10 November 2006

The Kings Ferry Invests £2 Million In New Coaches

The Kings Ferry Travel Group is investing £2 million pounds in ten new coaches as part of its ongoing commitment to ensure all passengers benefit from the latest developments in comfort, safety and environmental technology.

The first of the new coaches, which have been built in Spain, was unveiled at the European coach and bus trade industry show, Euro Bus Expo 2006, at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, on Tuesday (November 7).

Steve O’Neill, managing director of The Kings Ferry, personally travelled to Spain to oversee the detailing of the new 53 and 49-seater coaches, which have been built to company’s specifications by Noge on chassis supplied by MAN.

The new coaches bring the average age of vehicles in The Kings Ferry Travel Group fleet to just two and a half years.

The MAN Noge coaches are being introduced across all The Kings Ferry services including daily commuter runs to London, corporate and private hire bookings throughout the UK and coach holidays in mainland Europe.

The first of the new coaches was delivered to The Kings Ferry Travel Centre, at Eastcourt Lane, Gillingham, on Friday to be prepared for exhibition at the European trade show.

Mr O’Neill said: “We are a leading UK coach operator with more than 38 years experience in the business, Our strong reputation is built on ensuring our customers enjoy top quality service in modern, well-equipped vehicles.

“This is our biggest single order since 1984 although we regularly spend £1.5 million per year in fleet replacements.

“All the new coaches are being fitted with additional benefits to our passengers including access to such comforts as audio visual systems, hot and cold refreshments, seat back tables, foot rests and magazine nets.

“Meanwhile, our drivers will enjoy the advantage of high-powered, efficient engines with cruise control.

“And we are installing our pioneering Masternaut satellite tracking system in every new vehicle. The system provides drivers with satellite navigation and enables The Kings Ferry operations team to track the movements and activities of every coach in real time around the clock.”

The innovative system helps drivers save time and fuel by avoiding traffic problems and gives group travel organisers peace of mind with up-to-date information about where their coach is and when it is expected to arrive at any specific destination.

Commuters taking advantage of daily services running to and from London from Medway, Sittingbourne and Sheppey can check the progress of their coach through The Kings Ferry website and receive email alerts about anticipated delays. They can also have their latest travel information delivered straight to their mobile phone or HTML/WAP browser enabled mobile phone or PDA.