From Brett Wilson, Florida Gulf Coast Tours:

Recently a good friend of mine from college asked me:"Why did you ever get into the Bus Business?"

While attending Ohio State University I worked at my family's truck stop and freight brokerage business. I really enjoyed the transportation business. After leaving Ohio State I started an insurance agency in Ohio from 1989 and continued until 2004 when my wife, kids and I decided to move to sunny Florida. 4 days before Hurricane Charley.

As I was waiting for my insurance license to transfer I was looking for something to do to pass the time. I saw one of those big motor coaches rolling down the road and thought of my truck stop days while in college. I thought, "Hey I really miss that."

 I applied for a driving position with Alvrian Charters. They hired me as a driver and I fell in love with it. Alvrian Charters sold to new owners shortly after I started. I noticed that the people who were riding these buses were really having a good time. I really liked being in that atmosphere. This was a lot of fun!

So my wife and I started Florida Gulf Coast Tours in 2005. Bought our first bus and away we went.. In 2006 we purchased another tour bus. Shortly after that in 2006 we were able to acquire Alvrian Charters.

Alvrian Charters was built on 5 star service and superior clean motor coaches. We strive for that today. Safety is our # 1 concern. Customer satisfaction follows close behind.

We have the friendliest, safest drivers in Florida. Our standards for our drivers are higher than most companies. Not just anyone can drive for us.

Let me ask you a few questions. What is the safety rating of the charter bus company you just got a quote from? How many out of service designations placed by the Department of Transportation have they received? Have the drivers been placed out of service? How about the insurance limits?  Well here is some info I'll throw in for free. You can check this out at www.fmcsa.dot.gov. Click on Safety & Security. Then Company Safety Snapshot. You can then enter the name of the company or their DOT number. Our DOT # is 1418172. Please check out this information on any company you use. Ask them for their DOT #. Unfortunatley due to the current economy conditions many companies have relaxed on safety and maintaining their motor coaches. This is supported by the recent bus crashes in the United States. Please do your homework before chartering any motor coach.

Brett Wilson

Florida Gulf Coast Tours LLC