Courtney_Buses

Thames Valley Buses

Thames Valley Buses

British bus company

Thames Valley Buses Limited,[1] trading as Thames Valley Buses, is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. It was known as Courtney Buses until 2021. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire and small parts of Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. In March 2019 it was purchased by Reading Buses, with the company having gradually rebranded to its current name between October 2019 and April 2021.

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The company is known for its use of alternative fuels, having been the first bus company in the United Kingdom to operate a bus run on 100% soya oil.

History

Optare Solo in Borough Bus livery on route 6 in Windsor in August 2006
The previous Courtney Buses logo
East Lancs Myllennium Lowlander bodied VDL DB250 at Reading station in October 2014

The Courtney Group was formed in 1973 as a taxi hire firm in Bracknell by William Courtney-Smith, and moved into coach hire in the 1980s.[2] In 2000 Courtney Coaches commenced its first local route, 53 (Wexham Park Hospital - Maidenhead - Bracknell). This was taken over by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley in 2003.[3] The company expanded dramatically in January 2004 when all seven local routes in Maidenhead were taken over from First Berkshire.[2][4]

In September 2006 Courtney Coaches had its licence revoked by the Traffic Commissioner.[5] An appeal was launched, operations continued and the decision overturned by the end of 2006.[6] Between 2005 and 2007, a park & ride service was operated between Maidenhead town centre and a temporary site at Stafferton Way. The Stafferton Way site had been used to provide replacement parking during a period in which a town centre car park was shut.[7]

In October 2007 the company introduced a unique ticketing system, ETMSS, which uses mobile computer technology to replace fare charts and reporting software with one computerised system.[8] Other features include the ability to modify fares from anywhere using the internet, GPS tracking of individual buses and reduced insurance costs as a result of this, and the ability to calculate fares, cash exchanges and refunds.[9] The cost of installation was reportedly paid back within the first 12 months.[8][9]

The routes in Maidenhead were changed significantly in early 2009. However, changes to the stopping pattern on route 6 (Maidenhead — Windsor) received criticism from some residents[10] and were further changed in April 2009.[11]

Further expansion came in January 2009, when the shuttle service between Didcot Parkway station and Milton Park was expanded from one bus to two using a new low-floor double-deck vehicle at a cost of £175,000. Over 400 passes for the service were issued to workers prior to its introduction.[12]

2010s

Courtney moved its depot from Downmill Road, Bracknell to Hogwood Lane Industrial Estate in Finchampstead in late 2010.[13] The company announced a change of trading name to Courtney Buses in late 2011.[14] In November 2011 Courtney began operation of a new Christmas park & ride service in Windsor.[15] There was more expansion during 2014, when four contracted routes in the Bracknell area, along with nine contracted routes in the Wokingham area, were taken over by Courtney following the withdrawal of Thames Travel.[4][16]

In July 2015, Courtney Buses took over the operation of nine routes in Bracknell previously operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley.[17][18]

In December 2017, it was announced that Reading Buses was to take on three services withdrawn by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley in the Slough area.[19] A fourth route was later added.[20] The Thames Valley Buses name, historically associated with Thames Valley Traction, was used for the new services.[21] Operation began on 20 January 2018.[22]

In January 2018, Courtney Buses expanded into Slough after taking over four routes in the area, which until that point, had been operated by First Berkshire & the Thames Valley.[23]

In March 2019, the business was purchased by Reading Buses.[24][25]

In November 2019, Courtney Buses began to merge gradually with Thames Valley Buses, a process which was completed in April 2021, with the whole company being renamed as Thames Valley. The first routes to receive the new branding included route 5 from Slough-Cippenham and the Green Line route 703 from Bracknell-Ascot-Windsor-Slough-Heathrow Airport. Courtney-branded routes in the Windsor and Slough areas, including routes 2 (Dedworth-Windsor-Slough), 10 (Dedworth-Datchet-Wraysbury-Heathrow Airport), 10A (Slough-Datchet-Wraysbury-Heathrow Airport, formerly service 11), 10S (Slough-Churchmead School) and 15 (Slough-Eton-Eton Wick-Maidenhead) were also amalgamated into the Thames Valley brand. A new simplySlough & Windsor fare zone was also introduced, including Heathrow Airport but excluding Legoland.

