Focus on Independents (1)

Today and tomorrow we look at British independents. We’ve recently seen a spate of high profile independents leaving the market. Driver CPC, fuel increases, and the distinct possibility of quality contracts in each of the PTEs conspire to make life uncomfortable for such operators. And we’ve asked before how long will it be before the larger groups take the rest. With them willing to buy and with ‘the nice decade behind us’ to quote the Bank of England, who’s to blame an operator for selling, if approached?

There are still signs, however, of strong, forward-thinking independent entrepreneurs in the industry. Examples include GHA Coaches and Centrebus.

Though Leicester’s Centrebus sold its Uno operation recently, it was the surprise purchaser of two Huddersfield operations, namely Stagecoach Huddersfield and local independent, K-line. There was a widely held view that Stagecoach Huddersfield would go to Arriva; in the event, Arriva is understood to hold a 40 per cent stake in Julian Peddle’s Centrebus business, a man with whom Arriva can do business. Peddle is late of Stevenson’s and MK Metro. The affect of the Uno sale and two purchases gives Centrebus over 160 vehicles.

Then there’s north Wales’ GHA Coaches, a prime example of the new bread of independent operator. The completion last week of the purchase of Vale of Llangollen (Vale Travel) sees GHA spiral to 160 vehicles. This means GHA is the sixth largest operator in Wales.

GHA previously bought out four local bus & coach operators in its own operating territory (including reputedly the last operator in Wales regularly to use a conductor!). Vale adds one bus service in GHA’s operating area, plus school contracts in Wales and Cheshire. Vale no longer operates the Globus and Cosmos extended tours for which is was most well known throughout the country, where its cream coaches could turn up anywhere.

Omnibuses2.0’s Northern Correspondent adds, “GHA appears as a true rags to riches operator, starting out with one bus and one college contract in 1992. It now operates buses across north Wales and 13 months ago began the hourly former First Runcorn-Ellesmere Port service, to add to those it has already gained in Cheshire.

“GHA specialises in local authority contract work but through take overs, building its subsidised services to commercial levels, and its own commercial judgement is steadily expanding into parts of the commercial territory occupied by Arriva.

“The operator holds a number of O licences and is best thought of as a group, though it projects itself more or less as a single entity, even though much of its newer, accessible fleet is in one council-inspired livery or another. It has rebuffed offers of take overs from others.”

Photo: Northern Correspondent