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Stagecoach Midlands
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Stagecoach Midlands
Stagecoach Midlands is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the English Midlands, operating in the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered in Northampton.
Stagecoach Midlands can trace its origins back to April 1927, when Stratford-on-Avon Motor Services was founded with a single blue-liveried 14-seat Chevrolet LM bus. Later that year, amid expansions to its operating area, the company began operating a service between Stratford-on-Avon and Royal Leamington Spa. In 1931, Stratford-on-Avon Motor Services was acquired by Balfour Beatty, where as a subsidiary of the company's Midland General operation, it became Stratford-upon-Avon Blue Motors Limited, operating under the trading name Stratford Blue.
In June 1935, British Electric Traction (BET) subsidiary Midland Red purchased both Stratford Blue and the Leamington Green Bus Company from Balfour Beatty. Stratford Blue was kept separate from the main Midland Red operation and continued to operate as an independent subsidiary, surviving into Midland Red becoming the largest bus operator within the National Bus Company (NBC) on 1 January 1969, following the passing of the Transport Act 1968 which merged the government-owned Transport Holding Company with the BET. However, in January 1971, the NBC merged the Stratford Blue operation into Midland Red's southern division as part of a cost-saving rationalisation of some of the NBC's operations' subsidiaries.
Midland Red was split by the NBC into five separate companies on 1 September 1981, with Midland Red South, headquartered in Rugby, formed with a fleet of 163 buses operating from five depots in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. Some administrative assistance was provided to the new company by neighbouring NBC operator United Counties. Prior to deregulation and the ensuing break-up of the National Bus Company, Midland Red South were threatened in 1984 with competition in Stratford-upon-Avon by The Best of British (Travel UK) Ltd, which traded as Shakespeare Country Bus Services. The operator aimed to operate an hourly service from the Dove House Farm estate into Stratford town centre, as well as a town service within Stratford, which were both to compete with Midland Red South's existing network. However, the registration of these services was strongly opposed by the Traffic Commissioners for the West Midlsnds following the appeals of Midland Red South, David R. Grasby Coach Hire, Warwickshire County Council and Wellesbourne Parish Council.
Following deregulation on 26 October 1986, in December 1987, Midland Red South was sold by the National Bus Company in a management buyout to the Western Travel Group, the holding company of former NBC operator Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus. During Western Travel ownership, Midland Red South opened a garage in Coventry and also revived the Stratford Blue name, and following the acquisition of Bedworth coach operator Vanguard Coaches in September 1989, began operating its first minibus services in Coventry in competition with West Midlands Travel, using a fleet of eleven Ford Transits based at Vanguard's depot.
Midland Red South was included in the sale of Western Travel to Stagecoach in November 1993 for £9.25 million (equivalent to £23,800,000 in 2023). Stagecoach re-branded part of the company as Stagecoach Midland Red, adopting the company's national livery scheme, and set about simplifying the routes and improving the profitability of the operation, which included the closure of the depots in Coventry and Stratford in 1999. Upon the national rebranding of the Stagecoach Group in November 2000, Stagecoach Midland Red became Stagecoach in Warwickshire for operations from Leamington Spa, Nuneaton and Rugby and Stagecoach in Banbury for operations in Banbury. For a long time, Midland Red shared a management team with Stagecoach Oxford, but this was split in July 2002 with the Banbury operations becoming part of Stagecoach in Oxfordshire.[better source needed]
Meanwhile, Guide Friday, a nationwide operator of open-top sightseeing bus tours which ran such services in Stratford, had established a small number of local and tendered bus services in the town following Stagecoach's closure of Stratford depot. Guide Friday was eventually purchased by Ensignbus, who rebranded the Stratford services by once again reviving the Stratford Blue fleetname. In February 2007, Stagecoach in Warwickshire purchased the Stratford operation from Ensignbus, once again giving them a depot in the town.
In 2010, Stagecoach in Warwickshire merged with Stagecoach East and Stagecoach in Northants to create Stagecoach Midlands. The Warwickshire headquarters was moved from Rugby to Northampton after a management restructure. However, the legal name for the Warwickshire operations remained as Midland Red (South) Ltd. with the other Stagecoach Midlands operations in Banbury maintained the historic legal name of United Counties Omnibus Company Ltd. until 2021, when Banbury's operations were moved under the Midland Red (South) licence.
