Passengers in a sporting city
Leicester was named the UK's Greatest Sporting City in 2016, and on a busy weekend it shows. Supporters' coaches head for the city's football stadium, Welford Road and Grace Road, minibuses bring teams and families to fixtures, and groups travel in for the National Space Centre, the Curve Theatre and the city's two universities. Add the buses running from St Margarets and Haymarket and the park and ride services from Meynells Gorse, Birstall and Enderby, and a great deal of passenger transport depends on vehicles staying healthy.
When a coach or minibus fails, the people on board matter as much as the vehicle. That shapes how we handle it.
A breakdown with passengers aboard
Ring 01332 916028 and tell us at once how many passengers there are, where the vehicle has stopped and what it is doing. If it is on the M1 or the M69, the driver's first task is to get everyone out on the side away from traffic and behind the barrier, unless staying aboard is safer. In the city, the priority is getting passengers off the carriageway and somewhere they can wait. Let your office know as well, so onward travel can be organised if the repair runs longer than the timetable allows.
We repair at the roadside wherever it is safe and possible, and recover the vehicle when it isn't, with equipment suited to a full-size coach as well as a minibus.
Planned work at Melbourne
Coaches, double-deckers and minibuses go up on the same lifts as the HGVs in our workshop at Melbourne, a short run from junction 23a of the M1. We service them to the manufacturer's schedule and look after the systems passengers rely on without noticing: brakes and air, steering and suspension, lighting, heating and demisting, cooling and the drivetrain. Safety inspections and annual test preparation are done to the same standard as for goods vehicles, with defects fixed and recorded before sign-off.
Around the fixture list
Passenger work in Leicester has its peaks: the football and rugby seasons, the cricket summer, university term dates and school trips. The worst time to lose a coach is the week it is booked solid. Tell us when your quieter spells fall and we will plan services and inspections into them, so every vehicle is ready when the bookings come in. The workshop takes booked work Monday to Friday, 07:30 to 17:00.
Warm, clear and visible
On a cold Leicester morning, a heater or demister that isn't working is more than a comfort issue: a windscreen that won't clear is a hazard for the driver and everyone on board. Having heating, ventilation, lighting and batteries checked before winter avoids a lot of early-morning failures.
