List Of Bus Companies Of The United Kingdom
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:''This list is a structured list of current operators, for an alphabetically ordered index of current and former operators, see
List of bus operators of the United Kingdom :''This list is an alphabetically ordered index of current and past operators. For a structured list of current operators, see List of current bus operators of the United Kingdom'' This is a list of bus and coach operators of the United King ...
'' This is a list of current
bus 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 ...
and
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
operators of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, including
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
, private hire and tour operators.


Large groups

Most bus services in the United Kingdom are run by the Big Five, five large groups of companies which emerged in the 1990s from the consolidation of bus companies privatised in the 1980s. These groups are all focused on transport. Some of them also run rail services, express coach services and overseas transport companies. They are: *
Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.List of Arriva bus companies *
FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.List of First UK bus companies *
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 ...
** ''See'' List of Go-Ahead bus companies * Mobico Group ** ''See'' List of Mobico Group UK bus companies * Stagecoach Group ** ''See'' List of Stagecoach UK bus companies


Foreign-owned groups

A number of large foreign companies have entered the UK bus market. Their UK bus operations are not yet large, but they are growing. * Abellio part of
Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and t ...
. *
ComfortDelGro ComfortDelGro Corporation is a multi-national land transport company listed on the Singapore Exchange, operating about 35,000 vehicles in seven countries. It was formed on 29 March 2003 through a merger of Singapore-based land transport compa ...
** ''See'' ComfortDelGro UK bus companies * RATPDev ** ''See'' List of RATPDev companies *
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of ...
** ''See'' List of Transdev UK bus companies


Other bus groups

*
Rotala Rotala plcCompanies House extract company no 5338907
Rot ...
** Diamond East Midlands **
Diamond North West Diamond Bus (North West) Ltd., trading as Diamond North West, is a bus operator providing services in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester operating an extensive commercial network along with tendered services on behalf of Tra ...
**
Diamond South East Hallmark Connections Ltd, trading as Diamond South East, is a bus operator in South East England and, through the Hotel Hoppa operation, in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Rotala. In addition to local bus services, Diamond South East oper ...
**
Diamond West Midlands Diamond Bus Ltd.,Companies House extract company no 2531054
**
Hotel Hoppa Hotel Hoppa is a network of bus services owned and operated by Rotala, connecting major hotels near Heathrow Airport with Terminals 1-3 and Terminal 5. A free shuttle service links Terminal 4 with Terminals 1–3. It operates eleven routes. Th ...
**
Preston Bus Preston BusCompanies House extract company no 2004022
Pres ...
* Centrebus ** Centrebus **
Chaserider Chaserider is the brand name for bus services operated around Cannock and Staffordshire by D&G Bus a local bus operator owned by Centrebus who are based in Adderley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. History During November 2020, Centrebus G ...
**
D&G Bus D&G Bus is a local bus operator owned by Centrebus Group and is based in Adderley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. History D&G Bus was formed by David Reeves and Gerald Henderson in April 1998 initially operating four buses on two routes ...
**
High Peak Buses High Peak Buses Limited is a bus company based in Dove Holes, Derbyshire, formed in 2012. It operates a mixture of local and long-distance commercial and subsidised public bus services in and around the Borough of High Peak, after which it is ...
(formed in April 2012 between
Trentbarton Trentbarton operates both local and regional bus services in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History In October 1913, Trent Motor Traction Company was foun ...
(Dove Holes Depot) and Centrebus) *
Wellglade Group The Wellglade Group (WG), is a transport group operating bus and tram services in the English Midlands. History Wellglade was formed in 1986 when Brian King and Ian Morgan purchased Trent Buses from the National Bus Company in a managem ...
**
Kinchbus Kinchbus is a bus operator in Loughborough, England. Since 1998 it has been a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History Kinchbus was founded in 1987 by former Leicester City Football Club director Gilbert Kinch trading as GK Kinch and bas ...
**
Notts + Derby Notts+Derby is a bus operator providing services in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. It is a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. Services Notts+Derby operate a number of contracted bus services around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. One of their ...
**
TM Travel TM Travel is a bus operator based in Halfway, Sheffield, operating bus services in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Founded in 1995 as a family-owned operation with one bus, by March 2008 it had expanded to become the largest independent operator ...
**
Trentbarton Trentbarton operates both local and regional bus services in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History In October 1913, Trent Motor Traction Company was foun ...


