Company Profile:
Bennetts Coaches is an award winning, Gloucester based, family run company, established since 1962. We joined BUSK Benchmark to show our commitment towards safety.
We believe that when hiring a coach, the person responsible for making the decision should consider the safety aspects of coach hire and not just the lowest price offered. Our experienced administration and operations team are always available to assist with any aspect of coach travel.
Family Business Award Winners
As a third generation family business, we were delighted to become winners of the National Family Business Awards in 2019. Bennetts Coaches were awarded the Gold Standard and were crowned National Champions for Hotel and Leisure at the awards ceremony held at Wembley Stadium.
Reviews
Take a look for yourself at the fantastic reviews and feedback we have received from our customers: https://www.bennettscoaches.co.uk/reviews/
Managing Director: Gavin Bennett
Operations Manager: Chris Lucassi
Transport Manager: Tom Weaver
Workshop Manager: Paul George
Health & Safety/Business Manager: Melissa Lovell
Fleet: We have a fleet of approximately 39 coaches with a seating capacity between 16 and 70 seats. Standard, Executive and wheelchair accessible vehicles are available to hire, which are all fitted with either 2 or 3 point seat belts. Across our fleet, the average age of our vehicles is under 5 years. All vehicles are fitted with Samsara tracking equipment which provides accurate, real time, location and information on drivers’ driving skill levels, such as braking, cornering and acceleration forces, recording and providing feedback to enable improvements where necessary. Reports are generated on a regular basis and feedback given to each driver.
As a safety conscious company, we have chosen to invest heavily in a breath-testing device called Alcolock and we have already started to roll this out across our fleet of vehicles. The driver is required to use Alcolock at the commencement of each journey. If a reading in excess of a pre-set limit of 8 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath is returned, the immobiliser will prevent the vehicle from being started. This is way below the current legal limit which is 35 micrograms. In the event of a failure, we receive an immediate text message alerting us of the detected alcohol reading and the corresponding vehicle.
Employees: Bennetts Coaches employ a total of 75 members of staff of which 55 are full-time drivers and 7 part-time drivers, all of whom are Enhanced DBS checked. We also employ a dedicated team of 6 administrative staff. Our smart and friendly drivers are experienced in driving in the UK and abroad. In addition to having Alcolock on our vehicles, random drug and alcohol checks are regularly carried out by the company using Home Office approved equipment.
Health & Safety Policy: A copy of our Health & Safety Policy is available upon request.
Insurances: Roadside assistance is provided by Mercedes in the UK and Europe. We have a network of operators both in the UK and Europe that we can call upon in an emergency. We also have our own dedicated recovery vehicle on site.
Training: Our drivers are trained in on-going CPC modules including Customer Care, Drivers’ Hours Records, Fuel Efficient Driving and Emergency Procedures. Many drivers are also trained in First Aid.
Maintenance: The extensive purpose built workshop is managed by our Workshop Manager Paul George. Maintenance is carried out in house by a team of 3 skilled fitters, all of whom are IRTEC trained as well as an apprentice. Vehicles are safety inspected at least every 6 weeks in accordance with VOSA recommendations.
Operator’s Licence: The Licence holders at Bennetts Coaches are Chris Lucassi, Operations Manager and Tom Weaver, Transport Manager. Chris and Tom hold the OCR Level 3 Certificate of Professional Competence in International Transport.
VOSA Rating: Our VOSA Operator Compliance Risk Score is Green i.e. we are considered a low risk company.
Membership: Bennetts Coaches is a member of BUSK’s Benchmark Scheme (having achieved a six star rating), showing our commitment towards safety. We are also a member of the Confederation of Passenger Transport and Road Haulage Association.
Finance: Profits are re-invested into the business to maintain safety standards.
View Busk Benchmark CertificateView Safety Charter
Expiry Date: 31 March 2025
