the swimming pool etc) and occasional days out to educational locations, museums, theme parks and zoos. And all schools get a massive discount on our standard rates! More details at www.blackpoolcoachhire.com

 

 

 

 





Quiet Summer Saturday

A Quiet Summer Saturday at Blackpool Coach Hire

 

Nothing much going on today. Just one bus out on a one-way job from Gatwick Airport. The flight landed twenty minutes early so hopefully the driver will be home a bit earlier than planned (if the motorways are running ok.) Fingers crossed.

 

My day off

 

The family and I went to Freeport Fleetwood today to look around and have lunch. Also getting some things needed for when our son goes back to school like school shoes and football boots.

 

Planning in advance is always a good idea, like getting the school things ready even though there are still three weeks of the summer holidays left; the same as when going out on a coach trip. When the customer gives us all the details we need we can plan the job properly and everything goes well and everyone is happy. We understand that things can change and sometimes routes and timings need to be adjusted, but it really helps us to help you have a great day when things are properly planned at the start.