Greyhound Motors
 Preserved Bristol MW6G in Bristol in August 2011 | |
| Parent | Bristol Omnibus Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 |
| Ceased operation | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Bristol |
| Service area | Bristol London Bournemouth Paignton |
| Service type | Bus and long-distance coach operator |
| Hubs | Prince Street (until 1958) Bristol bus station (from 1958) |
Greyhound Motors, later known as Bristol Greyhound, was an English bus and coach company based in Bristol.
History
[edit]Greyhound Motors was formed in February 1921 by Sydney Tom Toogood[1] to operate motor buses in Bristol.
In February 1925, it commenced a long-distance coach service between Bristol and London, which has been claimed to be the first long-distance coach service with scheduled stops en route to pick up and set down passengers.[2][3] The journey time was eight hours.[4][5] It later began services from Bristol to Bournemouth and Paignton, and from London to Bournemouth.[6] It also continued to run local bus services in Bristol, competing fiercely with Bristol Tramways.
In 1928, the company was acquired by Bristol Tramways. Greyhound continued to operate as a separate business, including its bus routes in Bristol until 1936.[7][8] The new owners expanded the Greyhound coach operations. In 1934 it was one of the founder members of the Associated Motorways consortium of long-distance coach operators, but continued the London service outside the consortium.
At the beginning of 1936, the company's business was absorbed into Bristol Tramways.[9] Bristol Omnibus Company continued to use the Greyhound name for its long-distance coach services until 1972, when the National Bus Company required Bristol to adopt the new National Express brand.[10]
Shortly before its demise, on 9 January 1972 Greyhound Motors commenced operating an express Bristol to London service via the new M4 motorway.[11]
Revival of the name
[edit]In August 2009, FirstGroup who had owned the former Bristol Omnibus Company since April 1988, announced the reintroduction of the Greyhound brand in the United Kingdom.[12] The new Greyhound UK was a byproduct of FirstGroup purchasing the Greyhound Lines business in the United States in February 2007.[13] Greyhound UK also connected Bristol with Swansea and Bristol Airport until March 2015.[14][15] This was the last Greyhound service operated.
References
[edit]- ^ "Inaugurating the Longest Bus Service". Commercial Motor. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ Hibbs, J (1986) The Country Bus David & Charles, p.100
- ^ Clever Organisation of Long-Distance Operation Commercial Motor 16 December 1932 page 99
- ^ Inaugurating the Longest Bus Service Commercial Motor 17 February 1925 page 12
- ^ Improving a Long-Distance Bus Service Commercial Motor 6 April 1926 page 6
- ^ The New Competition on the London-Bournemouth Route Commercial Motor 17 March 1931 page 131
- ^ Greyhound Motors Liquidated Commercial Motor 10 January 1936 page 61
- ^ "Bus and tram routes in 1933". Bristol Vintage Bus Group. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "History of Bristol's buses". Bristol Vintage Bus Group. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ Curtis, C and Walker, M (2007) Bristol Omnibus Services: The Green Years Millstream Books ISBN 978-0-948975-80-6 p.156
- ^ Non-stop motorway express by Greyhound Commercial Motor 7 January 1972 page 15
- ^ FirstGroup launch Greyhound bus service The Guardian 19 August 2009
- ^ FirstGroup buys Greyhound buses BBC News 9 February 2007
- ^ Greyhound speeds airport link to Bristol Archived 12 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach 6 May 2014
- ^ Greyhound halts bus service between Cardiff and Bristol Airport Wales Online 3 February 2015
External links
[edit]
Media related to Bristol Greyhound (bus company) at Wikimedia Commons
Further reading
[edit]- Hulin, P (1974) Bristol's Buses Published by the author
- Healey, K (2002) Associated Motorways Venture Publications ISBN 1-898432-57-0
