Alexander Dennis Enviro400 with route 33 branding in April 2013
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Parent | National Express |
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Founded | 26 October 1986 |
Headquarters | Birmingham |
Service area | West Midlands |
Service type | Bus services |
Alliance | National Express Coventry |
Chief executive | Peter Coates |
Website | nxbus |
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton. It is a subsidiary of the National Express Group.
On 26 October 1986 as part of the deregulation of bus services, West Midlands Travel was formed. It was previously the bus operations of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, which ceased to be a bus operator, but successor organisation Transport for West Midlands retains a co-ordinating role, funding infrastructure like bus stations, providing information, paying for socially necessary services, and concessionary fares. West Midlands Travel remained in public ownership under the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority until December 1991, when it was sold in an Employee Share Ownership Plan to its management and employees.
In April 1995 the company merged with National Express, and in September 1996 rebranded as Travel West Midlands. In November 2002 the Coventry services were rebranded Travel Coventry.
The former Travel Your Bus and Travel Merry Hill subsidiaries have been merged into the main fleet.
In February 2008 as part of a rebranding of all National Express subsidiaries, it was renamed National Express West Midlands. The Coventry service was rebranded as National Express Coventry. The current red and white is the sixth livery to be used by the company. A seventh livery of crimson and maroon is being introduced from 2015 starting with Birmingham routes 9 and 50.
Previously garages in Stourbridge, Dudley, Merry Hill (Part of Travel Merry Hill), Harts Hill, Sutton Coldfield, Hockley, Cotteridge, Selly Oak, Wolverhampton, Washwood Heath and Quinton have been operated. The Dudley garage closed on 28 August 1993 to make way for the Dudley Southern By-Pass (which opened in 1999) and was replaced, along with the former Travel Merry Hill depot, by a depot at Pensnett. In July 2010, Lea Hall depot closed.