Trivia: companies that share depots/outstations

[Simon75]

Arriva Wales, uses Alpine Coaches as an outstation. What other companies share with another operator current abd historical?

 

[Man of Kent]

Arriva Wales, uses Alpine Coaches as an outstation. What other companies share with another operator current abd historical?

Brighton & Hove has an outstation in Stagecoach's Eastbourne depot, which was inherited by the latter with the takeover of Eastbourne Buses.

 

[LAIRA]

Arriva Wales, uses Alpine Coaches as an outstation. What other companies share with another operator current abd historical?

First Kernow used Go South West garage at Milehouse in Plymouth as an outstation until the first week in July, but they have lost the contract to Stagecoach. Roselyn Coaches of Par also use Milehouse.

 

[didbygraham]

Plymouth Citybus currently host Roslyn Coaches and First South West at Milehouse. although First may already have moved out as they lost their college contracts.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Aug 2025 ==

Sorry Laira - seems we were typing the same message at the same time!

 

[Roger1973]

Reading Buses' depot (Great Knollys Street, Reading) is an outstation for First's Railair coaches, and has in the past (but not sure it is now) had Thames Travel buses outstationed there. There were also buses operated there under the 'Green Bus' brand on school services, but not sure if they were under Reading Buses' O Licence or what. Conversely, when Reading Buses operated the National Express Heathrow - Woking 925, a few coaches were outstationed at the Heathrow Coach Centre, Sipson, which is used by a few other operators as well - not sure who actually owns it.

Further back, Potteries and North Western (later Crosville after NW was split up) shared Biddulph depot, and Crosville had a number of buses based at Potteries' Newcastle (under Lyme) depot.

A couple of London Transport country bus garages had an Aldenham or Chiswick Works staff bus allocated there, and this continued in to London Country days at at least some - Tring, Garston, Luton, Reigate had buses outstationed there.

Aldershot and District's Alton depot at one time had both Wilts and Dorset and Southdown buses outstationed there, and there were a number of similar arrangements within the BET and 'Tillings' groups.

Further back in time, to the 'pirate' era of independent operators in London (mainly in the 1920s) a lot of the smaller operators didn't have their own premises, but rented space/s in a yard or garage, so many shared premises.

 

[ian1944]

From 1937 to 1996 SMT and United shared a garage in Berwick, on an awkward narrow site that now looks impossible to have served the purpose.

 

[CyrusWuff]

In the TfL area:

• London Sovereign (First) and Metroline share Edgware Garage.
• Arriva London North and Stagecoach East London technically share Ash Grove, though Arriva don't have any London routes based there at present.
• London United (First) and Transport UK technically share Fulwell, though they have separate entrances - Wellington Road and Stanley Road, respectively - and TUK call their end Twickenham

 

[joieman]

Roberts Travel Group's depot in Hugglescote near Coalville in Leicestershire has been used as an outstation by Arriva Midlands for their operations in the Coalville area following the closure of Arriva's own depot in Coalville several years ago.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

From 1937 to 1996 SMT and United shared a garage in Berwick, on an awkward narrow site that now looks impossible to have served the purpose.

I know you'll know but for the uninitiated... it was one building, subdivided, so they had their own garages. Both firms then moved to the VOSA site in Berwick and then they moved to Scremerston which was a Northumbria site with Lowland as guests.

 

[florence]

Trent Barton & Notts+Derby both use Meadow Road in Derby (although they are both Wellglade companies); and High Peak also outstation 2 buses there.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Further back, Potteries and North Western (later Crosville after NW was split up) shared Biddulph depot, and Crosville had a number of buses based at Potteries' Newcastle (under Lyme) depot.

More recently, for a couple of years prior to covid, First Potteries out stationed a handful of vehicles at D&G's Crewe depot

 

[SSmith2009]

Unsure if it still happens but trentbarton used to have a few skylink Nottingham (and before that rainbow5/indigo) vehicles stationed at Kinchbus' Loughborough depot.

 

[ACBest]

A historic one, but Stagecoach East Midlands outstationed a number of vehicles at Travel Wright’s depot in Newark between 2010 and 2022, when Travel Wright closed.

They now operate from a former car park near Northgate station.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Absolutely loads across time...

