Swift Tours is a business owned and ran by me (Paul) and my father (also Paul).

Dad has been driving coaches in tourism for 10 years. One of our primary goals is to make the work livable for our employees.

Most tour operators run a 12 hour long day. Whether tourists like these long days is debatable (but we think you would prefer a more modest day). The industry however is generally indifferent to what this implies for drivers. My dad for example had a 2 hour commute over and back from Dublin, making his work day 16 hours long, for just 150 euro per day.

Drivers are generally expected by employers to ignore their tachograph, and bear in mind that it is the driver who bears the cost of the fine in so doing. To my knowledge, the industry doesn’t reimburse drivers for tachograph fines.

Did I mention overbooking? A regularity with the industry, my dad (while working in the industry, not with us) has had to turn away customers many times for lack of space on the bus, despite their booking.

We aim to compete against industry leaders without making life for our employees difficult, and without engaging in dirty tactics common in any tourist industry.