Frequently Asked Questions
I’m concerned our campaign will become diluted during a transitional phase, when many of us are running out of time. How do you propose lobbying for us?
As part of our strategy of driving business on the road and supporting commercial vehicles, our lobbying teams are already on the ground and developing coach specific policy encompassing all commercial road users.
We are bus and coach operators, would you just be representing the coach sector only?
No, all commercial road users that drive business on our roads.
How do you plan to get the RHA coaching sector seen and recognised as an independent trade body within the Government for Lobbing and Policy making purposes for the future and what is the time line for this?
When our lobbing teams are engaged on specific coach issues, we will use the benefits of the RHA Coach specialist group to add support to drive policy.
How will you get the coaching voice heard in government via RHA over other trade bodies?
The RHA seeks not to talk over additional support but in fact, to use its voice to deliver for all members including coach operators.
How do you view the SME market of coach operators who are just as important?
79.9% of existing members operate less than 15 vehicles, so we truly represent the SME sector already.
Will there be an opportunity to develop a "coach marque" equivalent accreditation?
Yes.
When will you look to introduce regional managers and more localized events/meetings?
That structure of regionality already exists with national teams and events which will now encompass coaches as commercial road users.
How will you lobby government for us, and what can you do about PSVAR?
As one of the key issues for coach operators this will form a key part of our policy work.
What specific coach policy expertise do you currently have in place for new members wishing to join RHA?
The RHA has the current knowledge which will develop our policy strategy.
Will you be providing information on taking coaches into Europe?
Yes.
What is the cost going to be?
We have developed an introductory offer for year one to reflect the challenges the sector faces. The annual cost for a single vehicle operator is £150; for a 2-5 vehicle operator, £350; for a 6-10 vehicle operator, £550 and for operators of more that 11 vehicles, £800.
We calculate our fees based on the number of vehicles you currently have in operation. All membership fees can be split by monthly direct debit.
We want a trade organisation that will question and rebuff DfT legislation not just roll over and "advise" members how to conform, which type of stance do you intend to take? If it‘s the first option, do you have any examples of this within say the haulage sector that you’ve fought and won?
The RHA has stakeholder engagement at all levels of government to influence decision making, for example see Clean Air Zones withdrawal in five major cities and three currently engaged with potential changes. Please see our original webinar for more details.
Do you or can you audit members, to provide a benchmark report for quality and safety that can then be used to provide to operator’s perspective clients?
Yes.
We are a coach operator, about to start a lorry arm of the business.
We have memberships to cover both trucks and coaches but we recognise the challenges in the coach sector with will be reflected in our first year offer.
Will your memberships be based on Operator standards and abilities? For example, we cannot join the CPT as our family-owned small business can’t afford to have a fleet under 5 years old, so will you support those of us that have older fleets, lesser standards than the big firms?
Yes.
As a passenger transport company how would the RHA logo on our letterheads etc appear to show support to our customers as they will simply ask "Why the Road haulage Company" when we are people not haulage, would you change this to reflect our industry ?
Yes, The RHA has dropped the use of the Name The Road Haulage Association and transitioned to being known as the RHA.
You made reference to RHS Insurance in your presentation which I assume will be available to Coach Operator Members however what is the situation with regards to Coach operators who may join RHA Coach who run their own holiday programme who will have very specific and specialist insurance requirements especially with regards to compliance with the Package Travel & Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018?
We are actively exploring with service providers to be able to provide these services.
How many members and therefore much much revenue are you expecting to generate from the coach sector?
We have no expectation about member or revenue numbers, our focus is delivering support to this sector who drive business on our roads
In terms of membership pricing, will this be based on the number of vehicles and are there variations in vehicle size, e.g. minibus, large coach?
Year one is a bundled package to assist operators with year two onwards being a sliding scale per vehicle regardless of size.
Would you be willing to work with current operators trying for support and use your skills to open doors for the coach industry campaigns for sector support now?
Yes.
What specific experience of the coach sector is there within the RHA team now ? Secondly what level of coach experience in your team do you forsee being required?
We estimate that we are about 80% there in terms of knowledge now with a plan to have additional resource with four weeks to fill any void.
Will the handbook reflect the vagaries of coach operation? When will this happen?
Yes, Quarter two of 2021
One problem with the CPT is that we feel it‘s very London centric, what’s the powerbase for the RHA? And how will it deal with specific areas of the country?
We are represented in all the devolved nations and have on the ground representation at local level across all regions, so whilst head officed in Peterborough we are truly nationwide.
If our industry is still being severely affected by Covid-19 in April/May, what assurances can the RHA give operators that they will achieve better financial support that the current main trade body has failed to achieve?
We can’t offer and guarantee but assure you we will lobby and campaign with the same intensity that we do on all issues.
How many Coach Operators are you hoping with join?
There is no expectation but the investment we make is scalable to support
Many would argue that freezing fuel duty has hurt the coach industry, making it cheaper for private cars rather than getting on coaches. How would RHA reconcile that?
With the ever increasing focus on the green agenda we recognise that a study by the Department of Transport, in partnership with the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory found that coach travel has the least harmful environment impact of every mode of transport, excluding active travel. For example, a single journey from London to Edinburgh in a standard coach results in an average 9.2kg of CO2 emissions per passenger. In contrast, the very same journey would result in the following emissions per passenger:
• Plane – 96.4kg
• Car – 71kg
• Train – 11.9kg
What about media support for when an operator suffers an incident (fatal crash) for example?