• Southern National outstationed a bus at Badgerline's Wells depot for a period
• Arriva North East had a reciprocal arrangement for few years where 4 buses were outstationed at Garnett's depot in St Helens Auckland whilst Garnetts had some school buses at Arriva's Darlington depot
• West Yorkshire based vehicles in United's Scarborough depot
• United based three vehicles in Busway's Wheatsheaf depot after closing their own Sunderland depot, and at Grierson's depot in Fishburn after closing the former TMS depot in Trimdon
• Ribble and Pennine shared a shed at Ingleton
• Go North East had an outbase at Weardale's Crook depot
• Arriva North East's Whitby outstation is in Coastal and Country's depot
• Crosville Wales shared with Lewis y Llan in Amlwch
• Stagecoach Wales have their depot in the former depot yard at Porth whilst the old depot is Thomas of Rhondda
• On closing their Monmouth depot, an outstation of Red and White was in Cleverley Coaches?
• Wilkinson Travel base three coaches in Stagecoach's South Shields depot

I don't know if you can really include the various Wellglade subsidiaries as sharing, much as you can't say the various Go South Coast firms are/were sharing. They were, to all intents and purposes, parts of the same firm.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Red Eagle and Red Rose share their Blinking Owl Garage depot and are connected by family, but are technically separate companies. While they and Redline have a ‘Red Group’ Aylesbury area day/period ticket available, I don’t know if ‘Red Group’ actually exists as a formal holding company/entity or if they might be able to count for purposes of this thread.

The bus depot in Cranleigh, Surrey, used to be shared by Arriva and coach operator Gastonia, until Arriva moved workings to their Guildford depot from September 2012 after some local work passed to other operators.

 

[Lynford1976]

Maidstone & District outstationed vehicles at the back of Boro'line Maidstone's Armstrong Road premises. That stopped after M&D registered a network of competing routes in the town, with the vehicles moving to a site in Hart Street.

 

[43055]

Unsure if it still happens but trentbarton used to have a few skylink Nottingham (and before that rainbow5/indigo) vehicles stationed at Kinchbus' Loughborough depot.

Not anymore as the skylink Nottingham no longer goes to Loughborough.

 

[JKP]

From 1937 to 1996 SMT and United shared a garage in Berwick, on an awkward narrow site that now looks impossible to have served the purpose.

The depots were adjacent though in the same building. There were two separate doors and a wall between the two. Each company employed their own traffic superintendent who had their own office. There was an enquiry office which served both operators if I recall.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The depots were adjacent though in the same building. There were two separate doors and a wall between the two. Each company employed their own traffic superintendent who had their own office. There was an enquiry office which served both operators if I recall.

I made the same observation.

I know you'll know but for the uninitiated... it was one building, subdivided, so they had their own garages. Both firms then moved to the VOSA site in Berwick and then they moved to Scremerston which was a Northumbria site with Lowland as guests.

It was one building that had two doorways opening out onto the bus station (which was essentially a road about 12 metres wide with an arrivals platform and a downward departures platform that opened up to a turning area in front of the doors).

They were totally separate and had their own offices (as shown). They also had their own rear entrances though they were never used in later years. As I say, after closure in readiness for redevelopment, both firms moved together to the industrial estate, then to Scremerston in a building that had been a car dealership. Photos from David Devoy, Mark Harrington and Dick Darlington on flickr.

 

[RDP]

A couple from NBC days in Kent and earlier in the case of Faversham where East Kent had an outstation in the Maidstone & District depot which only ceased after the two companies came under common management and the routes operated by these buses transferred to M&D. A later example occurred following the closure of M&D's Maidstone depot and the extension of the jointly operated service 10 Folkestone-Maidstone to Sevenoaks which resulted in an East Kent bus being parked overnight at M&D's Borough Green depot and an M&D bus at East Kent's Folkestone depot on alternate nights this latter arrangement lasting until deregulation. At the same time to cover for any breakdowns in the Maidstone area M&D also kept a spare bus at the Maidstone Borough Transport depot at Armstrong Road.

 

[Megafuss]

Absolutely loads across time...

