At the start of the school term, every bus in East Yorkshire Motor Services’ fleet is needed on the road for the school runs. Chief engineer Derek Bradley is off on his annual holiday to Italy while the rest of the teamwork around the clock to get things ready. As soon as Derek boards his coach, things start to go wrong. Two buses fail to start, one has a broken window and the engineers suddenly have their work cut out.
The Scarborough team also have every available bus out on the road for the start of school term. With so many vehicles deployed, it is not long before the Fast Action Response Team of engineers – for which the drivers have come up with an affectionate and amusing acronym – are called out to deal with a malfunctioning bus.
Back in Hull, the situation goes from bad to worse with another broken-down bus to contend with. Roadworks also cause unexpected delays. The controllers are desperate for more buses for the all-important afternoon school pick-ups and the situation reaches boiling point. As passengers begin to complain, boss Peter Shipp calls a crisis meeting with his senior. The team are short on solutions and with chief engineer Derek still on holiday, all eyes are on Peter. Buying new buses could save the day, but with an average of £3 million annually already spent on the fleet, finding the cash for more vehicles is a big ask.
Despite the everyday pressures of keeping services running to time, Scarborough’s cheerful bus drivers always find time for charity. James and Steve are going head-to-head in a sponsored eating challenge to raise cash for a local hospice. The two men face the infamous “slider geddon” challenge – a mammoth twelve burgers and a pound of fries each washed down with a milkshake in just forty minutes. Have the intrepid drivers bitten off more than they can chew?
