Stagecoach in South WalesCompanies House extract company no 2555509
Red & White Services Limited is a bus operator providing services in South East Wales. It is a subsidiary of

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

. A number of operator's licences were used by the company to operate services, however in April 2013 all services were consolidated under the Red & White Services licence. The previous licences were as follows (the names of which generally come from companies which have been acquired in the past): *Aberdare Bus Company Limited (Aberdare Depot) *Crosskeys Coach Hire LimitedCompanies House extract company no 2141867
Crosskeys Coach Hire Limited (Pontllanfraith Depot) *Islwyn Borough Transport LimitedCompanies House extract company no 2002020
Islwyn Borough Transport Limited (Blackwood Depot) *Parfitts Motor Services Limited (Caerphilly Depot) *Red & White Services Limited (Brynmawr and Cwmbran Depots) *Rhondda Buses LimitedCompanies House extract company no 2683764
Rhondda Buses Limited (Porth Depot) *The Valleys Bus Company Limited (Brecon Depot and Merthyr Tydfil Depot)

History

In January 1991 Western Travel purchased the eastern division of

National Welsh Omnibus Services National Welsh Omnibus Services was a bus company which operated in south-east Wales and in the Forest of Dean area of Gloucestershire from 1978 to 1992. It used the trading name ''National Welsh'' and its Welsh equivalent ''Cymru Cenedlaethol'' ...

with 180 buses and depots in

Brynmawr Brynmawr (; , ,) is a market town, community and electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at the head of the South Wales Valleys. It grew with the develo ...

, Chepstow,

Crosskeys Crosskeys ( cy, Pont-y-cymer) is a village, community and an electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales. Etymology The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains the official Welsh name for the village. The name ...

, Cwmbran and

Ross on Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye an ...

. The operation was renamed Red & White, the area's services having traded as Red & White Services until 1978. In 1992 Western Travel purchased Cynon Valley Transport which operated services in the

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

and

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after T ...

areas was purchased with 46 buses. In February 1992 a 10% shareholding in Rhondda Buses was purchased. Following the December 1991 collapse of

, Rhondda Buses was formed to purchase the

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wi ...

and

Porth Porth ( cy, Y Porth) is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Lying in the Rhondda Valley, it is regarded as the gateway connecting the Rhondda Fawr and ...

depots from the administrators. Rhondda Buses was owned by a consortium of

British Bus British Bus was a bus group in the United Kingdom. It was sold to the Cowie Group in August 1996. History British Bus was founded in November 1992 when the Drawlane Transport Group split its bus interests from its National Express in the lead ...

Potteries Motor Traction First Potteries is a bus company based in Stoke-on-Trent operating services in North Staffordshire, England. It is a part of First Midlands and a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction. As part ...

Stevensons of Uttoxeter Stevensons of Uttoxeter was a bus company that operated in Staffordshire from 1926 to 1997. History On 11 September 1926, John Stevenson commenced operating a bus service from Uttoxeter to Burton upon Trent. In 1971, the business passed to Jo ...

and Julian Peddle. In order to quell competition from neighbouring Red & White, Western Travel were sold a 10% share. Services were operated under the Rhondda fleetname from the Porth depot and Caerphilly Busways from the Caerphilly depot. Rhondda had expanded by purchasing the services of Parfitts Motor Services of

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney ...

Bridge, who operated in the

(competing with Stagecoach Red & White) and upper

valley area. In November 1993 Western Travel was sold to

. Red & White was rebranded as Stagecoach Red & White. In December 1997 Stagecoach bought out the other Rhondda Buses consortium members which were now

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.FirstBus FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. STAGECOACH South Wales - Flickr - secret coach park (5)

STAGECOACH South Wales - Flickr - secret coach park (5)

In February 2000 all operations were rebranded as Stagecoach in South Wales. The

based services were rebranded as Stagecoach in Wye & Dean and transferred to neighbouring

Stagecoach West Stagecoach West is the trading name of Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited, a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. ...

