Looking for advice - starting a bus tour company

celtictigermrk2

Hi guys,

I'm in the process of researching the ins and outs of setting up my own tour bus company. I have travelled to many parts of the world, and have a background in tourism, sales and marketing, and am interested in taking onboard some ideas of what I've seen in other countries and applying them to Ireland. In other words, I'm not out to take on the big boys and established players at their own game; rather I'm looking at targeting areas of the market that I believe are currently neglected.

As far as my research goes, so far I've been in contact with Failte Ireland and the Dept. of Transport. I have sourced a friend who has recently acquired a CPC and is willing to act as transport manager. In order to determine the feasibility of my project however, there are still some areas which I do not have a great knowledge of and would really appreciate any advice:

1. I'm looking at using 2 x 32 seater buses; no larger. Can anyone recommend the best on the market, in terms of looks, reliability, and running costs? Where can these be bought - Ireland/UK?

2. I wouldn't have the initial finance at hand to buy the buses, therefore leasing is my preferred option. I've also been given quite good advice that it is preferable to lease initially, rather than to buy a couple of buses and then be stuck with them if things don't take off.
How does it work with leasing? Do you have to find the buses yourself and then go to the bank/finance house with the costings done out? Or do you give them a list of what you're after and it's up to them to source?

3. What would the daily fuel costs be on the above size buses, assuming 300km travel per day?

4. How much is the going daily rate for a driver-tour guide?

5. Any idea on insurance costings - road, public liability, employer liability?

6. Are there any other regulations or criteria I'd need to adhere to?

Any advice at all would be great. Ideally I'd like to get up and running by mid May if at all possible and capitalise on the upcoming tourist season.

Thanks guys.

antoinolachtnai

Someone came up with this idea a few months ago already on here.

There is a lot of capacity in the industry at the moment. That is putting it quite mildly.

If you really can market and sell tours in the current climate, that is absolutely fantastic, a lot of people will be thrilled to hear from you. I would be pretty happy to hear from you myself.

I think you have a misunderstanding of leasing. When you lease an asset, you are committed to a period for the lease. You have to keep and pay for the lease for the full term. The bank is not interested in looking after the assets.

celtictigermrk2

I hear you about the capacity in the market, and I think that you are correct in saying that, up to a point. However, I'm not interested in doing what other people are already doing, rather I'm looking to find what I perceive to be gaps in the market and then target these areas.

As for the banks and leasing, perhaps I haven't explained myself in a clear enough fashion. I don't have the funds, being a start-up, to afford outright to purchase 2 buses (even 2nd hand ones which seem to hold their value incredibly well). I have read though of situations whereby banks will take on a asset and structure a leasing arrangement for it; the option being at the end of the lease to purchase the asset then from the bank.

Alternatively, as you have noted, there is quite a bit of capacity in Ireland currently, so I would also be open to leasing from an existing operator who may not have use for all of his current stock of buses. Again, if anyone has info as to where I could find any such operator, I'd be delighted to know.

celtictigermrk2

Does anyone know of any companies who would lease buses on say 6 month leases?
I've been told that there is probably going to be excess capacity in the Irish market this year, so this is an option.

Lplated

Hey,
Just wondered/wondering - seeing as there is or may be excess capacity in the area at the moment, why not do a deal with a currently running bus company whereby you hire their bus/es and driver/s when and as you need them?

That way, you could concentrate in this, your start up year, on selling your niche tours and getting people in. So you are able to offer the product/s without incurring the expenses as you'd only pay for the hire of a bus when you had customers for it.

At some future stage you could see whether you had enough business to justifty running your own fleet.

Good luck

KTRIC

I know someone that has been in the bus tour / hire business for the past 25 odd years and recently things have taken a serious slump.

I'd advise against it to be honest.

celtictigermrk2

Thanks for the heads up guys. Ideally, if I could find someone with excess capacity that'd be willing to a deal that would fit the bill very well.
I know that this current year will be very challenging for many operators, and that bookings are down, but I see this as somewhat of an opportunity.

I've travelled a good bit, and from what I can see, the offering in Ireland(well, in the areas I'm looking at anyhow) is very stale, and is a kind of "twee" Oirishness. We've fallen way behind what New Zealand and Australia provide, and the quality and breadth of offering is not to the same level as you can find there.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very good providers out there in Ireland, but equally there are a good few who've been horsing out the same0-same0 for years now with little or no innovation.

So yeah, the market is tough, but I believe it will be those that go the extra-mile (sorry about the pun!) who will succeed.

antoinolachtnai

No reason not to give it a spin, for sure, because the guided-tour concept has legs during a downturn. It is a cheap way to have a holiday or a break, or whatever, no doubt about it.

But make sure you can actually make money on the deal!

celtictigermrk2

Okay, so I'm still somewhat hazy as to where to go with finding people who'd lease out a mid-sized bus for 6 months (if indeed it is actually something they'd look at doing)?

And what would constitute a decent and fair price for that period (considering I'd be looking after driver and fuel costs myself)?

Answers on a postcard...!

antoinolachtnai

You would really be better to use the driver they supply. Otherwise you will be run ragged with mechanics, tachographs, 48-hour weeks, rest-days, NERA and everything else. And where will you store the bus?

I don't think anybody would want to part company with their bus on that basis. They'd probably be breaching their bank lease too, they're supposed to keep the vehicle in their possession. They would have no guarantee that the bus would be looked after. A good operator will want to know who is driving, so they can keep an eye on stuff like gearboxes.

That's not to say there isn't someone who would do it.

Why not rent by the day under some sort of master contract. This is how the business is done. Globus and Trafalgar and all the rest of them do it this way. Tour operators generally don't supply drivers.

GoOnTaigh

celtictigermrk2 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm in the process of researching the ins and outs of setting up my own tour bus company. I have travelled to many parts of the world, and have a background in tourism, sales and marketing, and am interested in taking onboard some ideas of what I've seen in other countries and applying them to Ireland. In other words, I'm not out to take on the big boys and established players at their own game; rather I'm looking at targeting areas of the market that I believe are currently neglected.

As far as my research goes, so far I've been in contact with Failte Ireland and the Dept. of Transport. I have sourced a friend who has recently acquired a CPC and is willing to act as transport manager. In order to determine the feasibility of my project however, there are still some areas which I do not have a great knowledge of and would really appreciate any advice:

1. I'm looking at using 2 x 32 seater buses; no larger. Can anyone recommend the best on the market, in terms of looks, reliability, and running costs? Where can these be bought - Ireland/UK?

2. I wouldn't have the initial finance at hand to buy the buses, therefore leasing is my preferred option. I've also been given quite good advice that it is preferable to lease initially, rather than to buy a couple of buses and then be stuck with them if things don't take off.
How does it work with leasing? Do you have to find the buses yourself and then go to the bank/finance house with the costings done out? Or do you give them a list of what you're after and it's up to them to source?

3. What would the daily fuel costs be on the above size buses, assuming 300km travel per day?

4. How much is the going daily rate for a driver-tour guide?

5. Any idea on insurance costings - road, public liability, employer liability?

6. Are there any other regulations or criteria I'd need to adhere to?

Any advice at all would be great. Ideally I'd like to get up and running by mid May if at all possible and capitalise on the upcoming tourist season.

Thanks guys.

Hi, did you ever start your company? I'm just wondering as was thinking of a new venture and was wondering if you had made any progress to share?

Thanks