British Coachways
Encyclopedia
British Coachways was a consortium of independent coach
operating companies in the United Kingdom. Formed immediately after the deregulation
of coach services in October 1980, it competed with the state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Bus Group
on a range of long-distance routes. Initially composed of six members, it varied in size and composition over its two years of operation to include a range of eight different companies.
The consortium attempted to draw passengers away from the established services by charging significantly lower fares than the existing operators. National Express and Scottish Bus Group responded by reducing fares to similar levels, reducing the appeal of British Coachways' services. In contrast to National Express, operators were given the choice of which vehicle type to operate, so a variety of types were used. The consortium was not granted access to large facilities in major cities, such as Victoria Coach Station
in London, and was forced to use less developed alternative sites. In October 1982 British Coachways was broken up and the brand name abandoned. All but one of its services ceased to operate. The sole survivor was the service between London and Bournemouth
, which continued to be operated by former British Coachways member Excelsior Coaches until 1998.
(SBG), which was also state-owned. On 6 October 1980, the coach service market was deregulated
by the 1980 Transport Act created by the government under Margaret Thatcher
.
To compete effectively with the large and well-recognised network operated by the state-owned companies, a group of established independent coach operators decided to form a consortium to run over a range of routes. The group initially comprised Wallace Arnold
, based in Leeds
; Grey-Green
, operating from London; Altrincham
-based Shearings Holidays; Morris Bros. of Swansea
; Ellerman Bee Line, of Middlesbrough
; and Park's Motor Group, based in Hamilton
. The six companies owned a combined fleet of over 700 coaches. The consortium chose the name British Coachways to present a nationwide image, and a small number of coaches received a new livery of white, red and blue to advertise the venture.
in London and Digbeth Coach Station
in Birmingham.
The lower fares were intended to draw passengers away from the established services. However, within weeks of British Coachways commencing operation National Express cut their fares to match those offered by the consortium, reducing the appeal of the new routes. In Scotland the change was equally dramatic. Prior to deregulation, the cheapest fare offered by SBG between London and Glasgow
was £23. British Coachways undercut this with a £15 return fare, which was also hoped to attract more passengers away from British Rail
's services between the two cities. By May 1981, the consortium had increased its fare to £17, while SBG was charging only £15 for the same journey. Additional competition on the corridor was provided by Cotters Tours, which introduced a more expensive high-quality service between London and Glasgow in December 1980.
Passenger numbers were reasonable in the first year of the venture, but low compared to those achieved by the established services. In May 1981 it was reported that British Coachways' London-Glasgow service was carrying around 1,500 passengers per week, while the competing SBG service managed around 4,000 passengers per week over the same period. Loadings on British Coachways services were around half the capacity provided in its first year, although there was considerable variation between routes and journeys. The venture broke even but made no profit at the end of the 1980/1981 financial year.
At the end of the first year of operation, the consortium had carried 750,000 passengers in total. Over the same period, NEX carried 12.5 million people over its network. Despite the introduction of British Coachways' competing routes, NEX's net profit increased by over 50% between 1980 and 1981.
Members of the consortium began to pull out in April 1981. By the summer of 1981 both Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green left the group; by the end of the year, both were operating joint services with National Express. However, Barton Transport
and Excelsior Coaches joined in their place. The total number of services was not reduced, although some destinations were no longer served, while others were introduced to the network for the first time.
and Middlesbrough
; to Sheffield
, Leeds
and Bradford
; to Swansea via Cardiff
; to Plymouth
and Torbay
via Bristol
; to Glasgow via Birmingham and Manchester
; and to Liverpool
via Birmingham. In each case, the terminal point was located close to a depot owned by one of the consortium's members, and the majority of workings were operated by the company whose region the service ran to. Grey-Green, who were based in London, operated journeys on all six routes. The routes from Devon and Wales also served London Heathrow Airport
. Glasgow and Liverpool were served twice per day; the other routes ran once daily with additional journeys on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The sole exception to this pattern was the Torbay service, operated by the Devon subsidiary of Wallace Arnold, which ran twice daily four days a week and did not operate on the other three days.
