THE SHOWBUS HOME COUNTIES BUS IMAGE GALLERY
Motts Travel | Crusader Holidays
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 In late 2011 the Essex based firm of Crusader Holidays collapsed with financial problems. For some years Motts Travel had worked closely with them, feeding passengers on to tour coaches and thereby extending the Motts' offering to its customers. So Motts Travel stepped in to save Crusader. This Jonckheere bodied Volvo B9R, MT12MTT, was delivered in 2012 in the then Crusader colours. With the Crusader fleet then consisting mostly of Setras, the Volvo was a little out of place.
Picture courtesy of Motts Travel |
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 Seen at the Aylesbury premises in July that year, MT12MTT was having a new windscreen fitted, with its wiper blades trailing over the dash in a V-shape. |
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 An offside view of the windowless Jonckheere. |
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 For the 2013 season, Motts invested in triaxle Setras for the front line Crusader Holidays tour fleet. At the depot in May was newly delivered S416GT-HD UK13CRU introducing a new twist on the fleet registrations and a new Crusader Holidays livery. Using the Crusader colour palette the design uses the Motts' house style. |
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 Later in September that year UK13CRU was seen alongside Plaxton Panther bodied Volvo B12B MT06MTT. Picture ref A274 |
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 The 2014 brochure was presented in the new house style and celebrated forty years of Crusader Holidays. Picture courtesy of Motts Travel |
 In June 2014 Setra S416GT-HD UK14CRU was in the yard, one of a pair delivered. Alongside is UK13CRU. Both coaches had sisters registered with a GB- prefix rather than the UK- version. Picture ref A3378 |
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 The following month both the GB- registered Setras were in the Aylesbury yard. Picture ref A3615 |
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 This official shot taken in May 2015 of UK14CRU is thought to be on the Isle of Wight.
Picture courtesy of Motts Travel |
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 By July 2015 the original Essex base of Crusader had been closed own and all the vehicles were aloocated to Motts' Aylesbury depot. Both 2013 Setras lead this line up, but a trio of inherited coaches follow: S416GT-HD EU08FAF plus S415GT-HD EU07FHZ and EU06JBX.
Picture ref B261 |
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 Sadly Setra was withdrawn from the UK market and purchasing switched to the near mechanically identical Mercedes Tourismo from the Daimler family. Delivered in March, Tourismo UK16CRU was the only one in Crusader colours when seen at the depot in April. The previous year had seen the first pair of Tourismos - UK15CRU amd GB15CRU, but 2016 saw the first three Tourismos arrive in Motts Travel colours.
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 For tour feeder services a number of secondhand Mercedes Sprinters converted by Excel was acquired for tour feeder services. Downseated to eight with a large rear luggage cage they did not require a qualified bus driver. With SHOWBUS moving to Donington in 2016 it was the ideal vehicle to transport the crew and the equipment up the M1 at a reasonable speed and it was easier to park at the hotel than a doubledeck bus! Here is BU60CRU having arrived at Donington Park.
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Here is the Sprinter parked by the turret at the Park.
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 On a promotional trip for SHOWBUS at Donington in July 2018 stopping at the Donington Park Services on the M1 three Crusader Setras were swapping passengers to head on their different tours, having collected customers along the way. Nearest the camera are EU07FHY bound for Llandudno and UK13CRU headed for the Isle of Man with GB14CRU at the far end, next to an Acklams coach, bound for the Lake District.
Picture ref C1318 |
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 Tourismos continued to enter the fleet both for Motts and Crusader with Crusader receiving GB17CRU and UK17CRU in 2017, then seen in July 2019 was GB19CRU, the last Tourismo until GB26CRU and UK26CRU.
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 Arriving for SHOWBUS at the Hertfordshire County Showground in September 2019 was Setra S416GT-HD UK14CRU arriving to serve as the judges' hospitality coach.
Picture ref 19-1715 |
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 76MT001 Motts Travel Crusader Holidays Mercedes Tourismo GB19CRU expected by early 2027 |
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