Bowers Coaches

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Bowers Coaches
Bus stop - geograph.org.uk - 510662.jpg
Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes 709D in Buxton in May 2005
Parent Centrebus
Founded1952
Ceased operation2012 (merged to form High Peak Buses
Headquarters Chapel-en-le-Frith
Locale East Midlands
North West
Service area Cheshire East
Derbyshire
Greater Manchester
Service typeBus operator
Routes19 (March 2012)
Depots1
Fleet29 (August 2011)
Website www.bowersbuses.com

Bowers Coaches [1] was a bus company based in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, England. The company operated bus and coach services in Cheshire East, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester from 1952 until 2012. In its later years, it was a subsidiary of Centrebus and in 2012 it was merged with the Dove Holes depot of Trent Barton to form High Peak Buses.

Contents

History

Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes 709D in Buxton in August 2009 Bus, Buxton 080809.jpg
Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes 709D in Buxton in August 2009
Optare Solo in Glossop in August 2012 Bowers Coaches bus 378 (YJ06 FXP), 10 August 2012.jpg
Optare Solo in Glossop in August 2012

Bowers Coaches was founded in 1952 by Eric Bower as a coach operator. [2] In 1957, the charter operations of Park Hire Garages & Motors were acquired. [3] It later expanded into local bus operation, particularly after the deregulation of local bus services in 1986. Based in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, it operated services centred on the towns of Buxton, Glossop and New Mills extending to some surrounding areas such as the town of Marple in Stockport and Ashbourne in the Derbyshire Dales.

In June 2007, the business was purchased by Centrebus who introduced its corporate orange and blue livery, but retained the Bowers trading name. Bowers ceased trading on 31 March 2012 when Centrebus entered a 50/50 joint venture with Wellglade Group that saw the latter's Trent Barton subsidiary combine its Dove Holes operations with those of Bowers to form High Peak Buses. [4] [5] [6]

Although the trading name has ceased to be used, services are still operated using Bowers Coaches operating licence. [7]

Routes

As at March 2012, Bowers Coaches operated 19 routes: [8]

The majority were operated under contract to Derbyshire County Council and other local authorities; however, a number of services such as route 61 between Glossop and Buxton were operated commercially. Until September 2007, the company operated an hourly service between Hayfield and Stockport, Greater Manchester as route 62/62A; however, this service was withdrawn to run only as far as Marple due to falling revenues.

Fleet

As at August 2011, Bowers operated a fleet of 29 buses. [9]

Related Research Articles

High Peak, Derbyshire Place in England

High Peak is a borough in Derbyshire, England. Administered by High Peak Borough Council from Buxton and Glossop, it is mostly composed of high moorland plateau in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. The district stretches from Holme Moss in the north to Sterndale Moor in the south and from Hague Bar in the west to Bamford in the east. The population of the borough taken at the 2011 Census was 90,892.

New Mills Human settlement in England

New Mills is a town in Derbyshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Stockport and 13 miles (21 km) from Manchester, at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, close to the border with Cheshire, above the Torrs, a 70 feet (21 m) deep gorge, cut through Carboniferous Sandstone. It is on the north-western edge of the Peak District national park.

Chinley Human settlement in England

Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish is within the Peak District National Park. Historically, before the coming of the railway, the area was economically dominated by agriculture. Nowadays most inhabitants commute out of the village to work; accessible centres of work include Stockport, Sheffield and Manchester.

Hayfield, Derbyshire Human settlement in England

Hayfield is a village and civil parish in High Peak, Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 2,700. The village is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of New Mills, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Glossop and 10 miles (16 km) north of Buxton, in the basin of the River Sett.

High Peak (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

High Peak is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Robert Largan, a Conservative.

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway

The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton.

Trent Barton British bus company

Trent Barton, stylised as trentbarton, is a bus operator based in Heanor, Derbyshire. A combination of the Trent Motor Traction Company and Barton Buses Limited, it is the major operating division of the Wellglade Group.

Buxton railway station Railway station in Derbyshire, England

Buxton railway station serves the Peak District town of Buxton in Derbyshire, England. It is managed and served by Northern. The station is 25+3⁄4 miles (41.4 km) south east of Manchester Piccadilly and is the terminus of the Buxton Line.

Dove Holes railway station Railway station in Derbyshire, England

Dove Holes railway station serves the village of Dove Holes, Derbyshire, England. The station is on the Manchester Piccadilly to Buxton line 22+3⁄4 miles (36.6 km) south east of Piccadilly. It is managed and served by Northern.

Chapel-en-le-Frith railway station Railway station in Derbyshire, England

Chapel-en-le-Frith railway station serves the Peak District town of Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, England. It is 20+1⁄2 miles south east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Buxton Line from Manchester. It was built in 1863 for the London & North Western Railway on its line from Whaley Bridge to Buxton. as an extension of the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway.

New Mills Central railway station Railway station in Derbyshire, England

New Mills Central railway station serves the town of New Mills in Derbyshire, England. It is on the Hope Valley Line between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield, 12+3⁄4 miles (20.5 km) east of the former. The town is also served by New Mills Newtown station, which is on the Buxton to Stockport and Manchester line.

Buxton line

The Buxton line is a railway line in Northern England, connecting Manchester with Buxton in Derbyshire. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Northern Trains.

Centrebus English bus operator

Centrebus is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland.

A624 road

The A624 road is a trunk road in the English county of Derbyshire. It connects Glossop to Chapel-en-le-Frith passing through Chunal, Hayfield, and New Smithy.

Thornsett is a hamlet within the civil parish of New Mills in Derbyshire. It lies between New Mills and Hayfield, and features a primary school, a nursery, two pubs, a band room and a cemetery. It is roughly 13 miles (21 km) southeast of central Manchester and 22 miles (35 km) west of Sheffield. The hamlet is governed by High Peak Borough Council and, as it lies within New Mills' parish boundaries, New Mills Town Council.

Chapel-en-le-Frith Human settlement in England

Chapel-en-le-Frith is a town and civil parish in Derbyshire, England.

High Peak Buses Bus operator in England

High Peak Buses Limited is a bus company based in Dove Holes, Derbyshire, formed in 2012. It operates a mixture of local and long-distance commercial and subsidised public bus services in and around the Borough of High Peak, after which it is named.

The Wellglade Group (WG), is a transport group operating bus and tram services in the English Midlands.

References

  1. ↑ Companies House extract company no 548351 Eric W Bowers Limited
  2. ↑ Only Three Coaches May Serve Blackwell Show Commercial Motor 7 November 1958
  3. ↑ Coach and Bus Takeovers in the North Commercial Motor 6 September 1957
  4. ↑ New High Peak bus company following merger Buxton Advertiser 18 May 2011
  5. ↑ Wellglade/Centrebus join up in Buxton Bus & Coach Professional 24 May 2011
  6. ↑ New bus operator hits the road Trentbarton
  7. ↑ Notices & Proceedings Traffic Commissioner of North West England 22 November 2013
  8. ↑ Timetable Information Bowers March 2012
  9. ↑ Bowers Coaches Derby Bus Depot

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