A Hugglescote company is driving its future growth with a sizeable £1.4million investment in its business.

That is despite operating in one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic – passenger transport.

Roberts Travel Group is determined to base its corporate journey on the principles of eco-friendliness and innovation.

In 2021, the company welcomed 11 zero-emission park and ride buses to its fleet, winning the contract to provide Leicester's Park and Ride service, on behalf of Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council.

Its new investment is further expanding its fleet with two brand-new 70-seater school coaches, plus two new 16-seater minibuses, are now available to private hire and holiday customers.

Additionally, six Mercedes Tourismo coaches have been acquired from other coach companies.

The Roberts Travel fleet now comprises 85 vehicles – executive coaches, zero-emission park and ride buses, mini coaches and 44 school buses.

The company employs 141 people and is investing in its development, by delivering driver training in-house for the first time - and by sponsoring college and other educational courses.

Manager-development programmes are being planned, to identify the future leaders for the company.

And new developments, such as a Roberts Drivers App, demonstrate the spirit of innovation running through the organisation.

Positivity was the watchword during the pandemic and this enabled Roberts to enjoy its best-ever year for coach tours in 2020, despite not being allowed to operate tours until June 21.

In 2022, it is scheduled to run 220 holidays and 200 day trips within the UK, helping its customers to enjoy the best of British holiday, leisure and entertainment opportunities.

Roberts Travel's managing director, Jonathan Hunt, said: "We have stayed positive and continued to explore exciting opportunities.

"We are the transport partner for Leicestershire's flagship park and ride service, having won the county's first and largest electric vehicle contract and invested in state-of-the-art zero-emission vehicles.

"We are focused on delivering the future of transport here and now and transforming the face of coach holidays and day trips.

"We wish to highlight that coach travel should be the mode of choice for all generations, given that even a standard coach generates fewer emissions than any other form of transport, including train.

"We are planning to upgrade more of our fleet to electric, in the not too distant future, and determined to become ambassadors for green travel within our county.

"In this way, we shall continue to provide vibrant job opportunities for local people and stay relevant, in a world in which Clean Air cities are growing in number and in which the battle against climate change is constant.

"We operate in a sector that is largely just beginning to bounce back, but are ahead of the curve and spearheading innovation within it."

More information about Roberts Travel can be found HERE.