With Victoria Coach Station unavailable as a London terminus, the operation instead used the then-new Kings Cross Coach Station, on the site of a former railway goods yard near St Pancras railway station
, which had few passenger or employee facilities. The site is now occupied by the British Library
. In 1982 this was changed to the London Ryan Hotel in King's Cross
. Similar issues were encountered in other cities: in Glasgow, a small stop on Holland Street was initially used, while in Manchester services picked up at an unmarked stop in Aytoun Street. From August 1981, a new Glasgow terminal in Sauchiehall Street
was opened by Park's for use by British Coachways and other independent coach operators.
Journey times offered by British Coachways between the major cities were often quicker than those on the corresponding NEX or SBG services, as intermediate locations were omitted. NEX responded to this by following a similar policy: for example, the journey time between London and Manchester reduced from over five hours prior to deregulation to around four hours after British Coachways began competing on the corridor.
The withdrawal of Wallace Arnold from the group in 1981 meant that the services to Yorkshire and Devon no longer came under the British Coachways network. Excelsior Coaches brought with it a service from London to Bournemouth
and Poole
. Operations ceased on 17 October 1982 when the London Ryan Hotel ceased to be available as a terminus. Many of the operators involved continued to operate some of their routes as joint services with National Express.
similar to that used by the state-owned airline British Airways
was introduced for publicity material and vehicles, and the patriotic slogan "Ride the flag" used. A small number of coaches owned by the six members were painted into the consortium's livery, although the majority remained in the liveries of their owners. Promotional leaflets were issued to publicise the venture. These included timetables and fare information, together with content about the individual operators behind the group. Advantages claimed over rival services included significantly lower fares than competing coach and rail services, the age and quality of coaches used, ease of booking and the expertise and history of the operators involved.
Mike Kay was appointed marketing director for the consortium, and received interviews in local newspapers to complement the advertising campaign. When both Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green left British Coachways in 1981, marketing responsibilities passed to Shearings; after the latter company itself left the group in August 1982, national marketing campaigns ceased, although the remaining operators continued to market services within their local regions.
Despite its efforts, British Coachways was unable to challenge National Express in terms of creating a nationally known brand. The individual members were well-known only in their home areas, and the advertising campaign was constrained by a lack of flexibility and capital. NEX was known nationally and possessed significant levels of customer awareness and goodwill.
s with Plaxton
bodywork. British Coachways had no such requirement. Vehicle types were decided by the operators themselves, so a wide range of types were used.
The Leyland Leopard proved popular with some members of British Coachways, including Ellerman Bee Line, Barton Transport, Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green, although the latter specified Duple
bodywork instead of Plaxton. Other operators contributed different types. Morris Bros. of Swansea used Volvo B58
coaches on its routes from South Wales to London. The most varied fleet, however, was that of Park's, which contained Leyland Leopards, DAF SB2005 integrals and a small number of rare MAN SR280 vehicles imported from Germany.
The competition created by the 1980 Transport Act caused NEX's market share to reduce temporarily, although its passenger numbers increased in real terms. The lower fares, improved vehicle quality and better timetabling introduced after deregulation meant that its market share had recovered within three years. These improvements have since been attributed to the quality and cost of services offered by competing operators.
After the demise of British Coachways, National Express faced little competition for two decades. By 2001, significant competition by independents had reduced to only two routes, including the London-Glasgow corridor previously served by British Coachways. This situation continued until 2003, when the Stagecoach Group
introduced its Megabus
network. This differed from British Coachways by providing more frequent services over a wider range of routes, and in its use of nationwide advertising and yield management
to set fares.
British Coachways' brand and livery disappeared rapidly after 1982. Vehicles were quickly painted back into their owners' liveries, and the brand was abandoned. However, in September 2010 a preserved Volvo B58 coach new to Morris Bros. was painted into British Coachways livery for the thirtieth anniversary of the consortium's formation.
