A WEYMOUTH coach company has celebrated 90 years in business across four generations of the same family.

Bluebird Coaches said its success is due to its ‘family-feel’ and fantastic staff and drivers.

The coach company, run by the Hoare family from Weymouth, threw a party to celebrate their land-mark birthday at Weymouth Pavilion and invited staff, drivers and all their customers from the previous three years to be part of the day.

More than 800 people, including Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Kate Wheller, joined in the celebrations which saw the car park filled withal sorts of different coaches, from the new deluxe fleet to the old Bedford OB coaches.

The company has a booking office on the Esplanade and their coach base in Chickerell and run trips to different locations each year.

From taking in a stage show in London to exploring Germany, taking a trip through the Swiss Alps or discovering the hidden gems of northern Spain, the company does trips ranging from just a short break to longer holidays.

They pick up from around Dorset including Bournemouth, the Purbecks and West Dorset.

Four generations of the Hoare family have now been involved in the running of the company, which started in 1924, when Fredrick Cecil Hoare started a coach business on Portland using a small Fiat vehicle.

The business came though the Second World War by conveying workmen to their vital work.

In 1946 the company started offering day tours and excursions and Frederick’s son Trevor and his wife Margaret were, by now, actively involved in the business and it continued to thrive and started to run the first UK and European holidays.

Trevor and Margaret’s sons, Martyn and Stephen, joined the family business after leaving college and doing a four-year mechanical apprenticeship in Bere Regis.

Sadly Trevor passed away last year, but son Martyn said he was ‘very proud’ to see Martyn’s daughter Gemma join the company, continuing the Bluebird name into the future.

Martyn said the company prided itself on the good coaches and friendly staff. He said: “The office staff and drivers are a big part of our business. We pride ourselves on having reliable and friendly drivers. We’d like to thank our loyal local customers for their support.”

So what does the future hold for Bluebird? Martyn said he and Stephen would like to see Gemma take on a bigger role in the company and help grow its success into the future.

He said: “We are not looking to go massive, we feel with a small fleet we can give a personal touch.”

Martyn said the staff and drivers were part of the Hoare family and treated as friends. He said the best part of the job was getting great feedback from the customers.

He added they got a sense of ‘pride and satisfaction’ when they got nice comments from the customers.

He said: “Stephen and myself and I’m sure, the whole Hoare family would like to thank everyone locally for their continuing support. For supporting us over the last 90 years and for the future.”

For more information call Bluebird Coaches on 01305 782353.