MEDIA RELEASE 15 January 2010
Coaches lead drive for a greener future
They may be best-known for their bright orange logo, but
Fareham-based Lucketts coaches are actually green.
The government has acknowledged that coach travel is the
most carbon-efficient method of public transport and in the
last two years Lucketts has seen its travel-to-work business
increase by 30% as more companies understand the environmental
benefit of cutting congestion.
The family-owned business works with a number of employers
and is also the regions largest provider of coaches for schools
and the official match transport for Portsmouth Football
Club.
Paul Barringer, sales director of Lucketts, said: What an
increasing number of businesses are realising is that coach
travel makes environmental and financial sense for them and
their employees.
A fulI coach provides 15 times less carbon dioxide than 50
people all driving to work individually.
Then there are issues like parking, timekeeping, the impact of
fuel and maintenance costs on employees pockets&the more
businesses stop to think about it, the more they realise the
differences coach travel can make.
Paul added: Coaches are also very different these days. The
annual charabanc-to-the-seaside image is long gone, with
everyone from Premiership footballers to political parties
embracing the convenience and team spirit afforded by regular
corporate travel in hi-tech, comfortable vehicles with all mod
cons on board.
According to the Department for Transport, methods of
transporting people from A to B are responsible for 28 per cent
of the UKs carbon dioxide emissions.
The Local Government Association acknowledges the benefits
of coach travel for local authorities seeking to reduce
congestion and meet air quality targets, while the fact that
coach travel is twice as efficient as rail in environmental
terms and up to four times more efficient than the car means
that plus points for individuals concerned about their carbon
footprint are also there for the taking.
Last year Lucketts won a large contract with National
Express to operate round-the-clock services from Portsmouth and
Chichester to London. Since taking over these routes, passenger
numbers have increased and National Express has added extra
services allowing Lucketts to invest in a further two vehicles
adding to its 70-strong fleet.
Ends
For more information contact Jo Kedward at Polymedia on
01329 822866