WebberBus
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Optare Solo M850SL in (Bridgwater in April 2014 | |
| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bridgwater |
| Service area | Somerset |
| Service type | Bus and coach services |
| Chief executive | Tim Gardner |
| Website |
www |
WebberBus[1] is a privately owned company that operates bus services around Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Highbridge, Minehead, Taunton, Street, Glastonbury, and Wells in Somerset and also around Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England.
It operates regular inter-urban services radiating from Taunton on a commercial basis, as well as a number of rural services and local town routes under contract to Somerset County Council and North Somerset Council. WebberBus operates dedicated yellow school buses on contracted work, and also a fleet of coaches for private hire.
History
Over 50 years ago F Webber & Son expanded their haulage business to include passenger transport with a number of contracts to carry children from Exmoor to school. In 1999 WebberBus was formed, at the time that a second depot was opened in Bridgwater.[2]
In 2005 WebberBus won two contracts from Somerset County Council to operate route 16 from Bridgwater to Langport,[3] and routes 100/101 the Minehead Town Service.[4]
Their first commercial route commenced in January 2007, route 105 from Minehead to Watchet and Williton.[5]
A new route between Bridgwater and Taunton was launched in February 2008 with two Optare Versas.[6] The route proved so successful that a third vehicle was acquired in January 2009 to operate an extension to Burnham-on-Sea.
In 2009 WebberBus gained two more contracted routes from First Somerset & Avon on the basis of operating better quality vehicles. The company had invested £1.5 million into its bus fleet in the preceding four years.[7]
At the start of 2010, WebberBus won the contracts to operate four routes in Weston-super-Mare from North Somerset Council.[8] In February 2013 North Somerset Council announced that the contracts for these routes would be terminated, due to poor service provision.[9]
In March 2010, WebberBus won the contract to operate the Taunton Flyer Park and Ride service between two car parks at Silk Mills and Taunton Gateway. Eight new Optare Versas were ordered to operate the routes. The seven-year contract began in November 2010.[10][11] However on 17 April 2014, Somerset County Council announced the contract for the Taunton Park & Ride services had been terminated due to complaints of late and missing buses, and that The Buses of Somerset would operate the Park & Ride services in the interim.[12]
References
- ↑ Companies House extract company no 5130334 Webberbus Limited
- ↑ A heritage in serving communities Webberbus
- ↑ "Bus Registration Search". VOSA. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ↑ "Bus Registration Search". VOSA. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ↑ "Bus Registration Search". VOSA. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ↑ Versas launch new Somerset service Bus & Coach Professional 29 February 2008
- ↑ New business for local bus firms BBC News 7 September 2009
- ↑ "Restored routes and new operators". North Somerset Council. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ↑ Bus company axed over 'poor service' Western Mercury 21 February 2013
- ↑ News Somerset County Council
- ↑ Webberbus order eight Versas for new P&R contract automotivepr.com 19 March 2010
- ↑ "New operator for Taunton Park & Ride". Somersetnewsroom.com. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
External links
Media related to Webberbus at Wikimedia Commons
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