SME News- UK Transport Awards 2024 / 16 Best Sport & Entertainment Sleeper Bus Hire Company 2024 Conveniently located in Oxford, East London, and at Heathrow Airport, Vans For Bands is a leading provider of specialist passenger transport solutions for clients in live music, film, TV, and sports. Over the years, the company has gained a reputation as one of the best transport companies serving the UK’s thriving music industry. Here, we explore Vans For Bands’ work, and Director Tarrant Anderson tells us more about the company’s team. In 2006, Vans For Bands was established by a group of live music touring professionals, who aimed to use their extensive firsthand knowledge and experience to cater to the transport needs of the live music touring industry. Since then, the company has been working to build a distinctive brand whilst delivering uncompromised standards of service, comfort, reliability, and safety. Tarrant explains, “We were unique in understanding exactly what the issues were and what was needed because we had done it ourselves – that gave us a different perspective to the other transport companies catering to the music industry at the time and still does to a great extent.” This ultimately enabled Vans For Bands to grow, soon becoming the largest passenger transport supplier for the UK’s live music industry. Equipped with a fleet of approximately 80 splitter vans, sleeper buses, and luxury nightliners, the company currently provides its services to an average of 100 tours per month, transporting up to 10,000 artists and crew members every year. However, its work does not stop there; it now also serves the film, TV, sports, and performing arts sectors. With the customer at the heart of everything it does, Vans For Bands is 100% service driven, going above and beyond to exceed expectations in every way. At its depot in Oxford, the company boasts its own purpose-built maintenance workshops, where all its vehicles undergo regimented mechanical and safety checks before hire. To ensure that all vehicles are in the best possible condition, no expenses are spared, and standards are always upheld. As a result, for those who need a reliable transport solution, Vans For Bands is the company to call. Inevitably, as Vans For Bands has grown, so has its workforce. The company’s specialist team boasts decades of collective experience working at all levels of the transport and live music industries, providing them with firsthand knowledge of the challenges commonly faced by clients. This means that they are well positioned to provide assistance and advice. When it comes to recruitment, Vans For Bands seeks to hire those who not only demonstrate the appropriate knowledge and experience to take on the role but also whose personality will fit in with the existing team. “Ultimately, we have found through experience that happy teams get things done much quicker and better than unhappy teams,” Tarrant explains. “They communicate better, they work better both together and as individuals, and they are better at pushing the company forward.” Having operated at the heart of the UK’s live music scene and the wider community since 2006, Vans For Bands has worked with many charities and set up initiatives to make a positive impact on the world. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the company supported the music community by converting one of its workshops into a low-cost live streaming solution for bands, enabling them to continue connecting with and building their fanbases. Furthermore, to benefit the wider community, Vans For Bands donated the use of its sleeper buses to NHS hospitals for doctors and nurses to use as rest areas, whilst some of its other vehicles were used as mobile testing and vaccination centres. “More recently, we donated use of some of our vans to carry aid to Ukraine,” adds Tarrant. “We look forward to being at the heart of our community for decades to come.” For its incredible work, we are pleased to award Vans For Bands the title of Best Sport & Entertainment Sleeper Bus Hire Company in the UK Transport Awards 2024. Having recently launched a new low-cost splitter van hire brand in response to the rising costs of live music touring, the company looks forward to continuing to innovate in order to address the challenges that the entertainment industry continues to face. Contact: Tarrant Anderson Company: Vans For Bands Web Address: www.vansforbands.co.uk
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