• Southern National outstationed a bus at Badgerline's Wells depot for a period
• Arriva North East had a reciprocal arrangement for few years where 4 buses were outstationed at Garnett's depot in St Helens Auckland whilst Garnetts had some school buses at Arriva's Darlington depot
• West Yorkshire based vehicles in United's Scarborough depot
• United based three vehicles in Busway's Wheatsheaf depot after closing their own Sunderland depot, and at Grierson's depot in Fishburn after closing the former TMS depot in Trimdon
• Ribble and Pennine shared a shed at Ingleton
• Go North East had an outbase at Weardale's Crook depot
• Arriva North East's Whitby outstation is in Coastal and Country's depot
• Crosville Wales shared with Lewis y Llan in Amlwch
• Stagecoach Wales have their depot in the former depot yard at Porth whilst the old depot is Thomas of Rhondda
• On closing their Monmouth depot, an outstation of Red and White was in Cleverley Coaches?
• Wilkinson Travel base three coaches in Stagecoach's South Shields depot

I don't know if you can really include the various Wellglade subsidiaries as sharing, much as you can't say the various Go South Coast firms are/were sharing. They were, to all intents and purposes, parts of the same firm.

Does Arriva Northumbria use the Rothbury Motors yard at Alnwick?

 

[GusB]

After moving out of its Gairn Terrace site (now flats, funnily enough), Bluebird Buses used Grampian Transport's King Street depot in Aberdeen for a while.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Does Arriva Northumbria use the Rothbury Motors yard at Alnwick?

Indeed it does! And Arriva Northumbria did use Stagecoach at Walkergate between exiting Jesmond and finally ceding many of its North Tyneside services. Forgot that one too

 

[Clydeflyer]

When Stagecoach went head to head against Strathtay Scottish on the "Tayway" corridor (late 80s/early 90s) to the east of Dundee, it did so out of the Greyhound Coaches depot in East Dock Street... if I remember right that was before and after Greyhound were taken over by Tayside Public Transport. It was a portacabin in the corner of the yard and the buses parked wherever they could fit!

 

[markymark2000]

Not sure if this counts fully but Lloyds Coaches keep either 1 or 2 vehicles overnight at Carmel Coaches yard in Caernarfon for the T2. There is more of an agreement here though as Carmel also provide some drivers for the T2, but nevertheless, it's an instance of an operator using another companies yard for a bus overnight.

 

[RT4038]

United Counties Bedford Depot had a one vehicle outstation in the Eastern Counties Depot at Cambridge. City of Oxford Motor Services outstationed several vehicles at the United Counties depot in Aylesbury.

 

[Teapot42]

I don't know if you can really include the various Wellglade subsidiaries as sharing, much as you can't say the various Go South Coast firms are/were sharing. They were, to all intents and purposes, parts of the same firm.

While true, you also get cases such as Stagecoach Yorkshire who would rather send a bus from Chesterfield to Barnsley at 5:20 in the morning than work early (and potentially introduce late) runs on the X17 out of Barnsley depot, whether with a Stonegravels vehicle or one of their own. (Moot point of course due to upcoming franchising)

Where do the drivers come from that operate the vehicles stabled at another Wellglade company depot? If they are from the company that owns the vehicle then it seems like it's fair to include it here.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

While true, you also get cases such as Stagecoach Yorkshire who would rather send a bus from Chesterfield to Barnsley at 5:20 in the morning than work early (and potentially introduce late) runs on the X17 out of Barnsley depot, whether with a Stonegravels vehicle or one of their own. (Moot point of course due to upcoming franchising)

Where do the drivers come from that operate the vehicles stabled at another Wellglade company depot? If they are from the company that owns the vehicle then it seems like it's fair to include it here.

I was thinking of Derby depot. The situation that

• A vehicle that was a TrentBarton vehicle
• May still be in TB colours
• Is owned by the same parent with the same directors albeit a different legal entity and O license

It was the same with Go South Coast with Tourist Coaches in Salisbury, and indeed, Excelsior in Bournemouth.

It's hardly like some Stagecoach buses being parked in a First depot.

 

[Teapot42]

• Is owned by the same parent with the same directors albeit a different legal entity and O license

It would be interesting to know if there are any legalities covering this. Not exactly the same, but several companies I've worked for, the building has been owned by the parent company but market rent is still paid as if we were nothing to do with them. I suspect a lot is just being 'tax efficient', but I wonder if competition law is also involved - not giving an unfair advantage. It may even complicate some things - such as accounting for fuel used separately.

 

[341o2]

Bluestar and Morebus share a garage in Lymington, and frequently, a Bluestar vehicle can be found on a Morebus route, and vice versa. Today, Bluestar 1530 is working 112, 1531 X1, while Morebus 1547 is on Bluestar 6