London Coaches

Last updated

London coaches roundel.PNG
Parent London Transport
Founded April 1989
Defunct March 2003
Headquarters Wandsworth
Service area London
Kent
Depots 2

London Coaches was a former bus and coach operator operating open top tourist services in London and commuter services from Kent to London.

Open top buses are used in the United Kingdom for sightseeing and seasonal summer services.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Kent County of England

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.

Contents

History

London Coaches originated from the London Transport Tours and Charters division. In January 1986 London Transport revamped the division and formed the Original London Transport Sightseeing Tour brand, to operate a fleet of 50 modified open and closed topped AEC Routemaster buses, on sightseeing tours of London. [1] [2]

London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for the public transport network in Greater London, England between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.

AEC Routemaster British double-decker bus

The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was conventional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.

In April 1988 London Coaches commenced operating a service from New Ash Green, Kent to London following the collapse of Bexleyheath Transport. [3] This resulted in some buses being outstationed at Kentish Bus' Dartford depot, this moved in 1989 to Northfleet. [1]

New Ash Green village in United Kingdom

New Ash Green is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, located 7.5 miles south west of Gravesend and 10.5 miles north east of Sevenoaks.

London Country South East

London Country South East (LCSE) was a bus operator in South East England and London. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986 and operated a fleet of around 170 buses from four garages, with its headquarters located in Northfleet. It was rebranded as Kentish Bus in 1987 and used this name for most of its existence. Its former garages and operations now form part of Arriva Southern Counties and Arriva London.

Dartford town in Kent, England

Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located 18 miles south-east of Central London, and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in Essex, which can be reached via the Dartford Crossing.

The business unit was based originally at Battersea garage, before moving to Wandsworth garage in October 1988. [4]

Battersea area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England

Battersea is a district of south west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located on the south bank of the River Thames, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) south west of Charing Cross.

Wandsworth district of south-west London, England

Wandsworth Town is a district of south London within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated 4.6 miles (7.4 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.

In April 1989 in preparation for privatisation of London bus services, London Buses was separated into different business units and London Coaches [5] was formed with a fleet of 85 buses. [1] London Coaches was the first of the operating units to be sold in May 1992 to a management buyout headed by Pat Waterman with 111 vehicles. [6] Upon privatisation the Pullmans Group Limited [7] was formed and traded as London Coaches.

Privatisation of London bus services

The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of London Buses from public bodies to private companies.

A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company from either the parent company or from the private owners. Management and leveraged buyouts became phenomena of the 1980s. MBOs originated in the US and traversed the Atlantic, spreading first to the UK and throughout the rest of Europe. The venture capital industry has played a crucial role in the development of buyouts in Europe, especially in smaller deals in the UK, the Netherlands, and France.

London Coaches post privatisation was forced to drop the "Transport" in its Original London Sightseeing Tour core business element. London Coaches Limited was split into two operating unit when it opened London Coaches (Kent) Limited, [8] in Northfleet. London Coaches (Kent) had all its commuter coach services transferred from Wandsworth garage, when in 1993 London Coaches tendered to operate bus routes under contract to London Regional Transport.

Northfleet town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England

Northfleet is a town in the Gravesham Borough of Kent. It borders the Dartford Borough. It is immediately west of Gravesend and on a western border has its own railway station about a hundred metres east of Ebbsfleet International railway station.

In December 1993 London Coaches won the contract to run the route 52. After a lot of logistical, vehicle and staffing problems, in July 1994 London Coaches purchased Atlas Bus & Coach Company [9] and transferred the route to Atlas's Willesden Junction garage. In November 1994, Atlas Bus & Coach Company was sold to Metroline along with route 52/N52.

In January 1994 seven former express 3-axle MCW Metroliners were purchased and converted to open top configuration. In March 1997 Blue Triangle's open top business was purchased. [1] Route 726 was transferred from London Coaches at Wandsworth, to London Coaches (Kent) at Dartford. Upon retendering in December 1997 it passed to Capital Logistics.

The company continued to operate The Original London Sightseeing Tour, trading as The Original Tour until December 1997, when it was sold to Arriva. [10] London Coaches (Kent) was retained by the existing owners, before ceasing in March 2003. [1] [11]

London Coaches Training

London Coaches had its own training section that operated from Wandsworth garage offering PCV and HGV training.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Blacker, Ken (2007). Routemaster Volume Two 1970-2005. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN   978-185414-303-7.
  2. ↑ London Buses steps up sightseeing Commercial Motor 17 May 1986
  3. ↑ London Coaches takes over commuter route Commercial Motor 30 June 1988
  4. ↑ London Coaches garage moves to Wandsworth Commercial Motor 27 October 1988
  5. ↑ Companies House extract company no 2328599 The Original London Sightseeing Tour Limited formerly London Coaches Limited
  6. ↑ First sale Commercial Motor 21 May 1992
  7. ↑ Companies House extract company no 2709490 Arriva Tours Limited formerly Pullmans Group Limited
  8. ↑ Companies House extract company no 2934164 London Coaches (North) Limited
  9. ↑ Companies House extract company no 2934201 Metroline Nominees Limited formerly Atlas Bus & Coach Limited
  10. ↑ About The Original Tour
  11. ↑ Licences Revoked Without a Public Inquiry Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine . Traffic Commissioner for the South Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Area April 2003
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