Starting out as a coach hire and school bus service provider in 2009, JMB Travel grew to include public bus operations. Today, the Wishaw-based business holds more than 65 commercial route operator licences and manages a fleet of 70 service vehicles of varying sizes.
In 2016, JMB Travel adopted a policy of fitting Continental HA3 Urban rubber exclusively to all full-size service buses to coincide with the delivery of its new vehicles. At the same time, the operator made the decision to install Continental’s tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) ContiPressureCheck to its service bus fleet.
Martin Bell, director of JMB Travel, said: “Our first involvement with Continental was with their tyres. We feel that what they offer is a truly great product. The mileage they return is outstanding – much better than the equivalent competition. In fact, we did our own tyre testing and found that we were getting around 30,000 km more from a Continental tyre.
“It’s not just the tyre itself,” added Bell. “The customer service helps to make it a fully rounded package. It’s clear that the ContiLifeCycle element works really well, which takes the hassle out of handling our used tyres. We have a strong relationship with the team at Continental, and that shows through our satisfaction.”
Bell’s working friendship with the directors of nearby bus operator and Continental customer Whitelaws was instrumental in the deployment of ContiPressureCheck in JMB Travel’s new bus fleet.
“The ContiPressureCheck TPMS came highly recommended by Whitelaws,” Bell said. “They’d given some really valuable feedback based on their time using it, and in practice it was helping them to prevent run flat punctures and maximise their vehicle uptime. With a new fleet of buses on the way, we made the decision to fit them with the cab-based system before they entered service.
“At first, the drivers weren’t used to having the data readily available on a display in the cab,” Martin added. “A small amount of pressure variation is normal, especially when using the bus from cold, which led to a few false alarms at the very start. That said, we quickly started to see the benefit of having it installed.”
“The strengths of the system extend far beyond reducing tyre costs and helping to better plan our maintenance provision,” continued Bell. “Ultimately, we’re responsible for the safety of every passenger that boards our buses. ContiPressureCheck allows us to identify a tyre safety risk at the earliest opportunity and take the necessary steps to stop the danger from escalating. That might be stopping the vehicle at the earliest opportunity to prevent a blowout. Or, it may be reassuring the driver that he has time to drive the bus to a safer place for passengers to disembark. It’s also a great feature to have fitted if you’re ever checked by the DVSA at the roadside, which is always a possibility.
“Overall, it’s a simple but effective system. With both Continental’s tyres and ContiPressureCheck fitted to our buses, we’re confident in putting them out on the road in public service. The tyre is the only contact between the vehicle and the asphalt, so we think it’s an important area for any operator to invest in.”