2020s

In February 2020, a new Heathrow circular route 459 (via Colnbrook, Iver and Langley) was launched.[26][27]

The Thames Valley Buses livery consists of a grey base with a green ‘valley of colour’ for routes in the Slough area, with lilac for the Heathrow routes, although the latter has been withdrawn (except for a 10A journey from Slough to Churchmead School during term time) due to cuts in bus funding from Heathrow.

In August 2020, the Thames Valley brand was introduced to the Wokingham area, with 3 Alexander Dennis Enviro200s transferred from Reading Buses in their existing ‘Little Orange’ livery, but with the branding changed to ‘Thames Valley Wokingham’. With sister company Newbury & District’s Bombay Sapphire contract ending in September of that year, it released an Enviro200 MMC to return to the Thames Valley fleet, receiving the finalised grey and orange livery for the Wokingham area routes. Reading Buses’ simplyBracknell & Wokingham Zone was expanded to cover the Courtney/Thames Valley routes in the respective areas, along with a new simplySouth Bracknell for the Southern Bracknell housing estates prior to this in January of that year.

In October 2020, the Thames Valley brand was launched in Maidenhead, with a grey and purple livery. At the same time, duplicated numbers in the area were resolved, as services 4 (clockwise) and 4A (anti-clockwise) (Maidenhead-Paley Street-Shurlock Row-Waltham St Lawrence) were renumbered 234 and 235 respectively, as First Berkshire & the Thames Valley also operate a bus service numbered as 4 in the town, along with there being two service 5’s at Courtney/Thames Valley Buses. This resulted in the Maidenhead service 5, which operates to Farmers Way via Wootton Way Shops, being renumbered as the 3. A new, expanded simplyMaidenhead zone was also introduced.

In April 2021, services 10 and 459 were withdrawn due to Heathrow Airport Holdings cutting funding for buses, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore the routes were deemed to no longer be sustainable to operate. However, term time journeys from Slough to Churchmead school for pupils at the school only, will continue to operate as the 10A. The Thames Valley name was also applied across the entire company. Thames Valley Buses have also won the tender for the evening and Sunday journeys on route 12 (Slough-Burnham-Priory Estate) from Slough Borough Council, to supplement First Berkshire & the Thames Valley’s Monday-Saturday daytime services.[28][29][30]

Alternative fuels

Optare Solo converted to run on vegetable oil at Bracknell bus station in June 2010

In 2002 Courtney Coaches became the first bus company in Britain to operate a bus on 100% soya oil.[31] Abingdon based company Regenatec converted an Optare Solo minibus to operate on the fuel,[32] which gained the company appearances on Working Lunch[33] and in The Daily Telegraph.[34] The cost of conversion was around £3,500.[31] Fuel savings of around 80% were reported,[35] and this cost was paid back in eight months.[33] In March 2007 Courtney director Bill Courtney-Smith and Regenatec director Mike Lawton were invited to 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Tony Blair to demonstrate another converted vehicle at an environmental presentation.[35] Bill Courtney-Smith later bought half shares in Regenatec when the company experienced financial trouble in early 2009.[2]

In May 2012 it was announced that as part of the government's Green Bus Fund initiative, Courtney had received funding to purchase two double-deck Hybrid electric buses.[36]

Routes

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart in Basingstoke Centre Shuttle livery at Basingstoke Leisure Park in May 2009

Thames Valley Buses operate a number of local routes in the towns of Slough, Maidenhead, Wokingham and Bracknell; longer-distance routes take its buses to Windsor, Henley-on-Thames, Reading and Slough. The company also runs contracts to The Heights in Weybridge (currently suspended due to COVID), Chineham Park, Foundation Park and Sony in Basingstoke (currently suspended during COVID). The company formerly ran contracts for Bedfont Lakes, until the contract was lost in late 2018 to London United and Bombay Sapphire until the current parent company, Reading Buses transferred the contract to their Newbury and District division (the service was withdrawn in September 2020 due to COVID causing dwindling visitor numbers and users) and Milton Park, which was lost to Thames Travel in late 2020.[37][38]

Fleet

As of March 2021, the fleet consists of 52 buses.

