Bugler Coaches: seventy-five years on the road. A brand that finally keeps up.
Brand evolution, photography, drone video, a new WordPress website with a custom WooCommerce coach booking system, and a rebuilt backend for managing quotes and staff availability — for a family-run coach company that's been operating since 1947.
A 75-year-old company
running a website from a different era.
Bugler Coaches has been a fixture of the Bristol and Bath transport landscape since Herbert George Bugler bought his first vehicle in 1947. What started as a carrier and home removals firm became a coach hire business in 1956, and over the following decades the family built it into one of the West Country's largest coach operators — running school transport, private hire, accessible services, award-winning day trips and coach holidays from a purpose-built depot near Bristol.
The fleet is modern. Euro 6 vehicles across the range — 55-seat coaches, midi coaches, minibuses down to 8 seats — with a fully DDA-compliant wheelchair accessible fleet that's won multiple awards. The business has 55 regular pick-up points across Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire, and tracks every vehicle 24/7. The operation is professional and well-run.
The problem was that the website didn't reflect any of this. The previous site was built on outdated technology, didn't display properly on mobile devices, and had no proper online booking system — customers had to phone or email for everything. The backend systems used to manage quotes, driver availability and job scheduling were equally dated. A business with 75 years of heritage and a modern fleet was being let down by a digital presence that belonged to a previous decade.
Bugler Coaches needed a brand evolution that respected the company's heritage while presenting a more contemporary face, a website with a proper booking system so customers could find, choose and pay for day trips and holidays online, and a rebuilt backend so the office team could manage quotes and staff availability without the limitations of the old system.
Show the business as it is,
then build the systems it needs.
Coach operators tend to have one of two problems online: either the website is a brochure with a phone number and nothing else works, or it's overloaded with functionality that confuses the people who just want to book a seat. We needed to solve both — give Bugler a brand and website that looks like the business they actually are, while building the booking and backend systems that let the office run properly.
Worked with the Bugler team to evolve the existing brand identity rather than replace it. The company has genuine heritage — established 1947, family-run, multi-award-winning — and that heritage is a strength, not something to design away. Refined the visual identity to feel contemporary and professional while retaining the warmth and trust that comes from 75 years of local reputation. New colour palette, typography and brand guidelines, designed to work across the website, print materials, and vehicle livery.
Spent a full day at Bugler's depot in North East Somerset capturing the business through professional photography and drone video. Coaches on the road, the depot, the fleet, the team — real imagery of the actual operation, not stock photography of generic coaches. The drone footage captures the scale of the fleet and the depot in a way ground-level photography can't. These assets now power the website, social media and all marketing materials.
Designed and built a new WordPress website structured around how customers actually use a coach company: day trips, holidays, private hire, school transport, accessible travel — each with its own clear journey. The booking system is built on WooCommerce but heavily customised for coach travel. Customers can browse trips by date, see pick-up points, select their preferred seats, specify accessibility requirements and pay online. Most coach operators outsource this to a third-party platform — we built it natively, so it sits within the website under Bugler's brand, with no redirects to external booking engines.
Rebuilt the custom backend system used by the office team to manage private hire quotes and driver/staff availability. The previous system was functional but dated, and its limitations were creating friction in daily operations. The replacement maintains the workflows the team relies on — quote generation, job scheduling, availability management — while modernising the interface and the underlying technology. This isn't a customer-facing system, but it's the engine that keeps the business running day to day.
Public-facing brand, customer booking system,
and the back office that runs the business.
The project has three layers: a brand and website that presents Bugler Coaches as the professional, established operator it is; a booking system that lets customers find and pay for trips without picking up the phone; and a backend system that the office team uses every day to manage quotes, drivers and scheduling. Most agencies deliver the first layer. We delivered all three.
Evolved the existing brand to feel contemporary and professional without losing 75 years of heritage. Refined colour palette, typography and brand guidelines designed to work across web, print and vehicle livery. An evolution, not a revolution — the trust stays, the presentation catches up.
Full-day photoshoot and drone video session at the depot and on the road. Professional imagery of the actual coaches, drivers and operation — not stock photography. These assets power the website, social channels and print materials. The drone footage captures fleet scale in a way ground-level photography can't.
Heavily customised WooCommerce booking system for coach day trips and holidays. Browse by date, view pick-up points, select specific seats, specify accessibility needs, pay online. Built natively within the WordPress site — no redirects to third-party booking engines. Customers who previously had to phone can now book the whole journey on the website.
The booking system handles accessibility requirements as a first-class feature, not an afterthought. Wheelchair-accessible vehicle options, accessibility notes per booking, and clear information about what's available for each trip. Mirrors Bugler's real-world commitment — their accessible fleet has won multiple awards.
Rebuilt the custom backend system the office team uses daily for private hire quote generation, driver availability management and job scheduling. Not customer-facing, but operationally critical — this is the system that keeps coaches on the road with the right drivers at the right time.
Cloudways LiteSpeed infrastructure with Cloudflare CDN and WAF. The booking system needs reliable uptime and fast page loads — a customer abandoning a checkout because a page is slow is revenue lost. Professional tier hosting with ongoing support.
The results that matter.
Fleet on screen, seats on sale
— the site that replaced the phone call.
The project spans brand identity through to a live booking system and backend rebuild. Selected views show the homepage, day trip listings with date and pick-up selection, the accessible travel section, and the photography and drone footage in context.
I've been really impressed with the service from Velocity Web since our first meeting.
We wanted a new website for our coach company and they took time to understand exactly what we wanted and then quickly put together a site that does just that.
I would highly recommend their services.
More brand, booking and custom-build work.
Transport business that's outgrown its website?
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