Express Motors
Express Motors was a bus and coach hire company based in Penygroes, Gwynedd. The company operated public bus services in the Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bangor and Llandudno areas, as well as long-distance TrawsCambria service T2 between Bangor and Aberystwyth.
 | |
| Parent | Eric Jones |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1908 |
| Defunct | December 2017 |
| Headquarters | Penygroes |
| Service area | Gwynedd |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Fleet | 40 (September 2012) |
| Website | www.expressmotors.co.uk |
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History
Express Motors was established in 1908.[1] It remained a family-owned business and was owned by Eric Jones.[2] It operated a small number of local bus services alongside its main coach hire work until 1970, when the bus routes were sold to Silver Star.[3]
With bus deregulation in October 1986, Express Motors re-entered the local service market. A local route in Caernarfon was introduced in competition with National Bus Company subsidiary Crosville Cymru May. Contracted work on route 1 (Caernarfon-Blaenau Ffestiniog) was won at the same time as part of the Bws Gwynedd network. The operations of Maldwyn Jones were acquired in 1989. A competing route between Caernarfon and Bangor was introduced in 1991 but withdrawn after four years.[4]
In 2005 the company began a new route linking Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Two years later the Welsh Assembly Government granted free rail travel to pensioners on the parallel Conwy Valley Line, causing passenger numbers on the route to be lower than expected.[2]
The four bus services operated by Silver Star were taken over by Express Motors along with four buses in November 2010 in a move which reversed the events of 1970.[3]
In August 2017, an investigation of the company after a crash in France the previous year found that maintenance records had been falsified. The company's licence was revoked with effect from 31 December.[5][6] Former Caernarfon, Bangor and Blaenau Ffestiniog routes were retendered and were awarded to Arriva Buses Wales[7][8] and South Gwynedd routes were awarded to Lloyds Coaches.[8]
After the end of Express Motors operations, a submission for a new licence under the name Express Motors (Caernarfon) was submitted by former directors of the original company.[9] It emerged during the enquiry that the original company had continued some of its operations into January 2018 without a licence.[10] The submission was rejected in February 2018.[11]
Fleet
As at September 2012 Express Motors operated 25 buses and 15 coaches.[12][13]
References
- About Us Express Motors
- "Bus firm losing out over free rail trips". Wales Online. 8 March 2011.
- Millar, Alan (November 2010). "Silver Star gives up its local bus routes to Express Motors". Buses Magazine. Ian Allan Publishing (668): 8.
- Saxby, Bob (Autumn 1996). "Bws Gwynedd: The end of an era". Buses Focus: 36–42.
- France crash bus firm Express Motors to lose licence. 22 August 2017. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-41010373
- Two family-run companies have bus licences revoked. Thursday, 24 August 2017. By Antony Gedge. Cambrian News http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=116017&headline=Two%20family-run%20companies%20have%20bus%20licences%20revoked§ionIs=news&searchyear=2017
- "Express Motors Cease Trading". Arriva. 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- Crump, Eryl (19 December 2017). "Passengers fear impact of service cuts as new operators take over Gwynedd routes". DailyPost. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/new-express-motors-bid-licence-14164904
- https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/bus-firm-operating-without-licence-14169227
- https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/bid-set-up-new-express-14337983
- Our Fleet - Buses Express Motors
- Our Fleet - Coaches Express Motors
External links
- Express Motors website (Archive)