Municipal operators

For a list of the remaining local-government owned bus companies see
Municipal bus companies A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom. Most municipal bus companies disappeared between 1968 and 1974 before (o ...
.


London

In London, a variety of companies run buses under contract to London Buses. They are: * companies owned by three of the 'Big Five': **
Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...
**
Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is currently (as of 2021 ...
(
London Central London Central is a bus company operating in South London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History London Central commenced operating on 1 April 1989 when London Bus ...
,
London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...
,
Blue Triangle Blue Triangle is a bus company operating services in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates most services under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service. History ...
,
Docklands Buses Docklands Buses is a bus company operating in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History Docklands Buses was formed by Harry Blundred's Transit Holdings in 1988 ...
) **
Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London as well as some services into Central London. It i ...
( East London,
Selkent Selkent (an acronym of South East London & Kent) is a bus company operating in central and south London and some parts of north-west Kent. It is a subsidiary brand of Stagecoach London and operates services under contract to Transport for Lond ...
, Thameside) * companies owned by other groups: ** Abellio (
Abellio London Abellio London is a bus company operating services in Greater London. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operates services under contract to Transport for London (TfL). Until September 2018, services were operated in Surrey under the Abellio Surrey ...
) **
ComfortDelGro ComfortDelGro Corporation is a multi-national land transport company listed on the Singapore Exchange, operating about 35,000 vehicles in seven countries. It was formed on 29 March 2003 through a merger of Singapore-based land transport compa ...
(
Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...
) ** RATP (
London Sovereign London Sovereign is a bus company in North London. It is a subsidiary of RATP Dev Transit London and operates buses under contract to Transport for London. Company history London Sovereign can trace its roots back to independent Borehamwood ...
, London United) * independent operators: ** Sullivan Buses ** Uno


Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland most bus services are operated by government-owned
Translink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to: * TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada * Translink (Northern Ireland) Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
through their subsidiaries: *
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
(formerly Citybus) * Ulsterbus Some cross-border services are operated by Bus Éireann.