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
operating companies in the United Kingdom. Formed immediately after the deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of coach services in October 1980, it competed with the state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Bus Group
Scottish Bus Group
The Scottish Bus Group was a state-owned Scottish holding company that included a number of bus operators covering the whole of Scotland. The group was formed in 1961 as Scottish Omnibuses Group Ltd, to take control of the British Transport Commission's bus operating subsidiaries in Scotland...
on a range of long-distance routes. Initially composed of six members, it varied in size and composition over its two years of operation to include a range of eight different companies.
The consortium attempted to draw passengers away from the established services by charging significantly lower fares than the existing operators. National Express and Scottish Bus Group responded by reducing fares to similar levels, reducing the appeal of British Coachways' services. In contrast to National Express, operators were given the choice of which vehicle type to operate, so a variety of types were used. The consortium was not granted access to large facilities in major cities, such as Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London. It serves long distance coach services and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station serving Green Line...
in London, and was forced to use less developed alternative sites. In October 1982 British Coachways was broken up and the brand name abandoned. All but one of its services ceased to operate. The sole survivor was the service between London and Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, which continued to be operated by former British Coachways member Excelsior Coaches until 1998.
Background and creation
Prior to 1980, the majority of long-distance coach services in the United Kingdom were operated by National Express Coaches (NEX), a subsidiary of the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC), which sourced its vehicles from other NBC subsidiaries. Coach services in Scotland, including routes between Scotland and England, were operated by the subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus GroupScottish Bus Group
The Scottish Bus Group was a state-owned Scottish holding company that included a number of bus operators covering the whole of Scotland. The group was formed in 1961 as Scottish Omnibuses Group Ltd, to take control of the British Transport Commission's bus operating subsidiaries in Scotland...
(SBG), which was also state-owned. On 6 October 1980, the coach service market was deregulated
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
by the 1980 Transport Act created by the government under Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
To compete effectively with the large and well-recognised network operated by the state-owned companies, a group of established independent coach operators decided to form a consortium to run over a range of routes. The group initially comprised Wallace Arnold
Wallace Arnold
Wallace Arnold was one of the UK's largest holiday motorcoach tour operators. It was founded in 1912 and was named after its founders Wallace Cunningham and Arnold Crowe. By 1980 it operated 290 coaches from its headquarters in Leeds, and owned a subsidiary based in Devon...
, based in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
; Grey-Green
Grey-Green
Grey-Green was a coach and bus operator in the United Kingdom. It was based in Stamford Hill, and can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer’s horse carriage business in 1885.-History:...
, operating from London; Altrincham
Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
-based Shearings Holidays; Morris Bros. of Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
; Ellerman Bee Line, of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
; and Park's Motor Group, based in Hamilton
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
. The six companies owned a combined fleet of over 700 coaches. The consortium chose the name British Coachways to present a nationwide image, and a small number of coaches received a new livery of white, red and blue to advertise the venture.
Into service and problems (1980–81)
British Coachways began operation on the day that coach services were deregulated, 6 October 1980, on a network based around five service corridors linking London with major population centres. To make its services attractive to passengers, the consortium charged extremely low fares, including some that were less than half of the cheapest fare offered by the rival NEX or SBG service. This meant that profit margins were very low. In addition, the venture suffered from not being able to use recognised departure points in some major cities, most notably Victoria Coach StationVictoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London. It serves long distance coach services and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station serving Green Line...
in London and Digbeth Coach Station
Digbeth Coach Station
Birmingham Coach Station is a major coach interchange in Digbeth, Birmingham, England offering services to destinations throughout Great Britain and also to Belfast, Dublin and Poland. National Express, the largest scheduled coach service provider in Europe, has its national headquarters on the site...
in Birmingham.
The lower fares were intended to draw passengers away from the established services. However, within weeks of British Coachways commencing operation National Express cut their fares to match those offered by the consortium, reducing the appeal of the new routes. In Scotland the change was equally dramatic. Prior to deregulation, the cheapest fare offered by SBG between London and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
was £23. British Coachways undercut this with a £15 return fare, which was also hoped to attract more passengers away from British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
's services between the two cities. By May 1981, the consortium had increased its fare to £17, while SBG was charging only £15 for the same journey. Additional competition on the corridor was provided by Cotters Tours, which introduced a more expensive high-quality service between London and Glasgow in December 1980.
