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Bullocks Coaches (formerly known as R. Bullock & Co. Transport) is a Manchester bus company that runs a popular service between Piccadilly Gardens and Woodford seven days a week. They are named after Ralph Bullock, a local entrepreneur, and founder of the business. The buses are traditionally red and white, although newer buses also include bronze; and the Oxford Road Link is predominantly white.
[edit] Early days
The company was founded by Ralph Bullock initially as a haulage firm in 1928, with milk deliveries being the early focus. At the weekend, the trucks turned into cloth-top charabancs for trips to the seaside. By the mid-1930s, the fleet included trucks and proper coaches, but the trucks were nationalised under the Transport Act 1947 during Atlee's Labour government, leaving only the coaches in the business. Ralph was fond of Foden coaches, and the majority of the fleet throughout the 1940s to 1960s were Fodens, of which two still survive to this day, the oldest from 1949 is still roadworthy, and is currently on loan to the Museum of Transport in Manchester.
[edit] Recent times
The firm remained small, with around 20 vehicles, until 1986, when deregulation of buses was introduced by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. The fleet now includes many buses as well as coaches, numbering around 75-80 vehicles in total.
[edit] Bus routes
- 42 East Didsbury - Manchester
- 42A Reddish - East Didsbury - Manchester
- 147 Manchester Piccadilly Station - Universities & Hospitals (circular)
- 157 Woodford - Cheadle - East Didsbury - Manchester
- 370 Manchester - Stockport
- 371 Manchester - Stockport
[edit] Vehicle types in use
[edit] References
- Buses magazine, January 1993: Bullocks of Cheadle, Howard J. Piltz
- Bus & Coach Preservation magazine, February 2003: Fabulous Foden, Bullock's survivors, Stephen Morris & Philip Lamb
- The Foden News, c. 1953: Mr R. Bullock of Cheadle.
[edit] External links
