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 Optare Olympus bodied Scania N230 in April 2010 | |
| Founded | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 23 August 2020 |
| Headquarters | Baginton, Coventry, United Kingdom |
| Service area | Coventry Warwickshire Leicestershire |
| Service type | Bus & coach services |
| Depots |
|
| Chief executive | Adrian de Courcey (Chairman) |
Travel de Courcey [1] was a bus and coach operator based near Coventry in the West Midlands region of England. It operated local bus services in the Coventry and Warwickshire area and National Express contracts.
Mike de Courcey Travel was founded in 1972 by Mike de Courcey. It expanded into bus service operations after the Transport Act 1985 deregulated the UK bus industry.
In June 2011, Mike de Courcey Travel took over the Birmingham depot of Veolia Transport and several National Express contracts from them. [2] [3] In April 2017 Mike de Courcey Travel was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the sustainable development category. [4]
On 24 August 2020, the operator fell into administration, citing a steep decline of passenger numbers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] [6] Stagecoach took over the running of the routes 60 and 703 [7] and Arriva took over the running of route X6 between Leicester and Coventry. [8]
Mike de Courcey Travel operated a number of local bus services, many from the University of Warwick, as well as school services under contract to Warwickshire County Council. [9]
As of 2012, Mike de Courcey Travel operated services under contract to National Express on these routes: [10]
Former significant bus routes:
Nuneaton is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire, England, located adjacent to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east. Nuneaton's population at the 2021 census was 88,813, making it the largest town in Warwickshire. Nuneaton's larger urban area, which also includes the large adjoining villages of Bulkington and Hartshill had a population of 99,372 in the 2021 census.
The West Midlands Metro is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. The network has 33 stops with a total of 14 miles (23 km) of track; it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via the towns of Bilston, West Bromwich and Wednesbury, on a mixture of former railway lines and urban on-street running. The system is owned by the public body Transport for West Midlands, and operated by Midland Metro Limited, a company wholly owned by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities; Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
Birmingham is a major transport hub, due in part to its location in central England. The city is well connected by rail, road, and water. Public transport and key highways in the city are overseen by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM).
West Midlands Bus route 11, also known as the Birmingham Outer Circle, is a 27-mile (43 km) route that circumnavigates Birmingham via the A4040 apart from a small deviation via the B4182 and A4030 in Bearwood. It is operated by National Express West Midlands. It operated in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions as routes 11C and 11A, however since July 2021 the service was split so 11A buses would terminate at Perry Barr and then return as an 11C to Acocks Green, with 11C buses terminating at Erdington, returning as a 11A service to Acocks Green.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services in the West Midlands metropolitan county in England. It is an executive body of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), with bus franchising and highway management powers similar to Transport for London. TfWM's policies and strategy are set by the Transport Delivery Committee of the WMCA.
Walsgrave on Sowe, or simply Walsgrave, is a suburban district situated approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of central Coventry, West Midlands, central England. Although it now experiences very little flooding, it was built on marshlands. However, due to urban growth, it is now an outer suburb of Coventry, south-west of the villages of Ansty and Shilton. Walsgrave on Sowe neighbours the Potters Green, Clifford Park, Woodway Park, Wyken, Henley Green and Mount Pleasant areas of Coventry, and is in the Henley ward of the city, although Walsgrave-on-Sowe was formerly in the Wyken Ward prior to ward changes made in 2003 by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).
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.
CrossCountry is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
Diamond Bus Ltd., trading as Diamond West Midlands, and also operating under the West Midlands Bus brand identity, is a bus operator in the West Midlands. It is a subsidiary of Rotala.
Probus Management was a bus company in the West Midlands which was acquired by the Go-Ahead Group in March 2006.
The Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) bus operations were the bus operating divisions of the passenger transport executives in the United Kingdom. In 1986 they underwent a process of deregulation and privatisation, forming some of the largest private bus companies in the UK outside London, with all being sold to their employees or management. Despite their relative size and lucrative operating areas, none of the companies survived beyond the late 1990s, with all falling into the hands of the major bus groups, who had their origins in privatised regional subsidiaries of the former National Bus Company and the Scottish Bus Group.
National Express West Midlands (NXWM), also operating under the West Midlands Bus brand identity, is an English bus operator in the West Midlands, a subsidiary of Mobico Group. It is the largest bus operator in the region and one of the single largest in Britain.
Megabus is a long-distance intercity coach service operator owned by Scottish Citylink and based in the United Kingdom. Founded by Stagecoach Group in August 2003, it operates using low-cost fares, formerly starting at £1, based on a yield management model.
Coventry Park and Ride is a park and ride system, operated under contract to Coventry City Council and Transport for West Midlands, in the English city of Coventry. The scheme was launched in 1999 to relieve traffic congestion and to provide a cheaper alternative to city centre parking. The service was jointly operated by Coventry City Council, Centro and Travel de Courcey, with Centro and Coventry City Council jointly responsible for the marketing and setting fares. Buses shuttled passengers between a large free carpark at Austin Drive, Courthouse Green, to and from the city centre.
Stagecoach Midlands operates most bus routes in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire; the legal name for the company is Midland Red (South) Ltd.The company was previously split into Midland Red in Warwickshire and United Counties Omnibus in Northampton; however, the two were merged together under the Midland Red identity in 2021.
Travel Express is a bus company based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.
West Midlands bus route 360 was a 31-mile route that circumnavigated Coventry. Operated by Travel de Courcey, it was the longest urban bus route in Europe.
The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) was the public body responsible for public transport in the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom from 1969 until 2016. The organisation operated under the name Centro from 1990, and was publicly branded as Network West Midlands from 2005.
Media related to Travel de Courcey at Wikimedia Commons
