 Neoplan Skyliner atYelverton depot circa 1983 | |
| Parent | Park's Motor Group |
|---|---|
| Ceased operation | 2009 |
| Service type | Long distance coach operator |
| Fleet | 33 (May 2009) |
Trathens Travel Services[1] was aDevon (England) based bus and coach operator, taken over in 1996 by Scottish-basedPark's Motor Group. The family owned group came to national attention after running express coach services fromPlymouth toLondon, in light of theTransport Act 1980.
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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 1933Bedford WLB 20 seater for £100, with which they also ran weekend trips toTorquay.[2]
By 1950 and now based inYelverton, the company had six Bedford coaches, and had bought its first new chassis, aBedford OB. Expanding locally in the 1950s with at least one new chassis per year, from 1960 they ran their first holiday service to theNetherlands. The business now existed in three divisions: bus and coach services; excursion; and private hire, including services forPlymouth Argyle Football Club.[2]
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.[2] However, by the late 1970s the company had bought its firstNeoplan chassis, which prepared it for the expansion possibilities brought about by theTransport Act 1980.
With deregulation of coach services in the UK, and introduction of the newInterCity 125 service from 1976 byBritish Rail, Trathens began an executive high-speed express coach service from Plymouth direct to London. Running mainly up theM5 motorway toBristol, the coaches then turned east along theM4 motorway to London viaSwindon andReading. Using mainly the newNeoplan Skyliner double decker, the service offered on-board light refreshments and newspapers, a hostess and toilets. The relatively low-priced service compared to the rivalNational Express, in a style more akin to the new InterCity 125 trains, brought about fast expansion for the family-owned firm.
In October 1982, the company bought Roborough House on the edge of Dartmoor, which became its new headquarters and operational base. The 12 acres (4.9 ha) site was developed with an airport-style coach holiday departure lounge, large car park, and 1,200 square metres (13,000 sq ft) workshop, with associated paint shop, offices and stores. With the fleet fast expanding, and the company adding new direct to London service access points along both the M4 and M5 -Exeter,Salisbury,Taunton, Bristol,Cardiff,Swansea and Swindon proving most popular - the company now employed a full-time sign writer. The company also opened a new London depot inBrentford, allowing both: expansion into the international tourist market, for those coming into the UK viaLondon Heathrow andGatwick Airports; as well as the founding of StarRiders a well knownsleeper bus operator.
Having beaten National Express on price and service grounds, the two companies now signed a co-operation agreement, with National Express marketing Trathens services under a joint-brand. Trathens had also greatly expanded its excursion operations, with weekly services into all of the major holiday destinations inEurope, as well as a West Country-based chain of direct-marketing travel agencies.[3]
The fast contraction of the business came about after a series of high-profile accidents from the mid-1990s onwards, involving drivers who were later found to be in excess of their allocated work hours, and various fraudulent acts associated withtachograph operations at both a driver and company level. Unable to now offer competitive direct-to-London services on either a time or cost basis, and with its brand tarnished and PSA operator's licence restricted, the group began to quickly contract, and was, in 1996, sold to Scottish-basedPark's Motor Group.[4] Following another series of tachograph- related court cases brought by theVehicle & Operator Services Agency, Park's dropped the Trathen's brand in 2009.[5] Roborough House was sold-off, and is now a specialist privateneurological care unit.
Media related toTrathens Travel Services at Wikimedia Commons
