Surrey-based operator, Epsom Coaches will stop running day trips and coach holidays from June after after a restructure to the business from parent company, RATP Dev UK.
The Epsom Coaches business will be renamed Quality Line - previously the trading name of the bus division of Epsom Coaches - and, from 25th June, brought under direct management of RATP Dev London. It will continue to provide bus services for TfL and staff travel services, for many local bodies and National Express services. The new company will continue to operate from the Epsom base.
Up until the end of June Epsom Coaches’ full holiday and day trip programme will be operated and coaches will continue to be available for private hire.
Epsom Coaches was founded in 1920 and sells coach holidays to 80 destinations across the UK, as well as to over 22 European hotspots.
Managing director, Steve Whiteway is retiring in June due to the changes and said: “It is obviously sad to see the end of Epsom Coaches after so many years, but I am proud of our unrivalled record for quality and that the company continues to be in good financial health. However, the market for coaches has changed dramatically in the past few years and the level of investment required is very high.
“That together with the difficulty of maintaining our high standards in today’s economic and social climate has led to the decision, that it is better to go out on a high and ensure we record our place in history, as one of the pioneering innovators in the coach industry and a business that always applied old fashioned courtesy with modern thinking. In my experience, a unique combination.
“Our staff have always been at the heart of what we do, I could not have wished for a better team and I pay tribute to them, for all they have achieved and will achieve under the new management.”
RATP Dev London, a subsidiary of RATP Dev, is one of the capital’s largest bus operators. With Quality Line and the London United and London Sovereign brands it will operate 70 Transport for London routes in the capital.
Fiona Taylor, Managing Director of RATP Dev London commented: “The changes announced enable RATP Dev London to speak with a stronger voice and deliver a consistent product, so that we can better serve our customers every day. We very much look forward to working with the excellent staff of Epsom Coaches as they join the RATP Dev London team.”
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