Travel Your Bus
| Industry | Bus transport |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merger |
| Successor(s) | Travel West Midlands |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Headquarters | West Midlands |
Your Bus was a trading name of Smiths Coaches (Shenington) Ltd who were also known as Smiths of Tysoe. The company was based on the Arden Forest Industrial Estate in Alcester in Warwickshire.
History
The Your Bus network of bus services started on 30 November 1987 when route 50Y was introduced. This ran every 20 minutes in competition with the West Midlands Travel's route 50 between Druids Heath and Birmingham City Centre via Alcester Road using second-hand Daimler Fleetline double deck buses purchased from Greater Manchester Buses. The company adopted the orange brown and white livery these vehicles arrived in as their fleet colours for the bus operation and uniquely added a Y to the end of all its bus service numbers. To get buses to and from the West Midlands and Alcester the company introduced placing journeys initially just at peak times, which ran the most direct way via the A435 and thus bypassing Redditch.
On 3 September 1988, a peak hour route 51Y of three journeys each way was introduced that diverted via Redditch New Town when it ran between Alcester and Birmingham. This service was withdrawn on 13 January 1992.
The company also introduced route 47Y on 31 October 1988 which was also a way of getting buses to and from the West Midland that ran via Redditch New Town, it however accessed Birmingham via West Heath and the Pershore Road. This service was renumbered 45Y on 28 October 1989 and was finally withdrawn on 13 January 1992. This brought to an end of the brief operation of Your Bus in Redditch. Your Bus continued to develop services in south Birmingham and Solihull over the next few years and invested heavily in new single deck vehicles.
National Express Takeover
During 1993, Your Bus was taken over by West Midlands Travel's parent company National Express who continued to run it as a separate subsidiary. The operating centre was soon moved to Miller Street in Birmingham where the coaching interests of West Midlands Travel under the Central Coachways trading name were absorbed.
Rebranded Travel West Midlands
On 4 February 2001, following a group restructuring the Your Bus services were absorbed into the main company which by now was trading as Travel West Midlands. This ended the Your Bus operation. The Central Coachways name and some contract work was sold to Flights Coaches.
Routes Operated By Travel Your Bus
- S1 Sutton Coldfield Falcon Lodge Circular (Anti-Clockwise) (as of 1997 Centro guide)
- S2 Sutton Coldfield Falcon Lodge Circular (Clockwise) (as of 1997 Centro guide)
- 2Y Birmingham - Maypole via Warstock
- A6Y Birmingham - Northfield - Solihull - Birmingham Circular
- C6Y Birmingham - Solihull - Northfield - Birmingham Circular
- 37Y Birmingham - Solihull via Acocks Green
- 37A Birmingham - Woodcock Lane via Warwick Road (withdrawn and replaced by Service 38Y)
- 38Y Birmingham - Birmingham Airport via Acocks Green (tendered by Centro as of 1999 guide)
- 47Y Birmingham - Cofton Common - (Alcester peak time only) via Cotteridge
- 50Y Birmingham - Druids Heath - (Alcester peak time only) via Kings Heath and Maypole
- 53Y Birmingham - Cotteridge via Selly Oak
- 54Y Birmingham Circular via Moseley, Druids Heath, & Bournville (as of 1997 Centro guide)
- 56Y Birmingham - Solihull via Sheldon & Olton (as of 1997 Centro guide)
- 81Y Langley Green - Shard End via Jewellery Quarter and Birmingham City Centre (as of 1997 Centro guide)
- 99 Birmingham - Chelmsley Wood via Hartlands Hospital (Centro as of 1999 guide)
- 99 Birmingham - Chelmsley Wood North and Heartlands Hospital (tendered by Centro as of 1997 guide)
- 118Y Erdington - Aldridge via Kingstanding (Contract on behalf of Centro until February 2001)
- 192Y Acocks Green - Coventry via Solihull
- 194Y Acocks Green - Coventry via Solihull
Travel Your Bus also ran two services branded 'The Link' these were numbered as follows:-
- L1 Birmingham - Walmley via Tyburn Road
- L2 Sutton Coldfield - Erdington via Walmley
External links
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