13 Feb 2005

£100,000 coach workshop investment paying off for Lucketts Travel

A £100,000 investment in a new coach workshop is paying off for Fareham coach firm Lucketts Travel.

The new facilities have doubled the space available for working on vehicles, enabling them to boost their team of skilled mechanics to five and extend the time they can work on coaches from 6am-10pm.

Lucketts’ rigorous safety standards mean that every one of their 32-strong fleet of luxury coaches undergoes a full service and safety inspection every four weeks.

Operations manager Mark Jordan said: “The legal requirement is for a coach to be inspected every 10,000 km but ours undergo a total inspection more frequently than that.

“Each coach comes in 13 times a year for a full safety inspection from top to bottom inside and out – and that’s right down to counting the plasters in the first aid kits.

“Our new computerised system tells us exactly when each vehicle is due in for its monthly check - then every year they are taken out for a week for refurbishment and MoT.

“The new premises give us much greater flexibility of space because we can now get two vehicles in at a time rather than one. That means the vehicles are more readily available which is particularly important for customers in high season.’’

Ian Luckett, managing director of the family firm, said: “The new facilities are part of our ongoing investment and aim of staying at the forefront of the industry as we expand across the region.’’