This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy. Please share your thoughts on the matter at this article's deletion discussion page. |
Optare Versa in Reading in April 2011 | |
Parent | Stagecoach |
---|---|
Founded | 1995 |
Defunct | December 2014 |
Headquarters | Crondall |
Service area | Berkshire Hampshire Surrey |
Service type | Bus services |
Routes | 11 (October 2013) |
Fleet | 33 (September 2013) |
Website | www.fleetbuzz.co.uk |
Fleet Buzz [1] was a bus company based in Crondall, Hampshire, England. It was a subsidiary of Stagecoach.
Countywide Travel was formed in 1995 as a coach and bus company, based on vehicles from Marchwood Motorways and a depot was established in Basingstoke. In 1998 the depot relocated to the site formerly used by Oakley Coaches in Oakley, Hampshire. Countywide took over many of the routes from Tillingbourne Bus Company when it ceased trading in 2001. On 1 October 2007 the coach business was sold to Weavaway Travel and the bus operation moved to Crondall. [2] Around this time, the bus company was renamed Fleet Buzz due to their large presence at Fleet, Hampshire.
In 2008/09 the company upgraded its fleet with the purchase of four new Optare Solos and four Optare Versas. The buses were painted in a livery of yellow (lower body) and black (upper body).
In December 2011 the business was sold to Stagecoach with 22 buses and 29 staff. It was run as a division of Stagecoach South. [2]
In September 2012 Surrey County Council's bus review phase 3 saw the historic route 92 renumbered to 72 to fit with routes 70 and 71. [3]
On 31 December 2014, three years after the Stagecoach takeover, the website was updated to announce the end of the Fleet Buzz name with operations being fully integrated into Stagecoach South from the date of some major network changes on Monday 5 January 2015. [4] The depot at Crondall closed on 23 May 2015, with staff transferred to Basingstoke and Aldershot, and remaining routes and vehicles to Aldershot.
In September 2013 the fleet consisted of 33 buses. [5]
Mercedes Varios used to form the backbone of the fleet, but were eventually phased out by other Stagecoach-branded buses due to their step entrances.
Four Optare Versas, with branding for routes 72 and 82, two Caetano Nimbuses and four Optare Solos (for the majority of the routes) were purchased in 2008/9 as part of a fleet upgrade. Four Mini Pointer Darts and three Alexander ALX200s – one of which in plain white – were transferred from London upon Stagecoach's purchase of the bus company.
Before services ended in 2015, Fleet Buzz operated 11 bus routes: numbers 11, 30, 31, 41, 42, 72, 77, 80, 82, 83 and 145. [6]
The company's regular routes operated were as follows:
Number | From | To | Via | Monday-Friday Frequency | Saturday Frequency | Sunday Frequency | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | Farnborough | Paddock Hill | Camberley | Hourly | Hourly | No service | [7] |
30 | Farnborough | Basingstoke | Cove, Fleet, Church Crookham, Odiham, Hook | Hourly through to Basingstoke (every 30 mins Farnborough-Church Crookham) | Hourly through to Basingstoke (every 30 mins Farnborough-Church Crookham) | No service | [8] |
31 | Farnborough | Frimley Park Hospital | Frimley High Street | Hourly | 3 journeys (1 extended to The Meadows) | No service | [9] |
41 | Farnborough | Ash | North Camp | Hourly | No service | No service | [10] |
42 | Farnborough | Southwood | Cove | Hourly | Hourly | No service | |
72 | Aldershot | Reading | Swallowfield, Hartley Wintney, Fleet | Hourly (every 30 mins between Reading-Swallowfield) | Hourly | No service | [11] |
77 | Fleet Station | Fleet Station | Circular service. Fleet town service | Hourly | No service | No service | [12] |
77A | Fleet Station | Fleet Station | Circular service. Variation to route 77 | Hourly | No service | No service | [13] |
82 | Farnborough | Yateley | Hawley | Hourly (2 journeys extended to Reading) | 2 journeys | No service | [14] [15] |
145 | Three Mile Cross | Wokingham | Eversley | 1 journey (Tuesday only) | No service | No service | [16] |
Stagecoach Lincolnshire is a bus company, formerly known as Lincolnshire RoadCar, which runs services throughout Lincolnshire.
Stagecoach West is the trading name of Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited, a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset and Herefordshire, in the west of England. The company is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group.
Aldershot & District Traction Company Limited was a major bus company operating services in East Hampshire, West Surrey and parts of adjoining counties for sixty years during the 20th century, from 1912 until 1972 when it became part of Alder Valley.
Stagecoach South West is a bus operator providing services in Devon and East Cornwall along with coach services to Bristol. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach.
Stagecoach South is a bus operator providing services in South East England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach. It operates services in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex with some routes extending into Berkshire and Wiltshire. As at April 2013 it operates 473 buses from seven depots.
Countryliner was a bus and coach operator, based in Uckfield, England. It ran over fifty bus services, mainly operating in Sussex and Kent with some operations into Hampshire. On 8 October 2012, it was placed in administration. It continued other services under a different licence trading as SwiftBus, this ceased trading on 18 January 2013.
The Optare Versa is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. As of April 2017, more than 800 had been produced.
First South West is a bus company operating services in the English counties of Somerset and Cornwall. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Compass Travel is an independent bus and coach operator headquartered in Durrington, West Sussex,United Kingdom.
Stagecoach in South Wales is a bus operator providing services in South East Wales. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach.
Stagecoach in Norfolk was a bus operator based in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England. It operated public bus services in the counties of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire as well as numerous school and college services. It was a subsidiary of Stagecoach.
Yorkshire Tiger is a bus company based in Elland, West Yorkshire. Formed in May 2008 as Centrebus Holdings, in September 2013 it was bought by Arriva and was rebranded Yorkshire Tiger.
Arriva Buses Wales is a bus operator providing services in northern Wales and Chester in northern England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
Stagecoach in Preston was a network of bus routes running within the city of Preston, Lancashire and into the surrounding area. It was founded in 2009 after Stagecoach Group acquired Preston Bus that was founded in 1904. The company operated from the main depot on Deepdale Road and their other depot on Selbourne Street. In January 2011, the company was sold to Rotala, which now operates the services under the Preston Bus brand.
Cumfybus is a bus company based in Southport, Merseyside. Its operations were small scale throughout the 1990s, but it has expanded significantly since its incorporation as a limited company in 2002, and in 2010 had a fleet of nearly 100 buses.
Tillingbourne Bus Company was a bus company based in Cranleigh, Surrey. The company operated bus and coach services in Surrey, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire from 1924 until 2001.
Stagecoach 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 (South) Ltd in Warwickshire.
North Camp is a suburb of Farnborough, Hampshire. It covers most of the southern part of the town, adjoining Aldershot Military Town as part of the Farnborough/Aldershot_Built-up_Area.
New Adventure Travel is a bus and coach company in South Wales. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro.
Lynx is an independant bus company based in King's Lynn and operating services across west and north Norfolk and eastern Cambridgeshire.
Media related to Fleet Buzz (bus company) at Wikimedia Commons