Go South Coast is a bus operator on and around the south coast of England. It is a subsidiary of the
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...
.
History
In August 2003 the
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...
purchased the business of
, including its Damory Coaches and Tourist Group subsidiaries, followed in July 2005 by
Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway (Great Britain), Southern Railway b ...
including its
Solent Blue Line subsidiary.
In February 2006 Wilts & Dorset purchased bus refurbishment company Hants & Dorset Trim. At this stage, Go-Ahead consolidated the management of its south coast operations under Go South Coast in
Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
. In October 2006
Marchwood Motorways
Marchwood Motorways was a bus and coach operator based in Totton, Hampshire. Formed as an independent in the 1940s, it was a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group from 2006 until it became dormant in 2010. Its operations were subsumed by those of Bl ...
was purchased.
Thamesdown Transport
Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) is a bus operator in England, serving Swindon and the surrounding area. Previously owned by Swindon Borough Council, in February 2017 ownership passed to the Go-Ahead Group and the operat ...
was purchased from
Swindon Borough Council
Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in Wiltshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. As such, it is administratively separate fro ...
in February 2017.
Subsidiaries
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
Unilink is the branded bus service operated under contract and serving the University of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The service was created in 1998 following the university's expansion onto several new campuses, requiring new transport ...
'' – University of Southampton
*
*
*Hants & Dorset Trim
*
More
More or Mores may refer to:
Computing
* MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS
* more (command), a shell command
* MORE protocol, a routing protocol
* Missouri Research and Education Network
Music Albums
* ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...
– Bournemouth and Poole
**''UNIBUS'' – Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth
*
Salisbury Reds – Salisbury
*
Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway (Great Britain), Southern Railway b ...
– Isle of Wight
*
Swindon's Bus Company
Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) is a bus operator in England, serving Swindon and the surrounding area. Previously owned by Swindon Borough Council, in February 2017 ownership passed to the Go-Ahead Group and the operatio ...
(formerly Thamesdown Transport) – Swindon
The company has three coach brands:
*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.
["Go South Coast" '']Buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
'' issue 714 September 2014 page 72
Fleet
As at May 2015, Go South Coast operated 760 buses and coaches from nine depots.
References
External links
*
{{Go-Ahead Bus Companies, state=collapsed
Bus operators in Dorset
Bus operators in Hampshire
Bus operators on the Isle of Wight
Go-Ahead Group companies
2005 establishments in England