Who we are - Doelen Coach Service

Doelen "It's More Than Just Transportationshines with presencehas been in business for over 95 yearsis ISO 9001 certified

Ad, Angela and Eef van Wijk
We know nothing else than that our father Eef van Wijk sr. has always done business with cars. We can certainly mention a few examples of this. He started a car rental company which grew to about 1200 cars and was then taken over by Hertz. He had a number of petrol stations spread across North Holland, rented out camper vans, coaches and limousines, with or without a driver, and had a number of taxi licences. He bought and sold premises and land in order to accommodate the services and make them available. You could say he was a great businessman.

A good example of this is that Dad went to New York in the '60s to import 20 'Americans' for rent to emigrated Dutch people. Of course, you also needed American tour operators for that. He got them from the Yellow Pages, which were still in the public telephones. He also had a whole fleet of VW motorhomes (Van Wijk - how do you think of it) for renting out, so he promoted these possibilities by telex when he got home. We had a location in New York and even at Schiphol Airport. Without internet a very intensive and time-consuming business. Nothing was too crazy.

For Eef and Ad it was a nice extra income to check the cars in the weekend after handing them in and get them ready. A good addition to their training in engine technology. This is how Ad and Eef slowly but surely entered the company. Together first as mechanics in their own garage. Later on, Ad specialised in invoicing and organising special projects and Eef was the man behind the wheel and in the garage. Through tourism with SEPR training and a number of years of experience in the financial world as a project leader, Angela was still exploring the market a bit for herself. But in 2000, father Eef had managed it. Nice three of his kids in the company and the feminine touch to keep things in check.

As Eef Sr. did, we too have always responded to the changing market and with our current location, fleet and staff we have a mighty fine company to be proud of.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Eef Sr. in 2017, but together we are ensuring a future that he can look down on with approval from above. No matter what happens!

Community involvement

Director Angela van Wijk is proud that Doelen gives her the opportunity to support social causes.
Doelen supports the following five organisations.

Ice skating club Nut & Vermaak

Doelen has been a sponsor for more than 15 years, with the last four years being one of the main sponsors in terms of cycling and skating gear.

We think it is important that especially the young people keep moving well in order to have a healthy life later on. Of course I am very proud of the Olympic champions Esmee Visser and Bob de Jong, who put the first strokes on the ice in their youth.

www.ijsclubnutenvermaak.nl

Adamas walk-in house

The Adamas Inloophuis offers people who have come into contact with cancer a listening ear and you will be helped if you have this terrible disease yourself. Or, for example, if you have had a partner who died from it. Everyone has to deal with this in their environment and we try to make a small contribution by sponsoring transport on a day trip.
www.adamas-inloophuis.nl

Swimming group De Spetters

At this organisation, people with a disability swim. We take them to the swimming pool in Hoofddorp every week for an adjusted fee.

Poeloversteek

This is a Triathlon organization that I am very fond of. Not only because I want to stimulate as many people as possible to keep moving, but also because I trained myself for 10 years. Every year we provide transport for the annual outing. But only for a cake from Koolhaas!

https://www.oceanusaalsmeer.nl/triathlon/poeloversteek

AM Match

There are people in society who, in one way or another, have not really had it and have therefore, often through no fault of their own, fallen behind in the labour market. Fortunately, Doelen is a company that has the opportunity to support this. For example, we have an excellent garage in which we can offer that support. That's what we like to do!

Doelen trainings

We find it important that we offer our guests safe and carefree transport. That is why we like to comply with the legal requirements imposed on our drivers. In addition to theory, our drivers also receive practical training, such as how to look after your health through proper nutrition and posture at work. But of course the slip course should not be missing either!

Our History

1925

Doelen Garage starts in the centre of Amsterdam. The name is derived from the street where the company is located, the Doelenstraat. Doelen starts with a few cars as a taxi with the more luxurious hotels as regular customers.

1938

Due to expansion a move to the Schakelstraat in Amsterdam-Noord.

1946

After the Second World War, the Dutch government started to regulate taxi companies. Doelen Garage gets seven permits for taxis.

1965 - 1993

Mr. van Wijk is a born businessman and sees many opportunities at a time of unprecedented opportunities. A lot happened in this period.

The name changed too: "van Wijk autoservice" to "Doelen Coach Service". Our slogan still stands:
"It's more than just transportation"!

Expansion went hand in hand with the relocation of Doelen to our current branch at Schiphol.

(Who's that girl in that red dress again?)

Even ads in the airmail edition of the NRC to promote the "van Wijk" campers in America.

This photo shows our current location where our office and garage are now located. The Schiphol shuttles were driven with this beautiful brown American station wagon.

