Southdown PSV Limited,[1] which traded as Southdown Buses, was a medium-sized country bus operator, with 18 routes across East Surrey, West Sussex, South London and Kent, 9 of which were school bus routes. Most of their routes were operated on behalf of Surrey County Council, other work included railway replacement services for planned engineering work.
Founded | April 2002 |
---|---|
Ceased operation | 2 September 2023 |
Headquarters | Copthorne |
Service area | West Sussex East Surrey Kent South London |
Service type | Bus services |
Routes | 18 (9 of which were school routes) |
Hubs | Oxted, East Grinstead, Caterham & Westerham |
Fleet | 24 (June 2023) |
Chief executive | Stephen Wallis |
Website | http://www.southdown.net |
Southdown Buses operated mainly in Oxted, Horley, Redhill, Westerham, Lingfield, Caterham, and East Grinstead.[2] Their only operating garage was in Copthorne.
On 1 February 2023, Southdown Buses was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group, with the company being brought under the control of Brighton & Hove and the Southdown Buses identity initially being retained.[3] Southdown Buses ceased operations on 2 September 2023, with services, staff and vehicles transferred to Metrobus.[4]
Fleet
editAs of June 2023, Southdown Buses operated a fleet of 24 buses. The fleet consisted of a mixture of Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL, Alexander Dennis Enviro200, Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodied Scania N250UD buses.[5]
In 2018, Southdown Buses took delivery of two Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses based on the Scania N250UD chassis, having trialled a demonstrator the previous year.[6] In 2021, Southdown took delivery of two Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC buses.[7][8]
Dealership
editIn addition to being a bus operator, Southdown Buses also used to be a new and used bus dealer. In September 2016, the business was split with Southdown Buses' managing director, Steve Swain taking over the dealership and renaming it Chartwell Bus & Coach Sales.[9][10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ Companies House extract company no 4416005 Southdown PSV Limited
- ^ Timetables Archived 5 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Southdown Buses
- ^ "Southdown to join Brighton and Hove Buses owner Go Ahead". The Argus. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "Southdown is joining the Metrobus family". Southdown Buses. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Southdown Buses Fleet List". Southdown Buses. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ Laura Cork (27 April 2018). "Southdown Buses expands fleet with Scania-ADL double-deckers". Transport Engineer. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Southdown takes delivery of two new ADL Enviro200 buses". Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Southdown Buses takes delivery of two brand new ADL Enviro200 buses". Alexander Dennis. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ Bus Sales Southdown PSV Archived 22 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Home Archived 12 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Chartwell Bus & Coach Sales
- ^ Southdown's dealership becomes Chartwell Archived 9 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Route One 17 August 2016
- ^ Southdown PSV splits Archived 9 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Buyer 17 August 2016