Coach owner's drive wins host of awards
At the turn of the millennium, Chris Evitt did not have enough money to buy a round of drinks. Today, less than a decade later, he is really celebrating after driving his Wolverhampton-based coach company to a string of awards.
The father-of-one from Compton, who started Coach Choice with a £15,000 bank loan nine years ago, has since seen it transformed into a seven-strong fleet covering hundreds of thousands of miles each year and generating an annual £800,000 turnover.
Now the firm, based at Thomas Street near the city centre, has been named Belmont International UK Coach Operator of the Year.
It also won the small fleet coach operator category and one of its 11-strong staff, Winston "Cass" Douglas, collected the trophy for UK national coach driver of the year at the UK Bus and Coach Awards ceremony in London on Friday night.
"I could not have felt more proud," said 46-year-old Mr Evitt, who left his job as a traffic manager for TNT in Birmingham after six years in November 1999.
His company offers specialist day trips and private hire with group travel to destinations all over the UK and Europe, including Spain, Italy and France.
The one-time lorry driver recalled: "On Millennium Eve I could not afford to celebrate because I had just 76p in my pocket but I promised my wife, Tina, that I would become a millionaire one day."
Shortly afterwards his older brother John, who runs Interchoice Holidays in Berry Street, Wolverhampton, pointed out there was a shortage of good coach companies. Mr Evitt explained: "I started up the business using a £15,000 bank loan as a 10 per cent deposit on a 1988 Volvo 49-seater coach and we grew from there.
"I will always be grateful for my brother and his wife Clair for their help in putting me on the first rung of the ladder. Since then it has been a seven-day-a week job but I love it.
"When they called out my name as coach operator of the year I had trouble getting out of my seat because my legs had gone.
"But I have a wonderful staff and this is an award for all of us. The secret is having high standards and not cutting corners because we are transporting the most precious cargo imaginable – human beings."
