Coach convoy highlights coronavirus impact on industry

Around 90 coaches travelled to the rally at Lightwater Valley theme park

A convoy of coaches has taken to the road to highlight the impact of coronavirus on the industry.

It left Washington, Tyne and Wear, before meeting up with others at Lightwater Valley, in North Yorkshire.

The campaign has been organised by Jenna Rush, of Newcastle-based North East Coach Travel, who wants a bespoke furlough scheme and guaranteed funding.

The Treasury said it had provided a "generous and wide-ranging package of support" for businesses.

Around 90 coaches from across the country turned up at the rally, which has been named Honk for Hope UK.

Miss Rush said changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which ends in October, meant she faced the difficult decision of laying off her staff.

She said coach operators had to repay private finance deals for vehicles, which can cost more than £200,000.

Social distancing prevents coaches from being filled to capacity, reducing revenue as a result.

"They've not realised the high overheads we have," she said. "We are relied on so much for the economy but we are seen like a forgotten industry."

'Unprecedented cancellations'

The Lightwater Valley theme park, in Ripon, said the coach industry was a "vital element" to its success as it transported tens of thousands of visitors every year.

The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, which represents 1,000 bus and coach operators, said more than 40,000 jobs were under threat.

Chief Executive Graham Vidler said: "There is no doubt the coach travel industry feels forgotten by government - it has suffered from unprecedented cancellations and is now facing an 18 month winter of low bookings."

The Treasury said its job retention scheme had helped a million employers and protected more than nine million jobs.

"As well as furloughing staff, we've introduced a wide range of other targeted support measures for different sectors, including bounce back loans and tax deferrals, business rates holidays and more than £10bn of grants to businesses."