24/06/2026
HEATWAVE & OUR VEHICLES:
Good evening,
With regard to the heatwave we are enjoying/ suffering I wanted to clarify the onboard air conditioning.
Air conditioning systems onboard coaches are belt driven from the engine, the air conditioning plants are usually roof mounted or mounted above/ adjacent to the engines. Both of which in this extreme heat are exceptionally hot before the vehicle sets off.
The interior temperatures when the vehicles are not being driven, can reach nearly 50 degrees due to the number of windows fitted to the vehicles and lack of natural ventilation.
The temperature by the time your child boards, is nowhere near the starting temperature. However, further difficulties are caused when the doors are being constantly open/ closed (allowing warm air in) the number of passengers onboard, the air conditioning compressors running at low speed ( they are much more efficient on a long motorway journey), and finally the evening temperature remaining so high giving us a higher starting temperature.
I wanted to assure you that all but 3 vehicles have working air conditioning. Two are buses that do not have air conditioning fitted, they do have opening windows however and one vehicle that has a failed compressor- this vehicle is grounded until a new compressor has arrived and been fitted by our engineers.
Please ensure that your child is wearing appropriate clothing, we are aware that CHS have relaxed their uniform policy. Please ensure also that your child has access to cold water to remain hydrated in the event of a vehicle breakdown.
This extremely hot weather does affect the compressed air systems on HGV's, buses and coaches alike and as such, our in-house heavy recovery vehicles and service vans have been working beyond capacity attending to our own vehicles and those of other operators in the HGV and PCV industry.
I am satisfied our vehicles will be absolutely fine given the amount of pre-emptive measures we take with our vehicles but please do understand that despite the huge amount of money we spend maintaining our vehicles, mechanical and electrical failures are possible and are commensurate with the extreme heat.
If we do experience a breakdown, your child will be removed from the vehicle to a safe space whilst waiting for a replacement vehicle and or engineering staff arrival.
Passenger safety is our priority, thank you for your understanding and patience.
Kind regards,
Sam
