Introducing Bushers of Wexford. From humble beginnings in 1947 to our current comprehensive fleet of 40 vehicles catering for your transport needs in the South East 13 years since our 60th anniversary we have now clocked up thousands more miles and upgraded our fleet to incorporate many new vehicles among our 30 vehicle fleet and are still going strong.

Published by The Wexford People September 2007

Over SIXTY years old and still going strong. As Hackney and Taxi firms go, Bushers of Wexford are certainly up there with the oldest and longest established in the business.

Now owned and run by Pat and Rosalind Busher from their home at Ballycrane, Castlebridge, ‘Bushers of Wexford’ started out in 1947 when Pat’s late father, Walter, started his one-car hackney service from the Bullring.

But business was already in Walters blood as he had previously owned his own fishing vessel and truck, and had plenty of car experience through his carer as a mechanic at Talbot Garage. With the help of his wife Elizabeth he ran the fledgling firm successfully until 1983 when Pat joined the business and in 1988 Rosalind came on board in the firm.

Since then the scale of the business has increased ten-fold, and while they no longer operate a small office from the Bullring, ‘Bushers of Wexford’ is a name synonymous with quality of service, and reliability. Now the business boasts 16 vehicles – from people carriers and cars to 29 seater mini coaches.

They purchased their first minibus in 1990 and started private school runs from Kilmuckridge and Barntown into Wexford town. The private bus service from Kilmuckridge still operates, and is more popular than ever, while the company also run five buses to the special needs school in Enniscorthy for Bus Eireann, as well as four other regular Bus Eireann school runs. ‘Mornings and evenings can be hectic during the school terms’ said Rosalind, who also notes that the company do a 24/7 365 day auxiliary ambulance service for the HSE, ferrying patients to hospitals in the southeast, Dublin and beyond.

‘We bring patients to clinic appointments, and in particular we do a lot of work with dialysis patients. We buildup a rapport with these people. They rely on us and we become friend, confidante and sometimes councilor to some who we see three or four days a week’ said Rosalind. The Company do very little private hackney business anymore – and are not engaged in the weekend pub scene drops and pickups – they remain one of the busiest firms in the area.

‘We do a lot of private minibus hire, and many clubs and organisations use us, like the Faythe Harriers, Park Hotspur, Wexford Celtic, the guides and the scouts,’ said Pat, who adds that they are also available for airport transport pick ups. ‘We also do a lot of corporate work for larger firms e.g. ABS Pumps.

Their fine fleet of vehicles include three wheelchair accessible buses, and one wheelchair accessible people carrier. Indeed they were one of the first bus companies in the area to provide an electric lift for special needs customers.

Ninety percent of their fleet is less than three years old and in 2007 alone they made a heavy financial investment by purchasing five new vehicles, which ensure client comfort. Their two front line luxury mini coaches have all the mod cons including DVD and CD players, reclining seats and air conditioning.

The twenty strong team of drivers are also exceptionally committed and experienced. ‘We have and excellent team behind us, without whose dedication and commitment we would not be able to operate,’said Rosalind. Pat’s mother Elizabeth also keeps a keen interest in the business.

‘We would really like to take this opportunity to thank all of out existing customers, and we look forward to working with them well into the future and also hope to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves to new clients. Here’s to another 60 years,’ said Pat.

Source: Wexford People