Independent companies


England

*
Bakers Dolphin Bakers Dolphin is the trading name of Baker's Coaches, a bus and coach company based in Weston-super-Mare. History In 1889, Charles Baker established a business with a pony chair for hire in Weston-super-Mare. The business expanded and in the ...
* Berrys Coaches *
The Big Lemon The Big Lemon is a bus and coach operator in Brighton, East Sussex, Bristol and Bath. It is registered as a Community Interest Company. History The Big Lemon was founded by Tom Druitt in 2007. After gaining an operator licence, the firs ...
*
Bullocks Coaches Bullocks Coaches is a bus and coach operator in Cheadle, Greater Manchester. History The company was founded in 1928 by Ralph Bullock, initially as a haulage firm, with milk deliveries being the early focus. On weekends, the trucks turned int ...
*
Chalkwell Coaches Chalkwell Coaches is a bus and coach tour operator in Sittingbourne, Kent. History Chalkwell Coaches was founded in 1931 by Harry Eglington as Island Luxury Coaches. In April 1931 a short lived Sheerness to Stoke Newington service began. Dur ...
*
Connect2Wiltshire Connect2Wiltshire is a demand responsive transport network in southern Wiltshire, England. It is funded by Wiltshire Council and operates in several areas including Calne, Kennet Valley, Mere, the Vale of Pewsey, Wootton Bassett, Malmesbury and ...
*
Connexionsbuses Harrogate Coach Travel operates local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. History Harrogate Coach Travel was established in February 2002 by Craig and Julie Temple. Initially, the company operated local bu ...
*
Cumfybus Cumfybus is a bus company based in Southport, Merseyside. Its operations were small scale throughout the 1990s, but it has expanded significantly since its incorporation as a limited company in 2002, and in 2010 had a fleet of nearly 100 buses. ...
*
Dales & District Dales & District operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham and North Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Procters Coaches. History The company was founded in 1998, with the original network centring around the marke ...
*
Delaine Buses Delaine BusesCompanies House extract company no 367317
Delain ...
*
Ensignbus Ensignbus is a bus and coach operator and bus dealer based in Purfleet, Essex. History Ensignbus was formed in 1972 by Peter Newman, who remains involved today as chairman and his sons Ross and Steve as directors. Ensignbus commenced with ...
*
Go-Coach Go-Coachhire Ltd is a bus operator running a total of 40 bus services (including school services) across Kent and Sussex. The majority of these services are operated on behalf of Kent County Council from their depot in Swanley. History Go-Coa ...
* Hodge's Coaches *
Hulleys of Baslow Hulleys of Baslow is a bus company based in Baslow, Derbyshire, England. History The origins of Hulleys can be traced back to 1914 when Henry Hulley purchased a Ford Model T taxi. In 1921 a bus was purchased to operate a service from Bakewe ...
*
Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel is a bus and coach operator based in the Warwickshire town of Henley-in-Arden. History In 1909, Jack and Blanch Johnson purchased a carrier business with one carriage and two horses in Henley-in-Arden. In 1922, the ...
*
Leisuretime Leisuretime by Toureasy is the UK's first and only carbon neutral coach tour operator specialising in coach holidays and short breaks to destinations across the UK and Europe departing from pick up points across South Wales. Company overview L ...
*
Lucketts Travel Lucketts Travel is a coach hire and excursion company with depots in Fareham, Worthing and Southampton. It is a subsidiary of National Express. History The company was founded in 1926 by Harry Luckett as a haulage and storage company and only ...
* Lynx *
Mayne Coaches Mayne Coaches is a coach operator with depots in Manchester and Warrington. Administrators were appointed to the business, following an insolvency notice issued on 14 February 2022. Mayne Coaches now operates under the Go Goodwins Group of Eccle ...
*
Minsterley Motors Minsterley Motors is a bus and coach operator in Shropshire, England. The company's main operations concentrate on stage service and schools contract work for Shropshire Council. It also provides transport for the Shropshire Schools & Colleges F ...
*
Mountain Goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...
*
NIBS Buses NIBS Buses is a bus and coach operator in Essex, England. History NIBS Buses was established as a coach charter operator in 1968 by Bill and Chris Nelson as Nelson Coaches. In 1971 Beeline Coaches of Brentwood was purchased. By 1980 it operat ...
*
Quantock Motor Services Quantock Motor Services is a privately owned bus operator in Bishops Lydeard, Somerset, England. The company operates a substantial heritage fleet for private hire and on route 300. History Rexquote, a transport engineering business in Bish ...
*
Redwing Coaches Redwing Coaches is a coach tour operator in London and Kent. History Redwing Coaches was founded in 1987 by Paul Campana. Initially based in Coldharbour Lane, in 2000 it relocated to Herne Hill. In July 2006, the business was sold to Addison ...
* Redline Buses * Redrose Travel * Red Eagle Buses *
Safeguard Coaches Safeguard Coaches is a bus and coach operator based in Guildford. History Safeguard was established in 1924 by Arthur Newman, when he converted an accident damaged lorry to carry passengers, and by 1927 was running bus services to the newly con ...
*
Skills Coaches Nottingham is the seventh largest conurbation in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the city had a poor transport system in the 1980s. The government has in the early twenty-first century invested heavily in the transport network of Nottingham, ...
* Southdown PSV *
South West Coaches South West Coaches is a privately owned bus company that operates services around Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire, in South West England. History Reggie Wake started bus services from South Barrow in February 1930. Business expanded during Wor ...
* Stephensons of Essex * Sullivan Buses * Star Travel Buses *
Thames Valley Buses Thames Valley Buses, known until 2021 as Courtney Buses is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire ...
*
Travel Express Travel Express is a bus company based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. History Travel Express was founded in 2000 by Kishan Singh Chumber. Initially, the company ran services in Birmingham before switching operations to Wolverhampton. ...
*
Trustybus Centrebus is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Centrebus have a 51% shareholding in High Peak Buses and since December 2019 through c ...
* Tates Travel * Uno *
Whippet The Whippet is a dog breed of medium size. It is a sighthound breed that originated in England, descended from the Greyhound. Whippets today still strongly resemble a smaller Greyhound. Part of the hound group, Whippets have relatively few ...
* Wilfreda Beehive * Xelabus *
York Pullman York Pullman is a bus operating company based in Rufforth, England. The first company to use the Pullman name was founded in 1926 by Norman Pearce and Hartas Foxton. The Yorkshire Pullman remained in use until the company was deregistered in 20 ...
* Z&S Buses


