 Yutong ZK6129H in Bridgwater in April 2017 | |
| Parent | Buses of Somerset |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Bridgwater |
| Service area | Somerset |
| Website | www.somersetpassengersolutions.co.uk |
Specialist Passenger Solutions [1] is a bus and coach operator based in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. Originally set up as a joint venture with JJP Holdings South West, it is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of FirstGroup's Specialist Passenger Solutions.
Specialist Passenger Solutions commenced operating staff and community services in 2016 during the construction of EDF Energy's Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. The contract is scheduled to run until 2025 and at its peak will require 160 buses. [2] [3] [4] [5]
It was a 50/50 joint venture between First Group's Buses of Somerset and JJP Holdings South West's Southern National, owned by former Crosville Motor Services proprietor Jonathan Jones-Pratt. [6] Southern National's name is revived from that of a former National Bus Company subsidiary. [7] [8] [9] [10] Its operation was not affected by the April 2018 cessation of Crosville. In October 2021 Buses of Somerset took 100% ownership. [11]
In 2023, the company was renamed Specialist Passenger Solutions, [1] reflecting its aim to work outside of Somerset, such as potentially transporting staff for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk. [12]
A Wright StreetDeck double-deck bus crashed on the A39 road near Bridgwater on the morning of 17 January 2023 while carrying passengers to Hinkley Point. An investigation concluded that ice on the road was the significant factor in the incident which resulted in the bus leaving the road and falling on its side. 53 people were injured. [13]
In December 2021 the Somerset Passenger Solutions fleet included consisted of 54 Yutong and 8 Mercedes-Benz Tourismo coaches, 35 Wright StreetDeck double-decker buses, 32 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC single-decker buses and 5 Ford Transit minibuses. They are maintained at a depot in Bridgwater. [14]
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.
Yutong is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, especially electric buses, headquartered in Zhengzhou, Henan. Yutong also has businesses in construction machinery, real estate, and other investments. As of 2016 it was the largest bus manufacturer in the world by sales volume.
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.
Bridgwater railway station serves the town of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. It is on the Bristol to Taunton Line and is operated by Great Western Railway. It is 151 miles 47 chains from the zero point at London Paddington via Box.
Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, 5 miles north of Bridgwater and 5 mi (8 km) west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett.
Crosville Motor Services was a bus operator based in the north-west of England and north and mid-Wales.
The Bristol Lodekka is a half-cab low-height step-free double-decker bus built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles in England. It was the first production bus design to have step-free access from passenger entrance throughout the lower deck.
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1970 until 1986, when it was split up and later sold as part of the bus deregulation programme.
Hinkley Point B nuclear power station was a nuclear power station near Bridgwater, Somerset, on the Bristol Channel coast of south west England. It was the first commercial Advanced Gas Cooled reactor to generate power to the National Grid in 1976 and shares its design with sister station Hunterston B nuclear power station. It ceased operations permanently on 1 August 2022.
First West of England is a bus operator providing services in Bristol, Bath, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Southern National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 until 1969, and again from 1983 until 1999.
Bridgwater and Taunton College is a further education college based in the heart of Somerset, England, with main centres in Bridgwater, Taunton and Cannington. It educates approximately 3000 students between the ages of 16–18 in academic and vocational programmes in addition to several thousand part-time or mature students. The college was founded in 1973, although the history of its predecessor institutions dates to 1891.
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC) is a two-unit, 3,200 MWe EPR nuclear power station under construction in Somerset, England.
The earliest known infrastructure for transport in Somerset is a series of wooden trackways laid across the Somerset Levels, an area of low-lying marshy ground. To the west of this district lies the Bristol Channel, while the other boundaries of the county of Somerset are along chains of hills that were once exploited for their mineral deposits. These natural features have all influenced the evolution of the transport network. Roads and railways either followed the hills, or needed causeways to cross the Levels. Harbours were developed, rivers improved, and linked to sources of traffic by canals. Railways were constructed throughout the area, influenced by the needs of the city of Bristol, which lies just to the north of Somerset, and to link the ports of the far south-west with the rest of England.
The Port of Bridgwater is a port, originally located in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England. Created under the Bridgwater Navigation and Quays Act 1845 it extends from Brean Down to Hinkley Point in Bridgwater Bay, and parts of the rivers Parrett, River Brue and River Axe. Although no ships now dock in the town, in 2001 103,613 (metric) tonnes of cargo were handled within the area of the Port Authority, most of which were stone products through the wharf at Dunball.
Nuclear New Build Generation Company is a subsidiary created by EDF Energy to build and then to operate two new nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom. The new plants are to be Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C and will eventually produce up to 6.4 GW in total.
Crosville Motor Services operated both contract hire and stage carriage bus services between 2011 and 2018 from its base in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It also operated a fleet of heritage vehicles and continues to do so as 'Crosville Vintage'.
The Buses of Somerset is the trading name used by bus operator First South West for services operated in Somerset from its depot in the town of Taunton since 2014. The services were formerly managed as part of First Somerset & Avon.
The Yutong U11DD is a battery electric double-decker bus manufactured by Yutong in Zhengzhou since 2023, launched initially for the United Kingdom bus market in right-hand drive configuration.
Media related to Somerset Passenger Solutions at Wikimedia Commons
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