Since local bus service work began, the predominant type in the fleet has been the Optare Solo, although other vehicles are also owned. However, in recent times, the fleet has shifted to predominantly Alexander Dennis vehicles. Two notable buses delivered in 2006 were the only Alexander Dennis Enviro300s with East Lancs Esteem bodywork,[39] which left the fleet in 2011. Two Optare Tempos powered by 100% pure plant oil, the first 12m single-deckers to run on this fuel, were ordered in 2010. They have since departed the fleet in late 2020.[40][41]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Companies House extract company no 1128598 Thames Valley Buses Limited
  2. [2]
    Courtney Buses - About Us Archived 19 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Courtney Buses
  3. [3]
    News Oxford & Chiltern Bus Page April 2003
  4. [4]
    Running harder to stand still Coach & Bus Week issue 1204 1 September 2015 pages 54-56
  5. [5]
    "Fleet News England & Wales". Buses (619): 44. October 2006.
  6. [6]
    "Fleet News England & Wales". Buses (622): 50. January 2007.
  7. [7]
    Maidenhead & Windsor: New Maidenhead Hines Meadow Multi-Storey Takes Over from Temporary Park and Ride Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine maidenhead-berkshire.co.uk
  8. [8]
    ETMSS Ltd
  9. [9]
    "Courtney pioneers ticketing advance". Buses (658): 27. January 2010.
  10. [10]
    Maidenhead and Windsor - Bus route 6 Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. [11]
    U-turn: Bus stops to be reinstated Archived 13 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine Maidenhead Advertiser, 1 April 2009
  12. [12]
    Bus link boosted Oxford Mail
  13. [13]
    Gymnastics club wants new home Reading Post, 8 March 2011
  14. [14]
    Courtney Buses to replace Courtney Coaches Archived 6 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Courtney Buses
  15. [15]
    Park and ride scheme launched for Christmas shoppers Maidenhead Advertiser 22 November 2011
  16. [16]
    New bus providers to ring in the New Year Archived 7 April 2014 at archive.today Bracknell News 29 December 2013.
  17. [17]
    Changes coming for Bracknell's bus users Get Reading 25 June 2015
  18. [18]
    "Courtney Buses takes over First Bracknell services" Coach & Bus Week issue 1198 21 July 2015 page 10
  19. [19]
    "Reading Buses to step in and save key Slough bus routes". www.sloughexpress.co.uk.
  20. [20]
    "CONFIRMED: Two bus companies step up to save axed services in Slough and Windsor". Royal Borough Observer. 12 January 2018.
  21. [21]
    "Thames Valley brand to be resurrected". 16 January 2018.
  22. [22]
    "Thames Valley". www.reading-buses.co.uk.
  23. [23]
    https://www3.rbwm.gov.uk/news/article/213/replacement_bus_routes_will_better_connect_communities
  24. [24]
    Reading Buses agree terms to purchase Courtney Buses Bracknell News 6 March 2019
  25. [25]
    Reading Buses buys out Courtney Buses Wokingham Paper 6 March 2019
  26. [26]
    Thames Valley brand combines with Courtney Buses Coach & Bus Week 19 October 2019
  27. [27]
    Route 459 launches fully between Heathrow, Colnbrook and Iver Reading Buses 21 January 2020
  28. [28]
    New Route 12 starts Sunday 28th March Courtney Buses 23 March 2021
  29. [29]
    Cancellation of Routes 10/10A/10S & 459 from Sun 4th April Courtney Buses 23 March 2021
  30. [30]
    https://www.courtneybuses.com/welcome-thames-valley-buses Courtney Buses 7 April 2021
  31. [31]
    Courtney Coaches - Going Green
  32. [32]
    Regenatec: Case Studies - Courtney Coaches[permanent dead link]
  33. [33]
    "Regenatec: Media - TV - Courtney Coaches". Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  34. [34]
    Britain has low-pollution technology but it needs to be supported The Daily Telegraph
  35. [35]
    Regenatec - Media - Visit to the Prime Minister Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  36. [36]
    Millar, Alan (July 2013). "More GBF money allocated, new clean-up fund announced". Buses (700): 6–7.
  37. [37]
    Services. Courtney Buses
  38. [38]
    Improved bus services provided at Milton Park. [Oxford Mail]
  39. [39]
    "Fleet News England and Wales". Buses (618): 46. September 2006.
  40. [40]
    Courtney orders low-carbon Tempos Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine busandcoach.com
  41. [41]
    Optare - Press Releases Archived 24 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Optare

Media related to Courtney Coaches at Wikimedia Commons
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