. In September 2000 the services of Phil Anslow Travel were purchased with 28 minibuses, giving Stagecoach a greater presence in the Eastern Valleys. In November 2004 Stagecoach in South Wales purchased the remaining part of Phil Anslow Travel with six minibuses and 15 coaches. The bus services were integrated into Stagecoach in South Wales, whilst the coaching business became Red & White Coaches. Subsequently Red & White Coaches failed to remain profitable and ceased in April 2006. In February 2006 Stagecoach purchased Eastern Valleys independent operator Crosskeys Coach Hire who traded as Glyn Williams Travel. Glyn Williams' operating area was within that of Stagecoach in South Wales and many of their trunk services had been operated jointly with Stagecoach. In 2008 the outstation at

Bulwark, Chepstow Bulwark is a predominantly residential area of Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, largely developed during the twentieth century. The area is so named because of its Iron Age fort, which is now maintained as a public open space. Substantial devel ...

was closed. In January 2010

Caerphilly County Borough Council Caerphilly County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is the governing body for Caerphilly County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The last full council elections took place 5 May 2022. Political control The ...

sold its 33 bus

Islwyn Borough Transport Islwyn Borough Transport was a Welsh bus operator providing services around Blackwood, Caerphilly, and surrounding towns in the former Borough of Islwyn between 1974 and 2010. History Islwyn Borough Transport was formed on the creation of the ...

subsidiary to Stagecoach.

Fleet

STAGECOACH South Wales - Flickr - secret coach park (8)

STAGECOACH South Wales - Flickr - secret coach park

As at April 2014, the fleet consisted of 367 buses and coaches.Annual Performance Wales May 2013 - April 2014
Stagecoach in South Wales The fleet once consisted of step-entranced Dennis Darts, Volvo B10Ms and Volvo Olympians but now over time it consists mainly of single deckers, and rare double deckers (excluding double deckers for school services). In 2019, Stagecoach in South Wales began using their first double deckers since the early 2000's. The double deckers used were

Alexander ALX400 The Alexander ALX400 (later known as the TransBus ALX400 and the Alexander Dennis ALX400) was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders (later by TransBus International/Alexander Dennis). It was one of the ALX-seri ...

which are used on School services. Stagecoach in South Wales operate the most 'gold' standard vehicles in the entire Stagecoach division. These are

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC (sold as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200) is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014, as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMCs e ...

(used on routes 26, 151 and 132),

Alexander Dennis Enviro300 The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro300) is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the fir ...

(used on route X24),

Alexander Dennis Enviro400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident (from which the Enviro400 was d ...

(used on route 132 and T4) and

Optare Solo SR The Optare Solo is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Optare in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketing its vehicle as having an entrance that is ...

(used on Cwmbran local services). Stagecoach in South Wales operate

TrawsCymru TrawsCymru is the brand name for a network of regional bus services in Wales, sponsored by the Welsh Government. It was introduced as a replacement for the TrawsCambria network. History Launch plans In 2010, the Welsh Assembly ran a consultatio ...

routes - them being the T4 and T14. They operate MCV Evora on these routes. They also operate the pilot Fflecsi service in

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...

and

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw ...

. The fleet today consists of: *

Wright StreetLite The Wright StreetLite is a low-floor midibus introduced by Wrightbus in 2010. It was originally available in only one body style (wheel forward) before the door forward and StreetLite Max variants were introduced in 2011 and 2012 respectively. ...

Optare Solo The Optare Solo is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Optare in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketing its vehicle as having an entrance that is ...

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

* MCV Evora

Depots

As at April 2013, Stagecoach South Wales operated eight depots in

, Blackwood,

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the c ...

, Cwmbran,

and

. In April 2014 Stagecoach announced the intended closure of the Brynmawr depot along with a reduction of services. The depot closed on 21 July 2014 and became an outstation of the divisions Head Office.

References

External links

Company website
{{Transport in Torfaen Bus operators in Wales Bus transport in Cardiff Stagecoach Group Transport in Caerphilly County Borough Transport in Monmouthshire Transport in Newport, Wales Transport in Rhondda Cynon Taf Transport in Torfaen Organisations based in Newport, Wales

History

Fleet

Depots

See also

References

External links