Scotland

*
Bruce's Coaches Bruce's Coaches is a coach tour operator based in Salsburgh, Scotland. History Bruce's Coaches was founded in August 1982 by John Bruce. After operating as a Scottish Citylink subcontractor, in 1988 a service to London commenced under the Lon ...
* McGill's Bus Services **
McGill's Scotland East McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.Xplore Dundee Xplore Dundee is a bus operator based in Dundee, Scotland, operating services mainly within Dundee City. The operator also runs a service to Edinburgh Airport. It is a subsidiary of McGill’s Buses, which is based in Greenock, Scotland. Histo ...
*
West Coast Motors West Coast Motors (legally incorporated as Craig of Campbeltown Limited) is a bus, coach and ferry operator, based in Campbeltown, Scotland. The company also operates under the name ''Borders Buses'' and ''Glasgow Citybus''. History The foundi ...
**
Borders Buses Borders Buses operates both local and regional bus services in the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders, Scotland, as well as Cumbria and Northumberland, England. It is a subsidiary of West Coast Motors. History T ...


Wales

*
Leisuretime Leisuretime by Toureasy is the UK's first and only carbon neutral coach tour operator specialising in coach holidays and short breaks to destinations across the UK and Europe departing from pick up points across South Wales. Company overview L ...
*
Edwards Coaches Edwards Coaches is a family-owned coach company based in Llantrisant, near Pontypridd in South Wales. History In 1925 Edwards Coaches was founded by George Edwards. Over recent years, the company has expanded by acquiring several smaller loca ...
*
Lloyds Coaches Lloyds Coaches 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. History Lloyds Coac ...
*
Richards Brothers Richards Bros Buses ( cy, Brodyr Richards) is a bus operator based in Cardigan, Wales. It has purchased many smaller bus companies over time, and currently has 65 vehicles running local bus services and school buses in south-west Wales (primar ...
*
Tanat Valley Coaches Tanat Valley Coaches operates bus and coach services in Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, in the United Kingdom. The family-run firm is based in Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant.Big Bus Tours *
City Sightseeing City Sightseeing is an open-top, sightseeing tour bus operator. It provides tour bus services in more than 130 cities around the world. As City Sightseeing has grown and expanded, the company now also provides boat tours, sightseeing trai ...
*
Golden Tours Golden ToursCompanies House extract company no 1792277
Golden Tours (Management ...
*
The Original Tour Tootbus London, formerly The Original Tour is a London bus tour operator using open-top double-decker buses. It also holds the franchise to run City Sightseeing's London tour. Based in Wandsworth, it is a subsidiary of RATP Dev. History T ...


Express coaches

{{Main, Coach transport in the United Kingdom UK express coach operators include: *
EasyBus easyBus is part of the EasyGroup. It was founded by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 2003. It initially also offered intercity services within the UK in addition to city to airport low-cost bus transfers. History easyGroup first announce ...
*
Green Line Coaches Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home counties of England. The trademark is owned by Arriva, with services operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and Reading Buses. Green Line had its origin in the network of coach services established ...
, part of Arriva *
Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...
, part of Stagecoach *
National Express Coaches National Express is an intercity and Inter-regional coach operator providing services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of National Express Group. Most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The company's head office i ...
*
Parks Motor Group Park's Motor Group is a private family-owned business which is one of the largest privately owned motor dealership groups in Scotland, representing 26 manufacturers. They are also partners in the Motability scheme, offering cars to disabled ...
*
Scottish Citylink Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and England (where it operates as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group i ...
*
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
Bus operating companies 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 ...