Hermann Meyering is Managing Director of TRD-Reisen Dortmund GmbH. The company uses the RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort. In an interview with the RAL Quality Marks Magazine, Hermann Meyering explains why his company uses the RAL Quality Mark, how passengers benefit as a result and why updates to the Quality Assurance and Test Specifications are so important.
Name of the company: TRD-Reisen Dortmund GmbH. TRD Reisen is part of the Meyering Group.
Holder of the RAL Quality Mark since: 01/03/2013
Location: Dortmund
Number of employees: TRD-Reisen has 8 employees. The Meyering Group has more than 400 employees.
Vehicles and vehicle fleet: The Meyering Group has more than 150 public transit buses and coaches. The coaches are less than three years old on average. All of the coaches have been awarded the RAL Quality Mark.
Area of use: Tours across Europe. The range of tours include discovery and graduation tours, cultural and event trips, city tours, short trips, round trips and adventure tours, gourmet tours, cycling and hiking tours, holiday tours, spa trips and wellness and convalescence tours through to eventful short cruises, oceanic cruises, river cruises and air travel.
Website: www.trd-reisen.com
Why did you decide to have your vehicles certified with the RAL Quality Mark?
The RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort is based on clearly defined criteria and is subject to regular monitoring. By using the RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort, we provide guidance to consumers, generate trust and make travel decisions easier. The RAL Quality Mark allows us to transparently communicate the comfort and quality of our vehicles to passengers. Many people are already familiar with the star system from the hotel industry: The more stars, the more performance criteria have been fulfilled.
What distinguishes your coaches from vehicles without the RAL Quality Mark?
The RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort is a registered trademark. It is exclusively awarded in Germany by the Gütegemeinschaft Buskomfort e.V. (Quality Assurance Association for Bus Comfort). Only those buses and coaches labelled with the RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort guarantee that strict quality criteria have been fulfilled for customers. Annual inspections carried out by independent experts from TÜV, DEKRA, KÜS or GTÜ help to ensure the quality of the RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort. In order to protect passengers, the Quality Assurance Association for Bus Comfort actively works to prevent any misuse of the RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort.
How do your passengers benefit from this?
The star system used by the Quality Assurance Association for Bus Comfort ensures that our passengers receive a reliable and tested level of comfort in the coaches. Even before they start their trip, our guests already know what standard they can expect. Our 5-star and 5-star superior coaches offer our passengers a pleasant atmosphere and high level of safety with, for example, a galley kitchen with fridges, WC, sensor-controlled air conditioning and all modern assistance systems for the driver. Based on the legal regulations, we have developed a comprehensive hygiene concept so that our passengers can enjoy a carefree holiday. And our collection service means that the holiday already starts even before the coach sets off on its journey.
The Quality Assurance and Test Specifications are regularly amended to take account of the latest technology or requirements on the market. For example, the superior category for buses and coaches holding the RAL Quality Mark was introduced last year. How important are these updates for you?
The updates are very important to us because we have a fleet of extremely modern coaches that offer more space between the seats and greater comfort than normal 5-star coaches. Coaches with these features were not given their own classification in the past. By updating the specifications, we can now classify our vehicles using the RAL Quality Mark for Bus Comfort as 5-star superior coaches. This allows us to inform our customers easily, quickly and transparently about the level of comfort they can expect in our extremely modern coaches.
