Setting the standards for luxury coach travel
03/07/2023
Tony Doyle Coaches Ltd. is an industry-leading second-generation family business that has over the past four decades firmly established itself as one of Ireland’s premier executive coach hire operators. We visited the company’s HQ near Greystones, County Wicklow, and touched base with director Tony Doyle Jnr. to find out more about this remarkable success story.
Operating a truly stunning fleet of modern coaches, with each vehicle manned by an experienced, courteous and professional driver, Tony Doyle Coaches is synonymous with the consistent delivery of outstanding executive coach hire services throughout Ireland and beyond. For 41 years and counting, this standard-setting operator has been offering executive, corporate and VIP coach charters to a long list of satisfied customers.
Covering everything from sporting, leisure and corporate events to national and international coach tours, airport transfers and school outings from their well-appointed depot, just off the N11, at Kilpedder, near Greystones in County Wicklow, Tony Doyle Coaches always put the customer first and by invariably providing passenger-friendly services the award-winning business has earned a place at the forefront of the coach hire sector here in Ireland.
Tony and Margaret Doyle established this renowned family business in 1982 and Tony Doyle Coaches – transport provider to the Irish Rugby Football Union since 2019 - is today fronted by the founder’s sons – brothers Tony and Paul Doyle. The business model has been streamlined and fine-tuned in recent years, resulting in a lean, efficient and modern company that excels in offering its customers professional, dependable and comfortable coach hire solutions.
Comfort is paramount in executive coach travel and decades of experience afford the team at Tony Doyle Coaches the expertise to spoil their passengers and make sure that every journey is a luxurious one through the provision of ultra-modern vehicles operated efficiently by the best drivers in the business – including Peter Byrne, who had the distinction of being named Irish Coach Driver of the Year in November.
Referencing the essential prerequisite of always providing unbeatable levels of customer service throughout the duration of every journey – and before and afterwards – Tony notes: “That’s what we always strive to deliver and as a result we have built up a very loyal customer base. From first contact with our dedicated office staff, Janet, Martha and Sabrina, right through to feedback after the hire, we aim to listen to and exceed clients expectations.
“We also benefit from a very high degree of loyalty from our team of drivers and many of them have been with us for decades. Our drivers Martin, Frank and Kieran have a total combined century of driving our coaches between them.”
The fact that drivers want to stay must be extremely gratifying. In an industry where there tends to be a high turnover of staff, Tony Doyle Coaches is bucking a worrying trend and this must be a source of personal pride to the directors? “Absolutely. Things have changed post-Covid and we realise that people in general do want to spend more time at home now, so we make sure there are always options there for the drivers to take some time off if they need it, and that keeps everybody happy.”
A majestic fleet of 28 state-of-the-art coaches, ranging from 16 seaters to 87 seaters, is at the heart of the business. To ensure that the fleet is always positioned at the cutting edge of technology, efficiency and passenger- and driver-comfort, Tony and Paul oversee a busy replenishment programme that typically sees three new buses purchased each calendar year.
“We built the fleet up to 42 coaches at our peak, which was in 2011, but have since been scaling it down into a more condensed and high-performing fleet,” Tony continues. “We’re focusing on securing the best jobs we can get and doing the jobs we really want to do.”
A quality over quantity approach certainly makes sense for an operator obsessed with performance, consistently raising the bar and achieving maximum customer satisfaction and Tony Doyle Coaches’ status as transport provider to the IRFU reflects this perfectly!
The latest addition to the fleet is an eye-catching Mercedes-Benz E15 RHD Tourismo – complete with burnt-orange-and-black interior and seat-mounted USB ports – purchased from M50 Truck & Van Centre. “Last year, we took ownership of the Tourismo, a Turas 600 29-seater from Brian Noone and a 16-seater Mercedes Sprinter for VIP work from Donegal Commercial Vehicles,” says Tony. “For this year, we’ve ordered two more Tourismos and a Noone Turas 900 with DAF engine.”
Tony Doyle Coaches have won a variety of prestigious industry awards down through the years and it was a landmark personal accomplishment for driver Peter Byrne to be named as Coach Driver of the Year. “We were all delighted for Peter and I must say it’s well deserved,” comments Tony. “He’s with us over twelve years now and is a great ambassador for our company.
“Peter has a great attitude towards driving, is very conscientious about what he is offering the customer and he goes out of his way to make sure he is providing a great service. He’s an important part of our team and this award is great recognition of his efforts. We always get good feedback for all of our drivers. We’re very lucky in that we have been able to retain a team of really professional drivers at a time when the industry is under pressure.
“We also have our own in-house mechanic, Ayman, who is from Jordan. He’s a great problem solver and has a network of contacts in the industry around the world.”
Last year, Tony Doyle Coaches switched to Samsara Fleet Management equipment and Tony has been very impressed by the results thus far: “The system comes with driver cam and road cams and is an all-in-one system with vehicle data, tachograph, etc. It’s nice to be able to get camera footage quickly when an issue arises, I think the system is very worthwhile.”
Over four decades on from its genesis, the company is currently in as strong a position as ever it’s been. Is Tony Doyle Coaches currently close to its optimum size? “I think going forward into the foreseeable future we will probably stay at this size or maybe even decrease by one or two vehicles.
“At the end of the day, you are only as good as your coaches and your drivers,” Tony concludes.
“You have to have good customer focused staff and that can make a massive difference in any line of work. We’re lucky in that regard. We have excellent staff, great drivers and they all participate in training courses to increase their skills and improve their style. You have to be always looking at ways to improve.”
Through consistent improvement and progression over the past 41 years, Tony Doyle Coaches has moved into pole position in Ireland’s unforgiving executive coach hire sector.
Tony Doyle Coaches Ltd.,
Bromley,
Kilpedder,
Greystones,
County Wicklow.
Tel: 01 2018600
Email: [email protected]
Web: tonydoyle.com
First published in Irish Trucker magazine Vol 26 No 3, May/June 2023
