Lloyds Coaches

Lloyds Coaches

Plaxton Paragon bodied Volvo B12B in May 2006
Parent Wyn Lloyd
Founded 2001
Headquarters Machynlleth
Service area Mid Wales
Website www.lloydscoaches.com

Lloyds Coaches[1] operates bus and coach services in mid Wales. It is a small family-run independent firm. The company is based at the old Crosville bus depot opposite Machynlleth railway station. It was established in 2001.[2]

History

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Dennis Dart SLF in Machynlleth in September 2014
Enviro200 Dart and Optare Solo at the companies depot in September 2014

Lloyds Coaches was formed in 2001 by former Crosville Cymru and Arriva Buses Wales employee Wyn Lloyd.[3] The company began operations from a site in Machynlleth, and acquired the former Crosville Motor Services garage in 2002. The garage was briefly shared with Arriva Buses Wales before the larger company moved away from the site. A Powys County Council contracted route between Machynlleth and Dinas Mawddwy was awarded to the company, and private hire work was also operated. Six further routes were acquired in May 2004.[4]

The company expanded gradually over the following few years. Coaching operations were increased with the purchase of new vehicles and the introduction of rail replacement work, first for Central Trains and later Arriva Trains Wales. Route 34, one of the six routes won in 2004, was improved with the introduction of a clockface timetable between Machynlleth and Aberllefenni, and is now run on a largely commercial basis.[4]

In June 2010 an hourly route X28 between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth was launched after Arriva Buses Wales withdrew its similar but shorter route 28. in December 2010 two-hourly X29, linking Tywyn to Machynlleth, was introduced.

The company gained pace with their expansion process and soon acquired the majority of services in the Dolgellau area as well as the 28 service along the coast between Dolgellau and Tywyn.

On 5 September 2011 the X28 and the X29 services were rebranded as the Coastliner services operating under the brand name of the Cambrian Coastliner Coast to Coast network.[5]

From April 2012 a new strategic bus network was unveiled including a new X27 service between Dolgellau and Machynlleth every two hours linking into the X28 Coastliner service. Service 522 was also renumbered X26 with services 34 and 34A re-timed for better connections at Machynlleth with other strategic services.

On 24 September 2012 the company began operating on the T2 TrawsCymru service in conjunction with the Welsh Government as a replacement to the X32 service previously operated by Arriva Buses Wales.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Companies House extract company no 7106672 Lloyds Coaches Limited
  2. ↑ Poole, Brian (2009). Montgomery's Buses: an empire of independents. Usk: Oakwood Press. pp. 105–17. ISBN 978-0-85361-694-8.
  3. ↑ A life on the buses with Lloyds Coaches of Machynlleth Daily Post 26 June 2013
  4. 1 2 Jenkins, David (February 2011). "Making money in Machynlleth". Buses. Ian Allan Publishing (671): 32–39.
  5. ↑ Cambrian Coastliner Coast to Coast Lloyds Coaches
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