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A. Candies Coachworks’ 30th Prevost coach
Sainte Claire, Q.C. — To kick off their 30th anniversary, A. Candies Coachworks of Gainesville, Fla. took delivery of its 30th Prevost motorcoach at the UMA Expo 2018 in San Antonio, Tex. A. Candies Coachworks Founder and President Sander Kaplan credits Prevost Sales Representative Eloy Torres for the success of this memorable event.
“Eloy was kind enough to bring our 30th coach to San Antonio and save us a trip to California,” he says. “He took the time to put our logo on the back and our anniversary announcements on side. We appreciate the attention Prevost has always shown us and why our working relationship has always been “win-win.”
In keeping with A. Candies’ business model, the star of the show was a preowned 2011 H3-45 featuring DEF, three-point seatbelts, WiFi, and Direct TV. The A. Candies Coachworks fleet of preowned Prevost H3-45s range in model years from 1998 to 2013.
“We continue to run every Prevost we have purchased,” says Kaplan. “We keep each coach in exceptional operating condition; to the point our customers have no issue with riding in older coaches, so long as they are clean, safely maintained and fully operational.”
The young entrepreneur found his way into the transportation industry after chasing down an off-the-cuff comment from a client about to be married, who could not find a limousine. He ended up purchasing his first Armbruster limousine for this one occasion. As calls started coming in, Kaplan was able to trade up, and soon his fledgling operation quickly expanded to eight limos.
Nineteen years later, he moved into motorcoaches, narrowly preceding the economic downturn of 2008 that would take out much of the limousine business.
“One of my drivers suggested I consider charter coach service for this area,” says Kaplan. “Frankly, I just didn’t think motorcoaches were as cool as my sleek fleet of limos. Boy, was I wrong.”
As Kaplan searched around for a coach he could afford, his sales rep at the time hoped to get him into a Prevost, assuring him the H3-45 rode better and provided more underneath storage for luggage and band instruments. Once Prevost and Kaplan came to an agreement on price, he signed for his first motorcoach, a 2000 model H3-45 with 300,000 miles.
Working closely with Prevost and his sales rep, he formulated his business model to grow the fleet at a very deliberate pace. Together, Kaplan and Prevost determined A. Candies Coachworks would operate only preowned coaches.
“Through our many years working together, I can never say enough for Prevost understanding and aligning with our unique way of working,” he says. “The help we have received has been instrumental to our growth.”
Visit prevostcar.com for more information.
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L to R: Gold Shield Transportation’s Vice President of Operations T.J. Doyle, Director of Operations Jami Crouch, and Director of Chauffeurs and Logistics David Monsey Lexington, Ky. — Last month, Gold Shield Transportation in Kentucky added two familiar industry faces to its family while also planting its flag in Indiana.
Gold Shield’s Vice President of Operations T.J. Doyle announced that, with the acquisition of Avalon Executive Transportation, its owner David Monsey will be Director of Chauffeurs and Logistics while Jami Crouch will serve as Director of Operations for the newly established Indianapolis branch of the company. Crouch will oversee the new branch; Monsey will hire and train chauffeurs.
Both Crouch and Monsey have worked with Doyle previously and maintained solid professional relationships and friendships. It was when Doyle and his father George, who owns Gold Shield, began discussing onboarding the two that the idea took shape—and took off.
While the Indianapolis branch is new ground for Gold Shield, providing transportation there certainly is not: The company serves numerous clients in the Midwestern metropolis, and will be focusing on corporate work in the region.
And with two established industry locals who bring their own connections and expertise to the augmented operation, Gold Shield plans to bring its high-end service to a broader market in Indiana. The new branch can be contacted via phone at 1.888.546.4930 and its reservations email at gsindy@goldshieldcars.com.
Visit goldshieldcars.com for more information.
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Chicago, Ill. — BusBank, the group transportation booking platform of choice for professional sports teams, music festivals, Fortune 500 companies, and event planners, has acquired Buster, a startup designed to book group transportation online.
BusBank, which allows travelers to book group transportation in three easy steps, has a presence in 135 metro areas, and has done charters in all 50 states and every province in Canada.
“Everyone from the admin who plans company trips to the association organizing a major convention knows the pain of booking group transportation,” said Buster CEO Harald Kruse. “This market is demanding more technology, and we’re bringing it to them.”
Currently, the group transportation industry is a manual, phone-driven, and time-intensive process. BusBank and Buster are looking to create a simple booking experience similar to what travelers use for booking plane tickets, rental cars and other travel products, whether they’re booking a single party van or a fleet of 100 buses.
“[Booking coachwork] is confusing and overwhelming for human resource teams, event planners, and everyday people who need to make a simple booking for bus transportation,” said BusBank General Manager Brandon Dudley. “Our approach at solving this problem brings simplicity, reliability, and industry experience to group travel planning.”
BusBank and Buster say their travel and transportation experience sets them apart. Several BusBank and Buster leaders have experience with Priceline: Kruse was a director of account management at the company, and Jeffery Boyd, chairman of the board at Priceline, will be a future board member of BusBank and Buster. In addition, key members of the leadership team at Lancer Insurance Company, a leader in transportation insurance, are invested in BusBank, including David Delaney, Lancer Financial Group’s CEO and president.
Visit busbank.com for more information.
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