The coach operating sector has urged the government to allow full capacity on coaches when the government issues its review of social distancing measures in June.
Graham Vidler, chief executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, told a meeting of the transport committee last week: “It is important that coaches are able to operate at their full capacity.
“Operators have taken huge steps to make sure that they are operating safely for both drivers and staff.
“It is really important that the social distancing review does not open up the rest of the economy and leave coaches behind, in a situation where you can only half-fill your vehicles.
“Nobody can run coaches profitably in those circumstances.”
He was speaking at a special session about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the coach sector.
Roads minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton said coaches will be treated in the same way as buses – although bus operators have been given funds on the basis that they cannot carry as many passengers as before the pandemic because of social distancing.
She said instead the coach sector has access to Additional Restrictions Grants, which “can help with the gap”.
Vidler told MPs on the committee that a scheme along the lines of Eat Out to Help Out – which supported the hospitality sector last summer – would help to stimulate demand, as would VAT relief.
“Fundamentally, what is needed to accompany any financial incentive is clarity and consistency around the roadmap out of lockdown,” he told the MPs.
“Members tell me that every time a minister stands up and says something positive about the prospects of vacationing in the UK this year, their phone starts ringing with customers who want to make bookings.
“Every time a minister stands up and says ‘maybe you won’t be able to go on holiday in the UK this year’, their phone rings with the same customers cancelling those bookings.
“A bit of consistency will both build confidence in customers that they can book for the future and help repair the finances of coach operators, who can be certain that come June, July and August – the months when the industry typically makes almost all of its profit – they will be able to serve their customers.”
Candice Mason, director of business operations at Masons Minibus and Coach Hire, said: “I have been asking, since the very first lockdown, for somebody from government to please stand up and say…‘coach travel is really great. It is really green. You can have a really fun time. It is really safe.’
“It is not like public transport where you have groups of people getting on and off all through the day. It is the best way you could possibly travel.”
Tourism minister Nigel Huddleston told the committee: “For both domestic and international tourism, the coach sector is a hugely important aspect.
“It provides great value. It is an incredibly well-packaged product. It is a safe product for customers. It has been in the past and it will absolutely be in the future.”
He said the coach sector can play its part in the government’s tourism recovery plan.
“There is lots of enthusiasm for coach travel. With the environmental agenda and environmental tourism being increasingly important, it will be even stronger,” he said.
“We are confident that we will have strong domestic tourism this summer.”
He said he is a “fan” of the domestic and international marketing campaigns run by VisitBritain and VisitEngland.
“We will be conducting an assessment of the marketing and promotional activities, working very closely with VisitBritain and the DMOs [destination marketing organisations], which play an important role across the country in marketing and promotion,” he said.
“Let’s make sure that coaches are included in that.”