.jpg) StevensonsOptare Spectra atLichfield bus station | |
| Parent | George Stevenson Julian Peddle |
|---|---|
| Founded | 11 September 1926; 98 years ago (1926-09-11) |
| Ceased operation | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Staffordshire |
| Service area | East Midlands West Midlands |
| Service type | Bus and coach |
| Depots | 5 |
| Fleet | 260 (May 1994) |
Stevensons of Uttoxeter was a bus company that operated inStaffordshire from 1926 to 1997.
On 11 September 1926, John Stevenson commenced operating a bus service fromUttoxeter toBurton upon Trent based out of premises atSpath just north of Uttoxeter. In 1971, the business passed to John's son George, who was shortly joined by his son David. By 1977, the fleet consisted of 40 buses and coaches, 16 of which weredouble-decker buses.[1]
In the early 1980s, a small garage was opened inRugeley, in conjunction with the Stevensons taking over local services in the town formerly operated by fellow independent Middletons, as well as byNational Bus Company (NBC) operatorMidland Red. In 1983, George Stevenson sold his 50% share of the business to bus industry entrepreneurJulian Peddle.[2] On 1 October 1985, Stevensons merged its bus operations with those operated byEast Staffordshire District Council, with Stevenson and Peddle owning 51% and the council 49%.[3]
In August 1987,Midland Fox, the eastern division of the split Midland Red company, was sold by the NBC in amanagement buyout. Stevensons additionally took a minority shareholding of Midland Fox and acquired the 40-vehicleSwadlincote depot of Midland Fox.[4] In February 1992, Stevensons became one of the shareholders of the newly-formedRhondda Buses, running services from formerNational Welsh depots inCaerphilly andPorth.[2] Stevensons' shareholdings were later sold toStagecoach Holdings in November 1993, with operations there today forming part ofStagecoach South Wales.[citation needed]
Also in the early 1990s, Stevensons began operating substantial services in the West Midlands, mostly under contract toCentro. Around 100 vehicles were used by Stevensons for these operations, based from freehold sites inWillenhall,West Bromwich andSmethwick, and a separate coaching business named Sealandair was acquired. In August 1994, however, Stevensons pulled out of the West Midlands operating market in order to cut financial losses incurred from running the services, selling or tendering routes to competitorWest Midlands Travel and disposing of the Sealandair operation to theBirmingham Coach Company.[5] This left service 112, serving Burton upon Trent andBirmingham, as Stevensons' only service operating in the West Midlands.
In June 1994, Stevensons of Uttoxeter, by then operating a fleet of 260 buses from five depots inBurslem, Burton upon Trent, Rugeley, Spath and Swadlincote,[6] was purchased byBritish Bus.[7] The company was amalgamated as part ofMidland Red North, with buses adopting Midland Red's red and yellow livery with Stevensons fleetnames retained. Stevensons' Rugeley garage was closed by Midland Red North in 1995, and with the merger of British Bus and theCowie Group from the end of 1997, the Stevensons name began to phased out in favour ofArriva Midlands.[8]
Stevensons' original Spath depot was closed by Arriva Midlands in 2000, with the site acquired by the independentDunn-Line ofNottingham;[9] in 2003, this operation, rebranded Dunn-Line Uttoxeter, was sold to Solus Coaches ofTamworth.[10] Arriva then closed Swadlincote garage in 2007,[citation needed] then later sold Burton upon Trent garage to independentMidland Classic in 2016.[11]
Media related toStevensons of Uttoxeter at Wikimedia Commons