1993

Doelen is moving to Schiphol, which greatly improves services for the increasing airport traffic.

1997

From the Branch Association, the need to be able to stand out in the market is growing. This is the reason why the Keurmerk Busbedrijf is founded and Doelen Coach easily joins them.

2000

Ad and Eef jr. with Angela as the latest addition, complete the family business.

2005

Regular consultation is necessary, because Eef van Wijk sr. is slowly handing over the baton to his children.

2007

Doelen buys its first three-axle coach. This makes it possible to use a coach with a toilet and 56 seats and allows us to meet the increasing demand to transport larger groups.

2010

Doelen Coach Service is the first coach company in the Netherlands to have signed a covenant with the government agency Inspectie Verkeer en Waterstaat (now Inspectorate for the Environment and Transport).

2013

Verkuijl Vervoersdiensten merges with Doelen Limousine Service to form the Doelen Verkuijl Group.

2014

Acquisition of four new Mercedes-Benz Tourismo's, all in the style of one of our customers.

2015

Doelen Coach Service receives the ISO 9001 certificate again.
Also the covenant which was signed in 2010 will be extended for another 5 years. A nice proof that high quality has been our standard for years.

Two new Iveco VIP mini coaches and a new Mercedes S-class are purchased to serve our customers on the canals of Amsterdam. Customization for small groups will be made if possible.

2016

Two new Mercedes-Benz Tourismo's and a new Volvo 9700 are purchased.

2017

Purchase of a beautiful Volvo in the colours of a valued customer: Hannick Reizen.

Doelen is chosen by AM Match as AMbassador and of course we are very proud of that!

We think it is precisely these people who deserve new opportunities to find a suitable job. https://ammatch.nl/

Watch the video here

We are nominated for the Haarlemmermeer Entrepreneur Award 2017. We are very proud that we made it to the finals. It proves that we do everything we can to satisfy our customers. Read the press release here.

View our company presentation from 2017 here

Passed away: Eef van Wijk sr.

Unfortunately, Mr Eef van Wijk has passed away. His children Angela, Ad and Eef jr. continue the company that Eef sr. built up.

2018

Purchase of an IVECO minibus. It has 28 comfortable seats with leather upholstery, air conditioning, refrigerator, DVD player and microphone. With all these features this minibus also has a luxurious appearance.

Purchase of a new Volvo with 50 seats. This coach was completely dedicated to the Volvo Ocean Race and was in this way also recognizable. During the arrival of the sailors we made many trips for guests and sponsors of the Volvo Ocean Race in the surroundings of The Hague.

Realisation of Convention Bureau in the Haarlemmermeer region. Event Park Amsterdam facilitates far-reaching cooperation between both commercial partners and government authorities. This makes Haarlemmermeer an excellent alternative for the increasingly busy Amsterdam, for holding conferences and events. Doelen Coach Service, can be found via this link on the website of Event Park Amsterdam.

2019

Purchase of a large Mercedes-Benz Tourismo. This coach also has air conditioning, toilet, DVD player, refrigerator, microphone and no less than 63 seats! With this coach we also hope to make a lot of safe kilometers.

Purchase of the latest Mercedes-Benz VDL MidEuro, seating 16. This minibus also has leather upholstery, air conditioning, DVD player and refrigerator.

2020

𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶W𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗲𝗿

Doelen Coach Service has signed an exclusive transport deal with FloriWorld in Aalsmeer. Within this transaction Doelen will take care of all group transport of the new FloriWorld. A large coach has been completely transformed into the house style of the new attraction. FloriWorld will officially open its doors on July 1st.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus is spreading around the world. Tourism has been hit hard and so have we. Unfortunately, this means the end of our taxi department (DVG). The remaining taxis will continue to operate under Doelen Coach .
It is unclear what the future will bring us, but we are moving forward in good spirits towards 100 years Doelen. We hope to achieve this in four years' time.

2021

Even more comfort!

On Wednesday 9 June, Angela and Eef van Wijk received the keys to the newest acquisition of Doelen Coach Service.

A beautiful addition to our fleet, equipped with: 55 passenger seats, two guide/tourleader seats, lots of luggage space and equipped with an engine emission class Euro 6.

Even though the times behind us have been bad for us and the entire coach industry, we want to keep innovating and be at the forefront when it comes to quality,' says Angela van Wijk, director of Doelen Coach Service.

2023

Once again, a new addition!

Since Wednesday, June 7, we have taken delivery of the keys to Doelen Coach Service's newest acquisition.

This Mercedes Tourismo is another wonderful addition to our fleet, again equipped with: 55 seats for passengers, two seats for guide/tour leader, lots of luggage space and equipped with an engine emission class Euro 6.
Also with this one we hope to make many safe kilometers.