Shortly before the coronavirus pandemic restrictions brought much of the coach industry to a standstill, DAVID JUKES visited Portsmouth City Coaches to find out what this new operation has been doing since it was founded less than two years ago following the closure of the Emsworth & District business
First things first. Portsmouth City Coaches is based not in the city of Portsmouth but around 10 miles east in Southbourne, West Sussex. It is a new venture, which began trading on 1 August 2018 when Mike Elkin took over the business of what was Emsworth & District.
‘Emsworth & District had been operating for 41 years,’ he explains. ‘Paul Lea, its proprietor, was looking to retire rather than continue the business, so a deal was struck where I took on 16 vehicles, the work and staff.
