Lucketts Travel is a coach hire and excursion company with depots in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. It is a subsidiary of

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

History

The company was founded in 1926 by Harry Luckett as a haulage and storage company and only bought its first coach in 1976. Harry's son David joined the company in 1963 and took over shortly after in 1966 when Harry died unexpectedly. The company’s haulage business continued to grow in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with

Ready Mix Concrete Ready-mix concrete (RMC) is concrete that is manufactured in a batch plant, according to each specific job requirement, then delivered to the job site "ready to use". There are two types with the first being the barrel truck or in–tran ...

and

Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...

major clients. In 1976 David purchased the company’s first coach, choosing to drive it himself. It proved a very enjoyable and successful venture and a second coach was soon purchased. By the mid-1980s the coach fleet had outnumbered the haulage fleet. In 2005 the Worthing Coaches business was purchased followed in March 2006 by Flagship from

Eastbourne Buses Eastbourne Buses was a bus operator running within the Borough of Eastbourne and into the surrounding area, including Pevensey, Hailsham, Tunbridge Wells, Uckfield, and East Grinstead, with a fleet of around 50 vehicles. Eastbourne Buses was so ...

.Lucketts:a brief history
''

Coach & Bus Week ''Coach & Bus Week'' (CBW) is the only paid-for weekly trade magazine for the road passenger transport industry in the United Kingdom. It is available by subscription, from main branches of WHSmith and from some independent newsagents. The magaz ...

'' issue 1082 10 April 2013 page 16 In January 2009 Lucketts Travel took over operation of

routes from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Victoria Coach Station Victoria Coach Station is the largest coach station in London, located in the central district of Victoria in the City of Westminster. It serves as a terminus for many medium- and long-distance coach services in the United Kingdom, and is al ...

(030),

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

(203) and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

(300) from

Tellings-Golden Miller Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey. History ...

. In March 2012 Coliseum Coaches was purchased with 12 coaches. In March 2013, Lucketts commenced operating further National Express services;

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

(025) and Victoria Coach Station -

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...

(A3). In December 2017, the Lucketts Group acquired fellow coach operator, Solent Coaches with 12 vehicles. In April 2018, North Hampshire firm, Mortons Travel was purchased with 35 vehicles. In March 2020 the business was purchased by

Fleet

As at April 2013, the fleet consisted of 103 vehicles. The breakdown was Lucketts (54 vehicles), Worthing (8), Coliseum (12) and National Express (29). In January 2013 a new common livery was introduced. A predominantly white base is offset with a swoop- brown/orange in the case of Lucketts, red/yellow for Worthing Coaches and grey/orange for Coliseum, which also carries a stylised depiction of the

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

.Unified branding for Lucketts fleets
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 17 January 2013'' Coaches dedicated to National Express services are painted in the client's livery.

References

External links

Company website
{{NEXG Coach operators in England National Express companies Transport in Hampshire Transport in West Sussex Transport companies established in 1926 1926 establishments in England