Passenger numbers were reasonable in the first year of the venture, but low compared to those achieved by the established services. In May 1981 it was reported that British Coachways' London-Glasgow service was carrying around 1,500 passengers per week, while the competing SBG service managed around 4,000 passengers per week over the same period. Loadings on British Coachways services were around half the capacity provided in its first year, although there was considerable variation between routes and journeys. The venture broke even but made no profit at the end of the 1980/1981 financial year.
At the end of the first year of operation, the consortium had carried 750,000 passengers in total. Over the same period, NEX carried 12.5 million people over its network. Despite the introduction of British Coachways' competing routes, NEX's net profit increased by over 50% between 1980 and 1981.
Members of the consortium began to pull out in April 1981. By the summer of 1981 both Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green left the group; by the end of the year, both were operating joint services with National Express. However, Barton Transport
Barton Transport
Barton Transport plc was a British bus and coach operator based in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire. It commenced its first service in 1908. Its fleet and operations were sold to Wellglade in 1989, and the combined operations later became Trent Barton...
and Excelsior Coaches joined in their place. The total number of services was not reduced, although some destinations were no longer served, while others were introduced to the network for the first time.
Decline and break-up (1982)
The exit from the group of Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green had seen more responsibility transferred to Shearings, now the largest of the six surviving members of British Coachways. When it pulled out in August 1982, sustaining the operations of the consortium became difficult. Morris Bros. also left British Coachways in the summer of 1982, leaving the group with just four constituent companies. On 18 October 1982, the consortium found itself without a terminus in London when the site it had been using became unavailable. Services ceased operation from this date onwards.Operations
British Coachways initially operated six services linking London to a range of large provincial towns and cities. Services were operated from London to NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
; to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
; to Swansea via Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
; to Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
via Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
; to Glasgow via Birmingham and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
; and to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
via Birmingham. In each case, the terminal point was located close to a depot owned by one of the consortium's members, and the majority of workings were operated by the company whose region the service ran to. Grey-Green, who were based in London, operated journeys on all six routes. The routes from Devon and Wales also served London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
. Glasgow and Liverpool were served twice per day; the other routes ran once daily with additional journeys on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The sole exception to this pattern was the Torbay service, operated by the Devon subsidiary of Wallace Arnold, which ran twice daily four days a week and did not operate on the other three days.
With Victoria Coach Station unavailable as a London terminus, the operation instead used the then-new Kings Cross Coach Station, on the site of a former railway goods yard near St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, which had few passenger or employee facilities. The site is now occupied by the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. In 1982 this was changed to the London Ryan Hotel in King's Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
. Similar issues were encountered in other cities: in Glasgow, a small stop on Holland Street was initially used, while in Manchester services picked up at an unmarked stop in Aytoun Street. From August 1981, a new Glasgow terminal in Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street is one of the main shopping/business streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, it forms the main shopping area of Glasgow, containing the majority of Glasgow's high street and chain stores.Although commonly associated with the...
was opened by Park's for use by British Coachways and other independent coach operators.
Journey times offered by British Coachways between the major cities were often quicker than those on the corresponding NEX or SBG services, as intermediate locations were omitted. NEX responded to this by following a similar policy: for example, the journey time between London and Manchester reduced from over five hours prior to deregulation to around four hours after British Coachways began competing on the corridor.
The withdrawal of Wallace Arnold from the group in 1981 meant that the services to Yorkshire and Devon no longer came under the British Coachways network. Excelsior Coaches brought with it a service from London to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
. Operations ceased on 17 October 1982 when the London Ryan Hotel ceased to be available as a terminus. Many of the operators involved continued to operate some of their routes as joint services with National Express.
