Trathens Travel Services

Trathens Travel Services

Neoplan Skyliner at Yelverton depot circa 1983
Parent	Park's Motor Group
Ceased operation	2009
Service type	Long distance coach operator
Fleet	33 (May 2009)

Trathens Travel Services was a Devon, England based bus and coach operator, taken over in 1996 by Scottish-based Park's Motor Group. The family owned group came to national attention after running express coach services from Plymouth to London, in light of the Transport Act 1980.

Post-World War II, Dartmoor farmer Frederick Trathen and his son Eric drove their lorry, containing produce, to the market 13 miles (21 km) away in Plymouth. In 1946, he started carrying locals on the trip, and then due to increasing demand installed a wooden trestle bench. The service proved so popular, that Trathen's bought a second-hand 1933 Bedford WLB 20 seater for £100, with which they also ran weekend trips to Torquay.

By 1950 and now based in Yelverton, the company had six Bedford coaches, and had bought its first new chassis, a Bedford OB. Expanding locally in the 1950s with at least one new chassis per year, from 1960 they ran their first holiday service to the Netherlands. The business now existed in three divisions: bus and coach services; excursion; and private hire, including services for Plymouth Argyle Football Club.

From the 1970s, Eric’s sons Mike and David began running the business, which was by now expanding with four new chassis per year. The business at this time was mainly expanding through its excursion services, which used continental-style coach bodies build on traditional British chassis. However, by the late 1970s the company had bought its first Neoplan chassis, which prepared it for the expansion possibilities bought about by the Transport Act 1980.

With deregulation of coach services in the UK, and introduction of the new InterCity 125 service from 1976 by British Rail, Trathens began an executive high-speed express coach service from Plymouth direct to London. Running mainly up the M5 motorway to Bristol, the coaches then turned east along the M4 motorway to London via Swindon and Reading. Using mainly the new Neoplan Skyliner double decker, the service offered on-board light refreshments and newspapers, a hostess and toilets. The relatively low-priced service compared to the rival National Express, in a style more akin to the new InterCity 125 trains, brought about fast expansion for the family-owned firm.