Stagecoach in Warwickshire
Encyclopedia
- Midland Red South and Stagecoach Midland Red redirect here. If you wish to read about the operating "group" which Stagecoach in Warwickshire is part of, please visit Stagecoach MidlandsStagecoach MidlandsStagecoach Midlands is the name for most bus routes in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. The legal name for the company is United Counties Omnibus Company Ltd in Northamptonshire and Midland Red Ltd in Warwickshire....
.
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
operator in and around the county of Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. While Stagecoach in Warwickshire is the brand image of the company, its legal name is Midland Red (South) Ltd. It was formed out of the purchase of the Western Travel Group by Stagecoach in 1993.
History
The original company was Midland RedMidland Red
Midland Red was a bus company which operated in the English Midlands from 1905 to 1981. It was the trading name used by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company , which was renamed Midland Red Omnibus Company in 1974...
, formed on 26 November 1904. On 28 June 1935, the Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company (BMMO), known as Midland Red
Midland Red
Midland Red was a bus company which operated in the English Midlands from 1905 to 1981. It was the trading name used by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company , which was renamed Midland Red Omnibus Company in 1974...
, purchased Stratford Blue for £15,000. Stratford Blue then became a subsidiary of Midland Red, but continued to operate under its own identity until 1970. In 1970, the National Bus Company (NBC) dissolved the Stratford Blue operation and it fully passed into the hands of Midland Red. All vehicles were immediately repainted, although the company name was retained to protect future use of the name.
On 5 September 1981, Midland Red was divided into six self-standing companies. The four bus operating companies became Midland Red (North), (South), (East) and (West). Midland Red South inherited garages at Rugby (which became and still is the Head Office), Nuneaton, Leamington, Stratford and Banbury. On 10 December 1987, after 6 years of National Bus Company ownership, Midland Red South was purchased by Western Travel Group, which also held the Cheltenham and Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited. During Western Travel ownership, Midland Red South opened a garage at Coventry.
Subsequently, Stagecoach Group purchased this operation in 1993, and rebranded it as its Stagecoach Midland Red subsidiary. It set about simplyfing the routes and improving the profitability of the operation, which included the closure of the depots in Coventry and Stratford in 1999. Upon national re-branding in 2000, Stagecoach Midland Red became Stagecoach in Warwickshire for operations from Leamington, Nuneaton and Rugby and Stagecoach in Banbury for operations in Banbury. For a long time Midland Red shared a management team with Stagecoach Oxford (Thames Transit
Thames Transit
Thames Transit was a bus and coach company which operated in the Oxford area. As well as running a number of local services it also ran a regular service to London called the Oxford Tube. It now carries about fifteen million passengers a year using just under 200 vehicles...
Ltd), but this was split on 1 July 2002, with the Banbury operations becoming part of Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. Guide Friday
Guide Friday
Guide Friday was a company specialising in open top bus tours. It has since been bought out by the City Sightseeing group but continues to operate semi-autonomously....
, an operator of sight-seeing tours in Stratford meanwhile established a small number of local and tendered bus services in the town following Stagecoach's departure. This company was eventually purchased by Ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
, who rebranded the Stratford services by reviving the long lost Stratford Blue fleetname.
From 1 February 2007 Stagecoach purchased the Stratford operation from Ensign, once again giving them a depot in the town. On 12 November 2007, Stagecoach in Warwickshire introduced the second Stagecoach Goldline
Stagecoach Goldline
Stagecoach Gold, previously, Goldline is an experimental brand used by various Stagecoach Group bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. It was started in Perth and Warwick in November 2007. It was extended to Aldershot from February 2009, and in September 2009 Stagecoach West started a new...
service in the UK, on route 66 (renumbered G1) between South Farm, Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
and Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
, using Optare Solo
Optare Solo
The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
s.
The 'Unibus
Warwickshire bus routes U1, U2, U12 and U17
Unibus is branding used for Warwickshire bus routes U1, U2, U12 and U17, connecting the University of Warwick in the south of Coventry, with Leamington Spa and Sydenham, primarily for students living within Leamington and Sydenham commuting to the University, but they can also be used by members of...
' brand is used for services operating predominantly between Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
and the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, mainly direct via the A46
A46 road
The A46 is an A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development...
, although variations exist at weekends.
Depots
- Leamington SpaLeamington SpaRoyal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
(Station Approach) - NuneatonNuneatonNuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...
(Newtown Road) - RugbyRugby, WarwickshireRugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
(Railway Terrace) - Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
(Avenue Farm)