We offer a 24-7-365 media service which means we’re very well set up to respond to incidents and issues quickly and decisively. When it comes down to incidents such as collisions our members are our priority and we will always offer media support and advice. Situations always dictate how we respond but our policy is not to comment on specifics whilst they’re subject to investigation. Our priority first and foremost is to support our members.
Following on from a previous webinar, the membership fee is rated in the same manner as per your HGV rates. However, PSV‘s work very differently.. We don’t have one license one vehicle.. As such, we have six vehicles in different seating configs, but only three licenses. Would it not be better therefore for PSV membership to be based on license’s rather than vehicles? I certainly wouldn’t look favourably to paying membership for six when I can only operate three....
Where we talk about vehicles specified and operated in the HVG sector, for coaches this would be discs held.
How do you access the four devolved nations?
Our work includes representation within each of the devolved nations. Each has a dedicated senior member of the RHA team which then feeds into a central policy team to ensure the associations overarching policy agenda reflects the needs of each devolved nation.
What does DVS mean and what have you done?
The Direct Vision Standard measures how much an HGV driver can see directly through their cab windows. This indicates the level of risk to vulnerable road users, such as people walking and cycling, near the vehicle. Coaches are exempt from this as the level of vision is high. Vehicles are rated using a star rating system dependent on the level of visibility from the cab. A zero rated vehicle must have a series of safe systems fitted to have permission to drive in Greater London. There is a £550 fine for non compliance with the required standards. Transport for London implemented this in October 2020. Through RHA and industry lobbying, the enforcement of this was delayed during the pandemic to March 2021. We have lobbied the Mayor and TfL for further delays due to financial and supply difficulties due to the pandemic and have been successful in getting a grace period of 90 days and improvements to the registration system itself.
Are there opportunities for members to speak to the media through the RHA?
Yes there are great opportunies for members to speak to the media through us. We speak to trades, locals, regionals, nationals, broadcasters and everything in between. Journalists are always hungry for a story and love nothing more than hearing from people ‘doing the job’ to give life to a story. We’ll be on the lookout for operators coming into membership to be our coach industry voices for when we speak to the media. Contact our press officer, Paul Mummery on p.mummery@rha.uk.net
I’m a small operator in the Midlands, how do I get my views and opinions heard?
Small operators, (SME’s), are the small majority as far as the industry is concerned and this is also true of our membership. All members have direct access to the RHA team who will ensure your views contribute to the associations policy making. Depending on how involved you want to be you can also join regional councils, sub regional groups and be included in roundtable discussions with other operators and policy makers.
How does the RHA know whats going on in our sector aside from talking to coach operators? Do you for example have to rely on government or local authorities telling you?
In addition to unrivalled stakeholder relationships across Government, agencies, authorities and any organisation or individual that can influence policy (good or bad) within the sector, the association uses highly sophisticated technology which ensures no mention of the sectors we represent is ever missed.
As someone interested in working in the coach sector in the future, the round table events sound very interesting. Will it be possible for those with an interest in the industry and for uni students to join these sessions?
We see no reason why interested academics couldn’t be considered for inclusion, perhaps a look at our Proffesional Membership might also be attractive.
Coaches are viewed as Leisure Businesses and because coach travel is viewed as essential travel, we change VAT at a rate of 0%. A concern expressed by many coach operators is that if coach is to be viewed as leisure travel, there is the argument that coach travel could lose this advantageous VAT rate. What is your view on this?
Travel is zero rated and to single out tours, excursions etc for special treatment on account of them being readily identifiable as leisure, would result in a wholly inequitable situation. Travel by rail or scheduled bus and coach services would have a competitive advantage on account of their leisure travellers being indistinguishable from those travelling for work or other zero rated purposes, so they would inevitably remain zero rated. It would be perverse to create this inequality and place a handicap on such a green mode of travel, but nonetheless this is something we are alert to
Do we have a price for year two?
Yes, this will mirror the existing rate card for RHA members, details can be found on the main RHA website.
Good morning, my name is James Atkins, Sales manager for Orion Safety Belts. Can I ask what are the current rulings for seat belts in buses and coaches? I understand that the vast majority of coaches are fitted with belts and passengers are encouraged to use but I notice this is not the case with city multi-stop buses. Is the use mandatory in both, what is the actual ruling and are there any changes afoot? I understand this is unrelated to covid-19, low emission zones and RHA membership as per the seminar but would be grateful if this could be answered afterwards Kind Regards James Atkins
Seat belts must be fitted to all forward and rearward facing seats on coaches and non-urban buses first used after 1st October 2001. There’s no specific requirement for them to be fitted on urban buses.
Have membership levels and pricing been created for industry partners?
Yes, via our existing Associate membership offering.
Hi Andy, Congrats on your new post! What about crisis support? ie: Fatal RTA regarding taking media calls etc..
Yes, the help desk and 24/ 7 crisis control would be able to assist with the help of other members.
If we have an industry problem can we call on the haulage boys to support us and vice versa?
Absolutely, where there is common ground and it benefits RHA members, and usually the wider industry as a result, we would engage with other trade associations to work for the mutual benefit of all.
