Bowers CoachesCompanies House extract company no 548351 Eric W Bowers Limited was a bus company based in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, England. The company operated bus and coach services in Cheshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester from 1952 until 2012. In its later years, it was a subsidiary of Centrebus and in 2012 it was merged with the Dove Holes depot of Trent Barton to form High Peak Buses.
History
Bowers Coaches was founded in 1952 by Eric Bower as a coach operator.Only Three Coaches May Serve Blackwell Show Commercial Motor 7 November 1958 In 1957, the charter operations of Park Hire Garages & Motors were acquired.Coach and Bus Takeovers in the North Commercial Motor 6 September 1957 It later expanded into local bus operation, particularly after the deregulation of local bus services in 1986. Based in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, it operated services centred on the towns of Buxton, Glossop and New Mills extending to some surrounding areas such as the town of Marple in Stockport and Ashbourne in the Derbyshire Dales.
In June 2007, the business was purchased by Centrebus who introduced its corporate orange and blue livery, but retained the Bowers trading name. Bowers ceased trading on 31 March 2012 when Centrebus entered a 50/50 joint venture with Wellglade Group that saw the latter's Trent Barton subsidiary combine its Dove Holes operations with those of Bowers to form High Peak Buses.New High Peak bus company following merger Buxton Advertiser 18 May 2011Wellglade/Centrebus join up in Buxton Bus & Coach Professional 24 May 2011New bus operator hits the road Trentbarton
Although the trading name has ceased to be used, services are still operated using Bowers Coaches operating licence.Notices & Proceedings Traffic Commissioner of North West England 22 November 2013
Routes As at March 2012, Bowers Coaches operated 19 routes:Timetable Information Bowers March 2012 19: Macclesfield to Prestbury 27: Macclesfield to Chelford via Knutsford 42: Buxton to Ashbourne 58: Buxton to Macclesfield 60: Buxton to Disley 61: Buxton to Glossop via New Mills and Hayfield 62: Marple to Hayfield via New Mills 64: Macclesfield to Glossop via New Mills and Hayfield 69: Hayfield to Chapel-en-le-Frith via New Mills 69A: Glossop to Chapel-en-le-Frith via Hayfield 76: Buxton Town Service 189: Buxton to Whaley Bridge via Dove Holes, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Chinley 190: Buxton to Whaley Bridge via Peak Forest, Chapel-en-le-Frithand Chinley 300: Knutsford Town Circular 389: New Mills Town Service 393: Padfield to Shirebrook Park via Glossop 394: Glossop to Stepping Hill Hospital via Marple 411: Ashbourne to Parwich 442: Ashbourne to Buxton via Hartington, Warslow and Longnor
The majority were operated under contract to Derbyshire County Council and other local authorities; however, a number of services such as route 61 between Glossop and Buxton were operated commercially. Until September 2007, the company operated an hourly service between Hayfield and Stockport, Greater Manchester as route 62/62A; however, this service was withdrawn to run only as far as Marple due to falling revenues.
Fleet As at August 2011, Bowers operated a fleet of 29 buses.Bowers Coaches Derby Bus Depot
References
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