Travel Your Bus

Travel Your Bus^[1] was a bus operator in the West Midlands. It was a subsidiary of National Express.

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 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 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 This service was withdrawn on 13 January 1992.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 This service was renumbered 45Y on 28 October 1989 and was withdrawn on 13 January 1992. This brought to an end 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. By 1990, it operated 40 buses.^[2]

West Midlands Travel Takeover

During 1993, Your Bus was taken over by West Midlands Travel who continued to run it as a separate subsidiary, adopting the branding Travel Your Bus in September 1996. 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. In 1995, West Midlands Travel was taken over itself by National Express.

Rebranded Travel West Midlands

On 4 February 2001, following a group restructuring the Travel Your Bus services were absorbed into the main company's West Midlands bus operation which by this time was trading as Travel West Midlands (and now trades as National Express West Midlands). This ended the Your Bus operation. The Central Coachways name and some contract work was sold to Flights Coaches.

Photos

• Your Bus service 50Y
• Your Bus (WMT) service 2Y
• Travel Your Bus service 53Y

References

Former bus companies of the United Kingdom
National	Associated Motorways Blazefield Holdings British Bus British Coachways British Electric Traction Fraser Eagle GRT Group National Bus Company Thomas Tilling
England	Former bus companies operating in England North West England Birkenhead Transport Blackburn Transport Blue Bus and Coach Services Bluebird Bus and Coach Bu-Val Buses ChesterBus Citibus Tours Crosville Motor Services Finglands Coachways First Chester & The Wirral Glenvale Transport GM Buses John Fishwick & Sons JPT Lancashire United Transport Maynes Bus Maytree Travel MTL North Western Road Car Company (1923) North Western Road Car Company (1986) Pennine Blue Red & White Services Ribble Motor Services Speedwellbus Transdev Northern Blue UK North Yelloway Motor Services North East England Black Prince Buses Busways Travel Services Durham Travel Services Geldards Coaches Jolly Bus Leon Motors Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company Northern General Transport Company OK Motor Services Samuel Ledgard South Yorkshire Transport Tates Travel United Automobile Services Venture Transport West Riding Automobile Company West Yorkshire Road Car Yorkshire Rider Yorkshire Terrier Yorkshire Traction Midlands A2Z Travel Barton Transport Birmingham City Transport Birmingham Motor Traction Chase Coaches First Northampton Glossopdale Bus Company Go West Midlands Ludlows North Birmingham Busways People's Express Premiere Travel Probus Management South Notts Bus Company Stevensons of Uttoxeter Travel Merry Hill Travel Your Bus Wesley Coaches Zak's Buses Eastern England Eastern National Omnibus Company MK Metro TWH Bus & Coach South West England Badgerline Bristol Omnibus Company Devon General Greyhound Motors Great Western Railway Hants & Dorset Motor Services Shamrock Buses Southern National Sureline Trathens Travel Services Truronian WebberBus Western Greyhound Western National South East England Alder Valley Aldershot & District Traction Badger Vectis Boro'line Maidstone Brijan Tours Bygone Buses Cavendish Motor Services Centra City Clipper Countryliner East Kent Road Car Company Invictaway Kent Top Travel Maidstone & District Maidstone Corporation Transport Marchwood Motorways Moss Motor Tours Portsmouth Corporation Transport Shamrock Buses Southampton Citybus Southdown Motor Services Thames Transit Thames Valley Traction Tillingbourne Bus Company Velvet Yellow Bus Services Greater London Bexleybus Birch Brothers Boro'line London Capital Citybus Capital Logistics Connex East Thames Buses First London Grey-Green Harris Bus Imperial Buses London Buslines London Country Bus Services London Country North East London Country North West London Country South East London Country South West London Easylink London Electrobus Company London Forest London Pride Sightseeing London Traveller MTL NSL Buses Thorpes Travel London Travel Surrey Westlink
Scotland	Former bus companies operating in Scotland Scottish Bus Group Central Scottish Clydeside Scottish Eastern Scottish Highland Scottish Kelvin Central Buses Kelvin Scottish Lowland Scottish Midland Scottish Northern Scottish Western Scottish Other operators Arriva Scotland West A1 Service Dart Buses First Stop Travel Gibson's of Moffat McKindless Munro's of Jedburgh Oban and District Scottish Motor Traction Strathclyde Buses Western SMT
Wales	Former bus companies operating in Wales Companies Crosville Motor Services Islwyn Borough Transport National Welsh Omnibus Services Padarn Bus Red & White Services Rhondda Transport Company South Wales Transport Western Welsh