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 Scania LK400EB OmniExpress 3.60 in the older Lucketts livery in May 2011 | |
| Parent | Mobico Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 |
| Headquarters | Fareham |
| Service area | Hampshire West Sussex |
| Service type | Coach services |
| Fleet | 160 (March 2020) |
| Chief executive | David Luckett |
| Website | www |
Lucketts Travel [1] is a coach hire and excursion company with depots in Fareham, Worthing and Southampton. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group.
The company was founded in 1926 by Harry Luckett as a haulage and storage company and only bought its first coach in 1976. Harry's son David joined the company in 1963 and took over shortly after in 1966 when Harry died unexpectedly. The company’s haulage business continued to grow in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with Ready Mix Concrete and Schweppes major clients.
In 1976 David purchased the company’s first coach, choosing to drive it himself. It proved a very enjoyable and successful venture and a second coach was soon purchased. By the mid-1980s the coach fleet had outnumbered the haulage fleet. [2]
In 2005 the Worthing Coaches [3] business was purchased followed in March 2006 by Flagship from Eastbourne Buses. [4] [5]
In January 2009 Lucketts Travel took over operation of National Express routes from Portsmouth to London Victoria Coach Station (030), Heathrow Airport (203) and Bristol (300) from Tellings-Golden Miller. [5]
In March 2012 Coliseum Coaches was purchased with 12 coaches. [5] [6] [7] In March 2013, Lucketts commenced operating further National Express services; London Victoria Coach Station - Brighton (025) and Victoria Coach Station - Gatwick Airport (A3). [8] [9]
In December 2017, the Lucketts Group acquired fellow coach operator, Solent Coaches with 12 vehicles. [10] [11] In April 2018, North Hampshire firm, Mortons Travel was purchased with 35 vehicles. [12] [13] [14]
In March 2020 the business was purchased by National Express. [15] [16]
In January 2023, the coach excursion business of Lucketts Travel and six other National Express Transport Solutions companies were brought together under the 'Touromo' brand. The Lucketts name, as well as the names of the coach companies it has acquired, are to be retained for private hire services. [17] [18]
In September 2024, Mortons Travel was sold off by the parent company to Rambler Group Holdings. [19]
As at April 2013, the fleet consisted of 103 vehicles. [20] The breakdown was Lucketts (54 vehicles), Worthing (8), Coliseum (12) and National Express (29).
In January 2013 a new common livery was introduced. A predominantly white base is offset with a swoop- brown/orange in the case of Lucketts, red/yellow for Worthing Coaches and grey/orange for Coliseum, which also carries a stylised depiction of the Coliseum in Rome. [21] Coaches dedicated to National Express services are painted in the client's livery.
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. The company also operates transport services including trains abroad: in the Republic of Ireland, United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Bahrain, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and South Korea, and long-distance coach services across Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
National Express, also abbreviated NX, is an intercity and inter-regional coach operator providing services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of the British multinational public transport company Mobico Group. Most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The company's head office is in offices above Birmingham Coach Station.
Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operator Transdev since January 2006.
The City of Oxford Motor Services Limited, trading as Oxford Bus Company, is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
East Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, England. Prior to acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018, the company was known as East Yorkshire Motor Services.
Go North East is a bus operator running both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The company was the foundation of today's Go-Ahead Group, which now operates bus and rail services across the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, Ireland, Norway and Singapore.
Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.
Xplore Dundee is a bus operator based in Dundee, Scotland, operating services mainly within the city. The operator also runs a service to Edinburgh Airport. It is a subsidiary of McGill's Bus Services.
Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
Stagecoach Manchester is a major bus operator in Greater Manchester, operating franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). It is the largest UK bus subsidiary of Stagecoach Group outside of Greater London, as well as the largest within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester by passenger numbers, carrying up to 96.2 million passengers in 2019/20.
The Burnley Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Coastliner is a bus company that operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield.
Diamond Bus Ltd., trading as Diamond North West, is a bus operator providing services in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, operating an extensive commercial network as well as franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester. It also serves some areas of the districts of Salford and Trafford.
Centrebus Limited, trading as Centrebus, is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland.
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of the single largest in Britain.
West Coast Motors is a bus, coach and ferry operator, based in Campbeltown, Scotland. The company also operates under the name Borders Buses in the Scottish Borders and formerly under the Glasgow Citybus brand in Greater Glasgow.
Rotala Limited is a company established in 2005, which owns a number of bus operators in England. It was listed on the Alternative Investment Market from 2005 until 2024.
York Pullman is a bus operating company based in Rufforth, North Yorkshire, England. The first company to use the Pullman name was founded in 1926 by Norman Pearce and Hartas Foxton. The Yorkshire Pullman remained in use until the company was deregistered in 2000.
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City, North Ayrshire, West Lothian, Falkirk and Dundee City. McGill's have several depots based in Greenock, Inchinnan, Johnstone, Edinburgh, Bannockburn, Balfron, Larbert, Livingston and Dundee. McGill's also formerly had depots in Dumbarton, Barrhead and Coatbridge.
Shearings is a coach tour operator, part of the Leger Shearings Group, based in the United Kingdom. The tour operator brand specialises in holidays including escorted tours, unescorted tours, short breaks, self-drive holidays and river cruises throughout the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Ireland and Continental Europe.
Media related to Lucketts Travel (coach company) at Wikimedia Commons
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