So I was intrigued and invited our June guest, the owner, Antonia, to join me for a chat. It was a real eye opener into how a successful school transport company was created by such an independent woman.
Recollecting right back to when Antonia was young, her family had travelled to America, she studied at a college in the UK and then lived in Saudi Arabia for a while before returning back to the UK.
Starting out, Antonia transported her friend’s children every morning in a Toyota Previa to the same school her son was enrolled in, it was here the idea originally came about. Antonia had always had a passion for driving and so putting two and two together, she decided to act on her instinct and start a business. By attending an auction, she bought her first minibus with the help of her father.
Living in Notting hill at the time, Antonia met a helpful gentleman through the council and asked about future jobs which he guided her onto the right track for school transport. Processing her application, she was presented with a transport manager license and now also holds a D1 and D license. They were shocked to see she was a one-man band and working all roles. The route was given straight away for her to begin the work.
The school runs started taking place in 1997 beginning with one child in Hanwell. She explained ‘in this industry you have to build trust because you’re carrying their loved ones’. It wasn’t profitable at first but gradually she built up her business plan and ended up carrying 7 children from the same school. Now she provides transport for two main private schools in London. The fleet is made up of 3 EVM Elegance vehicles which she operates and drives herself along with two other women.
She explained ‘the kids call the bus a museum’ because she’s very particular keeping the buses clean inside and out. Every Wednesday her team will valet the vehicles from top to bottom to ensure they are in excellent condition and take pride in doing so. This has always been an important routine for ABC Happy Bus.
Her father had been a great help in the making of the business right from the start and will always be a true inspiration, who worked until the age of 79 years old. She admired him for being his own boss and giving his all, just like Antonia today. She learned ‘if he can do it, I can do it’ and over the years to ‘never leave something for tomorrow, for what you can do today’. After all tomorrow might not come and your chance could be lost. She puts her heart and soul into her work and loves working for herself by being in charge and making decisions.
Prior to being introduced to EVM the company owned 2 minibuses. She discovered EVM on the back of another bus in London and it had caught her eye. ‘The overall conversion is clean, nice looking and good’. One distinct feature that enabled the fleet to change because of the nature of her work, was the passenger step. She explains minibuses with the van step can be very daunting for children who have development difficulties because it’s very high, so the step is perfect for them to gain access without any troubles. As well as ‘to calm the children down, the blue interior lights come in handy to distract them and the reversing camera has become a helping hand’ when manoeuvring. Trips provided for the elderly have also played a massive part to help them gain simple and straight forward access which is a trouble-free experience.
With term times very busy, Antonia and her staff try to get away every August for a month. They all love travelling so it suits them well and allows them to reset and charge for the months ahead. All year round but mainly September is the busiest, with schools reopening and new children joining the curriculum. At weekends sport events take place so the team are always at hand when required. Every two years ABC Happy Bus take part at the Farnborough air show, but last year it did not take place for obvious reasons.
Waking up every morning at 5am is not out of the ordinary for Antonia. Since having children she has always been an early bird and starts the day with a cup of tea and listening to LBC. Leaving early each day the first pick up starts at 6:45. This is later mirrored in the afternoon around 3pm. The relationship between both private schools works perfectly and the times slot in like clockwork. The love for her job keeps her hungry to find more projects to take on board. Some of the work gets sub contracted out to help others out and the social aspect is rewarding along with the school runs.
If there is one thing she could change, it would be to start younger and that way things could have progressed a little faster to retire but nonetheless doesn’t regret anything at all.
We are thrilled to see what’s the next chapter for ABC Happy Bus and it has been a pleasure sitting down together.
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