Central Buses
 | |
 Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 in September 2012 | |
| Parent | Geoff Cross |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 2003 |
| Defunct | 24 February 2018 |
| Headquarters | Perry Barr |
| Service area | Birmingham Coventry Staffordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire Shropshire |
| Service type | Bus operator |
| Routes | 23 (February 2018) |
| Depots | 2 |
| Fleet | 31 (February 2018) |
| Website | www.centralbuses.com |
Central Buses[1] was a bus company based in Birmingham, England.
History
Central Buses was founded in September 2003 by 16-year-old Geoff Cross, in partnership with his father Peter.[2][3]
Later, a separate arm of the company was created. Centrad was created under the CEN Group brand, which Central Buses also joined. This supplies electronic equipment to the bus industry.[2]
Many of the services operated by Central Buses were operated under contract to Transport for West Midlands. All buses were equipped to use prepaid fare cards.[4][5][6][7]
In February 2018, Central Buses was purchased by Rotala with its 23 services and 31 buses taken over by its Diamond West Midlands subsidiary.[8][9][10] Operations ceased at the conclusion of services on 24 February 2018.[11][12]
Fleet
As of February 2018, the fleet consisted of 31 buses. Fleet livery was red and grey.[11]
References
- ^ Companies House extract company no 4754447 Cen Group Limited
- ^ a b Start your own business: Young bus operator takes slow lane to success Daily Express 24 February 2010
- ^ "Rotala grows again with £2m Central Buses deal" Buses issue 756 March 2018 page 7
- ^ "Buses to trial new pre-paid systems". Express & Star. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ John, Patrice (9 October 2009). "Date set for Birmingham's delayed bus smartcard system". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ John, Patrice (17 October 2009). "West Midlands public transport users soon to see electronic ticketing system". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ Authi, Jasbir (20 January 2010). "Smartcard a step closer on Midlands transport". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ Rotala buys Central Buses Coach & Bus Week 2 February 2018
- ^ Rotala buys Central Buses for £1.95 million Route One 2 February 2018
- ^ "Central Buses to become Diamond Bus Services". Diamond Bus. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Central Buses bows out in style" Buses issue 757 April 2018 page 10
- ^ "Central Farewell" Bus & Coach Preservation May 2018 page 21
External links
Media related to Central Buses at Wikimedia Commons
- Former bus operators in Shropshire
- Former bus operators in the West Midlands (county)
- Former bus operators in Worcestershire
- Transport companies established in 2003
- Transport companies disestablished in 2018
- 2003 establishments in England
- 2018 disestablishments in England
- British companies established in 2003
- British companies disestablished in 2018