New £25m fleet of coaches to hit road
A £25 million new fleet of coaches will hit the streets in the coming months as National Express seeks to expand its operation, it can be revealed today.
The company, which runs buses across the West Midlands and coach services across the country, wants to bring 100 new coaches into action as they increase the number of services along popular routes, including Wolverhampton to London. The firm is also increasing the number of journeys available to music festivals, including Staffordshire's V Festival and Glastonbury.
Managing director Andrew Cleaves said: "We continue to work hard to improve the service we provide. This includes making sure our vehicles are top-notch. Half our fleet is less than two years old.
"We have 100 new coaches coming online this year and each new coach costs around £250,000. From Wolverhampton there are currently 30 departures a day, going directly to 53 locations.
"We are working to increase the flexibility of this service and increase the number of departures especially to events such as festivals.
"We will also be increasing the number of trips going to Wembley."
Mr Cleaves unveiled news of the fleet as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary. The new line of coaches will add to the 550 already in operation, which travel to around 1,000 locations across the country.
The new coaches will also help the company meet sudden surges in demand.
"If it's a nice weekend we get a sudden increase in the number of people from places like Wolverhampton and Dudley who want to go to the seaside," he said.
"We have to put on dozens of extra coaches and we work very hard to ensure that we can offer that flexibility. The staff are brilliant. If we know a good weather weekend if forecast, we put extra drivers on call."
