Drury Adds Another Plaxton Panther

Date:2013-06-27

www.chinaspv.com: Goole based Drury Coaches have continued investment in their fleet with the addition of a further new Plaxton Panther. The latest vehicle continues standardisation on Plaxton products for the six vehicle fleet and which have accounted for all of the vehicles bought in the last 20 years.

Proprietors Roland Drury and Richard Wilson are delighted with the latest investment, as Richard explains, “This maintains our policy of continuous renewal which has paid dividends in attracting new business and helping us retain a solid customer base. Our fleet has been 100% Plaxton for some time, it’s helped us win new business and retain it, and we’ve had excellent service from them. Taking the whole package into consideration – purchase price, running costs and residual values – the Plaxton/ Volvo combination presents a compelling case.”

The new Panther is a 12.8m variant based on the Euro V Volvo B9R platform, with 380bhp and I-Shift automated transmission. It’s climate controlled and equipped with 53 Gala recliners, trimmed in moquette with leather piping and headrests and adjustable footrests. It has a centre mounted washroom and full drinks facilities. Built to the latest EWVTA standards and dual certified to enable a maximum 55 to be accommodated; this gives the flexibility of a second life once its touring days are over.

Special features include CCTV and all age seatbelts, now a standard feature on the Gala seats in Panther and one which has proved attractive to the many schools which Drury’s serve, both with home to school transport and outside activities. The new vehicle has come as the company have introduced vehicle tracking to drive further improvements in efficient utilisation of the fleet.

“The new Panther is the first executive vehicle we’ve bought new” Richard commented, “We’ve always had fully seated coaches in the fleet and they’re popular with many of our private hire customers, but recently we’ve seen demand for executive vehicles from some clients. This gives us another option to offer them and we’re already busy taking bookings for it. The flexibility of being able to easily remove the toilet and increase the seating capacity is a big bonus as well”.

The Drury fleet is employed largely on contract and private hire work, much of it derived from local groups and schools with which they enjoy an enviable reputation. The award of Coachmarque accreditation to the company in 2011 was a particular achievement and has attracted additional business. “We’re committed to keeping the business moving forward and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made” Richard explains, “Coachmarque was an opportunity to put an official ‘seal of approval’ on what we’ve done and it’s proving a useful marketing tool for the business”