 Preserved Bristol MW6G in Bristol in August 2011 | |
| Parent | Bristol Omnibus Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 |
| Ceased operation | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Bristol |
| Service area | Bristol London Bournemouth Paignton |
| Service type | Bus and long-distance coach operator |
| Hubs | Prince Street (until 1958) Bristol bus station (from 1958) |
Greyhound Motors, later known as Bristol Greyhound, was an English bus and coach company based in Bristol.
Greyhound Motors was formed in February 1921 by Sydney Tom Toogood [1] to operate motor buses in Bristol.
In February 1925, it commenced a long-distance coach service between Bristol and London, which has been claimed to be the first long-distance coach service with scheduled stops en route to pick up and set down passengers. [2] [3] The journey time was eight hours. [4] [5] It later began services from Bristol to Bournemouth and Paignton, and from London to Bournemouth. [6] It also continued to run local bus services in Bristol, competing fiercely with Bristol Tramways.
In 1928, the company was acquired by Bristol Tramways. Greyhound continued to operate as a separate business, including its bus routes in Bristol until 1936. [7] [8] The new owners expanded the Greyhound coach operations. In 1934 it was one of the founder members of the Associated Motorways consortium of long-distance coach operators, but continued the London service outside the consortium.
At the beginning of 1936, the company's business was absorbed into Bristol Tramways. [9] Bristol Omnibus Company continued to use the Greyhound name for its long-distance coach services until 1972, when the National Bus Company required Bristol to adopt the new National Express brand. [10]
Shortly before its demise, on 9 January 1972 Greyhound Motors commenced operating an express Bristol to London service via the new M4 motorway. [11]
In August 2009, FirstGroup who had owned the former Bristol Omnibus Company since April 1988, announced the reintroduction of the Greyhound brand in the United Kingdom. [12] The new Greyhound UK was a byproduct of FirstGroup purchasing the Greyhound Lines business in the United States in February 2007. [13] Greyhound UK also connected Bristol with Swansea and Bristol Airport until March 2015. [14] [15] This was the last Greyhound service operated.
An intercity bus service or intercity coach service, also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public transport service using coaches to carry passengers significant distances between different cities, towns, or other populated areas. Unlike a transit bus service, which has frequent stops throughout a city or town, an intercity bus service generally has a single stop at one location in or near a city, and travels long distances without stopping at all. Intercity bus services may be operated by government agencies or private industry, for profit and not for profit. Intercity coach travel can serve areas or countries with no train services, or may be set up to compete with trains by providing a more flexible or cheaper alternative.
Midland Red was a bus company that operated in The Midlands from 1905 until 1981. It was one of the largest English bus companies, operating over a large area between Gloucester in the south and Derbyshire in the north, and from Northampton to the Welsh border. The company also manufactured buses.
Badgerline was a bus operator in and around Bristol from 1985 until 2003. Its headquarters were in Weston-super-Mare. Initially a part of the Bristol Omnibus Company, it was privatised in September 1986 and sold to Badgerline Holdings in a management buyout. It went on to purchase a number of bus companies in England and Wales. In November 1993, Badgerline Group was listed on the stock exchange and, on 16 June 1995, it merged with the GRT Group to form FirstBus.
The National Bus Company (NBC) was a nationalised bus company that operated in England and Wales between 1969 and 1988. NBC did not run buses itself, but was the owner of a number of regional subsidiary bus operating companies.
The Great Western Railway road motor services operated from 1903 to 1933 by the Great Western Railway, both as a feeder to their train services, and as a cheaper alternative to building new railways in rural areas. They were the first successful bus services operated by a British railway company.
The Bristol Omnibus Company was a dominant bus operator in Bristol, and was one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. It ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties.
Royal Blue Express Services was a coach operator in the south and west of England from 1880 until 1986.
Associated Motorways was a consortium of motor coach operators in the south and Midlands of England, which was active from 1934 to 1974.
Red & White Services was a bus company operating in south east Wales and Gloucestershire, England between 1929 and 1978.
The Tilling Group was one of two conglomerates that controlled almost all of the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between World Wars I and II and until nationalisation in 1948.
Grey-Green was a bus and coach operator in England. It was based in Stamford Hill and operated in London and the East of England.
The Oxford to London coach route is an express coach route between Oxford and London along the M40 motorway. The Oxford Tube, which is operated by Stagecoach West, runs up to five coaches an hour via Lewknor, Hillingdon and Shepherd's Bush terminates on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria. The X90, which was operated by the Oxford Bus Company, used to run up to two coaches an hour via Baker Street and terminate on Buckingham Palace Road. The X90 service was withdrawn in January 2020, with the reasons stated being reducing passenger numbers, traffic congestion, and competition from railway services.
The United Kingdom has a number of intercity coach services.
United Counties Omnibus was an English bus company, operating in Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and parts of surrounding counties.
Bus transport in Cardiff, the capital and most populous city in Wales, forms the major part of the city's public transport network, which also includes water, air travel and an urban rail network. Cardiff is a major city of the United Kingdom and a centre of employment, retail, business, government, culture, media, sport and higher education.
Greyhound UK was a low-cost intercity scheduled coach service in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup. It was launched in September 2009 following their purchase of the long-established Greyhound service in the United States and developed in the following two years in South East England and South Wales. The last service ceased in December 2015.
Buses are the main form of public transport in Bristol, England. Most bus services are operated by First West of England. Other companies offering services include: Abus, Somerbus, Bristol Community Transport, Stagecoach West and Newport Bus.
Reading's location in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line and the M4 motorway, some 40 miles (64 km) west of London has made the town an important location in the nation's transport system.
British Coachways was a consortium of independent coach operating companies in the United Kingdom. Formed immediately after the deregulation of coach services in October 1980, it competed with the state-owned National Express and Scottish Bus Group on a range of long-distance routes. Initially composed of six members, it varied in size and composition over its two years of operation to include a range of ten different companies.
Buses in Portsmouth are a form of public transport in the city of Portsmouth, England. Motor bus services in Portsmouth began in 1919, and were expanded in the 1930s following the closure of the Portsmouth Corporation Transport tram network. Trolleybuses were also operated between 1934 and 1963. Until 1988 the majority of services were provided by Portsmouth Corporation Transport, a municipal bus company owned by Portsmouth City Council. Other services into the city were operated by Southdown Motor Services, latterly as a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.
Media related to Bristol Greyhound (bus company) at Wikimedia Commons
