Go_South_Coast
Go South Coast
Bus operator in southern England
Go South Coast[3] is a bus operator on and around the south coast of England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
| Parent | Go-Ahead Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005; 19 years ago (2005) |
| Headquarters | Poole |
| Service area | Dorset Hampshire Isle of Wight Wiltshire Somerset[1] |
| Service type | Bus & coach services |
| Depots | 9 |
| Fleet | 760 (May 2015)[2] |
| Annual ridership | 46 million (June 2014)[2] |
| Chief executive | Andrew Wickham |
| Website | gosouthcoast |
In August 2003 the Go-Ahead Group purchased the business of Wilts & Dorset, including its Damory Coaches and Tourist Group subsidiaries,[4] followed in July 2005 by Southern Vectis including its Solent Blue Line subsidiary.[5]
In February 2006 Wilts & Dorset purchased bus refurbishment company Hants & Dorset Trim.[6] At this stage, Go-Ahead consolidated the management of its south coast operations under Go South Coast in Poole. In October 2006 Marchwood Motorways was purchased.[7][8]
Thamesdown Transport was purchased from Swindon Borough Council in February 2017.[9]
Go South Coast originally did not operate any buses in its own right, all being operated by subsidiary companies. Operators in italics are considered part of and managed by the bigger company above.
- Bluestar – Hampshire
- Unilink – University of Southampton
- Hants & Dorset Trim
- More – Bournemouth and Poole
- UNIBUS – Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth
- Salisbury Reds – Salisbury
- Southern Vectis – Isle of Wight
- Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) – Swindon
The company has three coach brands:[10]
- Excelsior Coaches – Bournemouth, offering private coach hire, school services and tours
- Damory Coaches – school buses and services in central East Dorset
- Tourist Group – Dorset and Wiltshire, providing services to schools in Wiltshire.
In June 2014, all the subsidiary companies' vehicles were brought together under the Go South Coast licence.[11]
As at May 2023, Go South Coast operated over 850 buses and coaches from nine depots.[2]
- "About Go South Coast". Go South Coast.
- Companies House extract: Company no 3949597 – Go South Coast Limited formerly Southern Vectis Transport Limited
- Bus buy for Go-Ahead The Guardian 12 August 2003
- Recommended Cash Offer for Southern Vectis plc Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group 11 July 2005
- Acquisition of Hants & Dorset Tram Limited Archived 2 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group 6 February 2006
- Acquisition of Marchwood Buses Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group 24 October 2006
- Go-Ahead purchases Marchwood Motorways Archived 6 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine busandcoach.com 26 October 2006
- "Swindon council sells loss-making Thamesdown Transport bus firm". BBC News: Wiltshire. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- "Excelsior Coaches". Retrieved 13 May 2021.