British Coachways

British Coachways

Preserved Plaxton bodied Volvo B58 in January 2011
Slogan	Ride the flag
Founded	October 1980
Ceased operation	October 1982
Service type	Long distance coach operator
Routes	6
Hubs	London
Annual ridership	750,000
Operator	Barton Transport Ellerman Bee Line Excelsior Coaches Grey-Green Morris Bros Park's Motor Group Shearings Wallace Arnold

British Coachways was a consortium of independent coach operating companies in the United Kingdom. Formed immediately after the deregulation of coach services in October 1980, it competed with the state-owned National Express and Scottish Bus Group on a range of long-distance routes. Initially composed of six members, it varied in size and composition over its two years of operation to include a range of eight different companies.

The consortium attempted to draw passengers away from the established services by charging significantly lower fares than the existing operators. National Express and Scottish Bus Group responded by reducing fares to similar levels, reducing the appeal of British Coachways' services. In contrast to National Express, operators were given the choice of which vehicle type to operate, so a variety of types were used.

The consortium was not granted access to large facilities in major cities, such as Victoria Coach Station in London, and was forced to use less developed alternative sites. In October 1982 British Coachways was broken up and the brand name abandoned. All but one of its services ceased to operate. The sole survivor was the service between London and Bournemouth, which continued to be operated by former British Coachways member Excelsior Coaches until 1998.

Prior to 1980, the majority of long-distance coach services in the United Kingdom were operated by National Express Coaches (NEX), a subsidiary of the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC), which sourced its vehicles from other NBC subsidiaries. Coach services in Scotland, including routes between Scotland and England, were operated by the subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group (SBG), which was also state-owned. On 6 October 1980, the coach service market was deregulated by the Transport Act 1980.

To compete effectively with the large and well-recognised network operated by the state-owned companies, a group of established independent coach operators decided to form a consortium to run over a range of routes. The group initially comprised Wallace Arnold, based in Leeds; Grey-Green, operating from London; Shearings of Altrincham; Morris Bros of Swansea; Ellerman Bee Line, of Middlesbrough; and Park's Motor Group, based in Hamilton. The six companies owned a combined fleet of over 700 coaches. The consortium chose the name British Coachways to present a nationwide image, and a small number of coaches received a new livery of white, red and blue to advertise the venture.