Brand and marketing
The companies that formed British Coachways in 1980 believed that a strong marketing campaign would be required to counter the established network offered by the incumbent operators. Wallace Arnold, the largest of the six founding members, and Grey-Green, the only constituent company based in London, designed the marketing used to promote British Coachways in its first year. A striking new livery of white, red and blue incorporating the Union FlagUnion Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
similar to that used by the state-owned airline British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
was introduced for publicity material and vehicles, and the patriotic slogan "Ride the flag" used. A small number of coaches owned by the six members were painted into the consortium's livery, although the majority remained in the liveries of their owners. Promotional leaflets were issued to publicise the venture. These included timetables and fare information, together with content about the individual operators behind the group. Advantages claimed over rival services included significantly lower fares than competing coach and rail services, the age and quality of coaches used, ease of booking and the expertise and history of the operators involved.
Mike Kay was appointed marketing director for the consortium, and received interviews in local newspapers to complement the advertising campaign. When both Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green left British Coachways in 1981, marketing responsibilities passed to Shearings; after the latter company itself left the group in August 1982, national marketing campaigns ceased, although the remaining operators continued to market services within their local regions.
Despite its efforts, British Coachways was unable to challenge National Express in terms of creating a nationally known brand. The individual members were well-known only in their home areas, and the advertising campaign was constrained by a lack of flexibility and capital. NEX was known nationally and possessed significant levels of customer awareness and goodwill.
Vehicles
One significant difference between National Express and British Coachways was the type of coaches used on services. NEX required that vehicles used on its services were built to its specifications. In the early 1980s, all NBC subsidiaries with NEX work used Leyland LeopardLeyland Leopard
The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-deck bus and coach chassis built by Leyland between 1959 and 1982. It was popular with bus and coach operators throughout the British Isles...
s with Plaxton
Plaxton
Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:...
bodywork. British Coachways had no such requirement. Vehicle types were decided by the operators themselves, so a wide range of types were used.
The Leyland Leopard proved popular with some members of British Coachways, including Ellerman Bee Line, Barton Transport, Wallace Arnold and Grey-Green, although the latter specified Duple
Duple Coachbuilders
Duple was best known as a British manufacturer of coach and bus bodywork from 1919 until 1989.-History:Duple Bodies & Motors Ltd was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, London...
bodywork instead of Plaxton. Other operators contributed different types. Morris Bros. of Swansea used Volvo B58
Volvo B58
The Volvo B58 is a mid-engined bus chassis built by Volvo of Sweden from 1966 until early 1982. It was the forerunner to the highly successful B10M....
coaches on its routes from South Wales to London. The most varied fleet, however, was that of Park's, which contained Leyland Leopards, DAF SB2005 integrals and a small number of rare MAN SR280 vehicles imported from Germany.
Subsequent history and legacy
The dissolution of British Coachways in October 1982 led to the withdrawal of all but one of its former routes by the four surviving constituent companies. Many of the companies went on to operate as contractors for National Express. The only route to continue was Excelsior's London-Poole service, which operated in competition with National Express until February 1998, when it was taken over by the larger operator.The competition created by the 1980 Transport Act caused NEX's market share to reduce temporarily, although its passenger numbers increased in real terms. The lower fares, improved vehicle quality and better timetabling introduced after deregulation meant that its market share had recovered within three years. These improvements have since been attributed to the quality and cost of services offered by competing operators.
After the demise of British Coachways, National Express faced little competition for two decades. By 2001, significant competition by independents had reduced to only two routes, including the London-Glasgow corridor previously served by British Coachways. This situation continued until 2003, when the Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
introduced its Megabus
Megabus (United Kingdom)
Megabus is a UK coach service operated by Stagecoach Group. It started in 2003 and as of February 2010 operated 19 UK coach routes serving 41 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. Some services link with Megatrain services which are also operated by Stagecoach...
network. This differed from British Coachways by providing more frequent services over a wider range of routes, and in its use of nationwide advertising and yield management
Yield management
Revenue management is the process of understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize yield or profits from a fixed, perishable resource...
to set fares.
British Coachways' brand and livery disappeared rapidly after 1982. Vehicles were quickly painted back into their owners' liveries, and the brand was abandoned. However, in September 2010 a preserved Volvo B58 coach new to Morris Bros. was painted into British Coachways livery for the thirtieth anniversary of the consortium's formation.