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Go West Midlands, trading as Diamond Bus, was a bus operator in the West Midlands. It was a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group in March 2006.
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 Northern Counties Paladin bodied Dennis Lance in June 2006 | |
| Parent | Go-Ahead Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2 December 2005 |
| Defunct | 3 March 2008 |
| Headquarters | Tividale, West Midlands, England |
| Locale | West Midlands |
| Service type | Bus |
| Depots | 1 |
| Fleet | 130 (March 2008) |
| Website | www.birmingham-coach.co.uk |
History
editOn 2 December 2005, the Go-Ahead Group purchased Diamond Bus,[1] following this with the purchase of Probus Management, trading as People's Express, in February 2006.[2] The two companies were merged to form Go West Midlands, starting operations under the name Diamond Bus with a fleet of over 100 buses.
In 2006, Diamond relaunched its image by increasing its frequency on route 16, matching that of competitor Travel West Midlands, and also increased frequencies on routes 17, 63, 64, 74 and 87. However, in November 2007, Diamond withdrew its services on routes 17 and 63 and majorly altered its operations on routes 74 and 87, cutting parts of the routes off completely. Diamond also lost many Centro and Staffordshire County Council contracts to other operators.
In March 2008, Go West Midlands was sold to Rotala, who also owned Central Connect and North Birmingham Busways. Rotala maintained the Diamond Bus name as a subsidiary of the group alongside other companies.[3]
Fleet
editAs of March 2008, Go West Midlands operated a fleet of over 130 buses.[3]
References
edit- ↑ "Go Ahead buys Birmingham Coach Co". Buses. No. 610. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. January 2006. p. 6. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ↑ "Acquisition of the Business and Assets of Probus Management Limited" (Press release). Newcastle upon Tyne: Go-Ahead Group. 22 February 2006. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- 1 2 "Go-Ahead sells West Midlands unit". Bus & Coach Professional. Telford: Plum Publishing. 11 March 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015.