“Our drivers don’t just drive coaches - they drive the company,” according to Jimmy Cantrell, CEO of Lula, GA, based Daniel’s Charters. “We hire the best people we can get, offer them first rate training and equipment, and they sell our company.”
A 1995 Cantrell family vacation in a bus converted into a motorhome was so successful that a year later they did it again with a newer bus - then began carrying kids to church camp - and it soon became clear to Jimmy and his brother, Rickey, that there was a need for the kind of transportation they were providing. In 1998, with a single coach, they formed Daniel’s Charters.
Named after the biblical “Daniel,” and symbolic of faithfulness to serving customers with quality transportation, Daniel’s fleet has grown to 36 motorcoaches offering charters and tours out of two facilities to customers in the Atlanta, Gainesville, and North Georgia area.
In 2006 they won United Motorcoach Association's Vision Award and in 2007 they formed Daniel's Discovery Tours to provide high-quality, comfortable, escorted motorcoach tours to destinations throughout the United States and Canada.
“Quality drivers are key to our success,” says Cantrell, “but it’s important to give them the best possible tools, and that means we innovative and offer the most modern, well equipped coaches we can find. Every coach in Daniel’s fleet has Satellite TV, WiFi and 110 volt outlets.”
“Our customers, particularly school and athletic teams, have asked us for smaller coaches that have all the safety and amenities of our full sized units. In January we took delivery of 2 Van Hool CX35’s to fill that need.”
The 40 passenger luxury coaches are equipped with wood flooring, enclosed parcel racks, VanHool Grand Luxe passenger seating with leather inserts, 110 Outlets with USB ports, back up cameras and an REI deluxe entertainment system with 4-15-inch LCD monitors. They’re powered by Cummins ISL 9 345 HP engines linked to Allison B500 Gen5 Transmissions, and include Van Hool standard safety features such as 3 point seatbelts, Backup Camera, Lane Departure Warning, Antilock Brakes, Smartwave Tire Pressure Monitoring, Kidde Fire Suppression Systems, Automatic Stability Control, Daytime Running Lights, Curbside Lighting and Adaptive Static Aiming Lights.
Eb Vazquez, account manager for ABC Companies, Van Hool's exclusive North American distributor points out, “You can’t say enough about the Cantrell’s commitment to their customers. They want a great coach with great amenities. We are delighted to be part of their growth.”