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Stagecoach Midlands
Stagecoach Midlands is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the English Midlands, operating in the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered in Northampton.
Stagecoach Midlands can trace its origins back to April 1927, when Stratford-on-Avon Motor Services was founded with a single blue-liveried 14-seat Chevrolet LM bus. Later that year, amid expansions to its operating area, the company began operating a service between Stratford-on-Avon and Royal Leamington Spa. In 1931, Stratford-on-Avon Motor Services was acquired by Balfour Beatty, where as a subsidiary of the company's Midland General operation, it became Stratford-upon-Avon Blue Motors Limited, operating under the trading name Stratford Blue.
In June 1935, British Electric Traction (BET) subsidiary Midland Red purchased both Stratford Blue and the Leamington Green Bus Company from Balfour Beatty. Stratford Blue was kept separate from the main Midland Red operation and continued to operate as an independent subsidiary, surviving into Midland Red becoming the largest bus operator within the National Bus Company (NBC) on 1 January 1969, following the passing of the Transport Act 1968 which merged the government-owned Transport Holding Company with the BET. However, in January 1971, the NBC merged the Stratford Blue operation into Midland Red's southern division as part of a cost-saving rationalisation of some of the NBC's operations' subsidiaries.
Midland Red was split by the NBC into five separate companies on 1 September 1981, with Midland Red South, headquartered in Rugby, formed with a fleet of 163 buses operating from five depots in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. Some administrative assistance was provided to the new company by neighbouring NBC operator United Counties. Prior to deregulation and the ensuing break-up of the National Bus Company, Midland Red South were threatened in 1984 with competition in Stratford-upon-Avon by The Best of British (Travel UK) Ltd, which traded as Shakespeare Country Bus Services. The operator aimed to operate an hourly service from the Dove House Farm estate into Stratford town centre, as well as a town service within Stratford, which were both to compete with Midland Red South's existing network. However, the registration of these services was strongly opposed by the Traffic Commissioners for the West Midlsnds following the appeals of Midland Red South, David R. Grasby Coach Hire, Warwickshire County Council and Wellesbourne Parish Council.
Following deregulation on 26 October 1986, in December 1987, Midland Red South was sold by the National Bus Company in a management buyout to the Western Travel Group, the holding company of former NBC operator Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus. During Western Travel ownership, Midland Red South opened a garage in Coventry and also revived the Stratford Blue name, and following the acquisition of Bedworth coach operator Vanguard Coaches in September 1989, began operating its first minibus services in Coventry in competition with West Midlands Travel, using a fleet of eleven Ford Transits based at Vanguard's depot.
Midland Red South was included in the sale of Western Travel to Stagecoach in November 1993 for £9.25 million (equivalent to £23,800,000 in 2023). Stagecoach re-branded part of the company as Stagecoach Midland Red, adopting the company's national livery scheme, and set about simplifying the routes and improving the profitability of the operation, which included the closure of the depots in Coventry and Stratford in 1999. Upon the national rebranding of the Stagecoach Group in November 2000, Stagecoach Midland Red became Stagecoach in Warwickshire for operations from Leamington Spa, Nuneaton and Rugby and Stagecoach in Banbury for operations in Banbury. For a long time, Midland Red shared a management team with Stagecoach Oxford, but this was split in July 2002 with the Banbury operations becoming part of Stagecoach in Oxfordshire.[better source needed]
Meanwhile, Guide Friday, a nationwide operator of open-top sightseeing bus tours which ran such services in Stratford, had established a small number of local and tendered bus services in the town following Stagecoach's closure of Stratford depot. Guide Friday was eventually purchased by Ensignbus, who rebranded the Stratford services by once again reviving the Stratford Blue fleetname. In February 2007, Stagecoach in Warwickshire purchased the Stratford operation from Ensignbus, once again giving them a depot in the town.
In 2010, Stagecoach in Warwickshire merged with Stagecoach East and Stagecoach in Northants to create Stagecoach Midlands. The Warwickshire headquarters was moved from Rugby to Northampton after a management restructure. However, the legal name for the Warwickshire operations remained as Midland Red (South) Ltd. with the other Stagecoach Midlands operations in Banbury maintained the historic legal name of United Counties Omnibus Company Ltd. until 2021, when Banbury's operations were moved under the Midland Red (South) licence.
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