Safeguard Coaches
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 Safeguard's Optare Tempo |
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| Founded | 1924 |
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| Headquarters | Guildford, Surrey |
| Service area | Housing areas of Guildford |
| Service type | Urban bus services |
| Destinations | Park Barn Estate Bellfields Guildford Town Centre |
| Web site | www.safeguardcoaches.co.uk |
Safeguard Coaches is a bus and coach operator based in the Surrey town of Guildford, England.
Established in 1924, Safeguard currently provide a number of bus services around Guildford, some of which are jointly operated with Arriva Guildford and West Surrey, and coach private hire services over a large area.
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[edit] History
Safeguard was set up in 1924 by Arthur Newman, when he converted an accident damaged lorry to carry passengers, and by 1927 was running bus services to the newly constructed Aldershot Road housing estate. Shortly afterwards, another service to Onslow Village was started. [1]
However, the main company in the area Aldershot and District challenged Safeguard with six months of competition. After this, the two companies agreed that Safeguard would run the Woodside and Onslow routes, and both companies the Guildford Park service.
In time, Safeguard extended the Woodside route to Westborough and then to Park Barn, and the Guildford Park service reached Dennisville.
In 2000, Safeguard gained the contract for the Guildford Shuttle, a free service connecting various parts of Guildford Town Centre. At first, a Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer Mini Pointer Dart was acquired, but the council wanted to use an Optare Alero, one of which arrived delayed later. However, this proved too small and so another Mini Pointer Dart was acquired.
More recently, in 2002, Safeguard lost some school bus work and Onslow routes 10/11 to Countryliner after ten years. As a result of this, the fleet was cut from ten to seven vehicles.
In 2004, Farnham Coaches was purchased, adding a significant amount of vehicles to the Safeguard fleet.
[edit] Current services
[edit] Bus routes
Safeguard primary operate three main routes today. One is route 3, running to Bellfields Estate from Guildford, which is jointly operated by Arriva Guildford and West Surrey. Route 4 and 5 run in opposite directions around Park Barn, the 4 being shared with Arriva, and the 5 run by itself but with an evening service run by Arriva. [2]
| No. | Route | Other notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Guildford Town Centre - Bellfields | Operated jointly with Arriva |
| 4 | Guildford - Aldershot Road Estate - Park Barn - Guildford | Operated jointly with Arriva. |
| 5 | Guildford - Park Barn - Aldershot Road Estate - Guildford | Evening service run by Arriva. |
| 815 | Effingham Junction, Horsley station, West Horsley, Ripley, Burnt Common, George Abbot and St Peter's Schools | School bus route. |
| 825 | Effingham Junction, Horsley station, West Horsley, Ripley, Burnt Common, George Abbot and St Peter's Schools | School bus route. |
| Guildford Shuttle | Town centre shuttle, serving various shops, the castle, bus station and train station. | Free service. |
[edit] Coaches
Most coach work is private hire, with a high amount of it coming from local schools. Coaches are also run to the University of Surrey from various places, including areas as far afield as Crawley and Chichester.
[edit] Farnham Coaches
Farnham Coaches was started in 1946 and was purchased by Safeguard in 2004, bringing a number of coaches to the fleet, most of which were Setras. The purple and white livery has now been replaced in favours of Safeguard's cream and red, and the Setra fleet decreased. [3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Safegurad Coaches - History Accessed 27 March 2008
- ^ Surrey County Council - Bus services in Guildford Accessed 27 March 2008
- ^ Farnham Coaches - Home page Accessed 27 March 2008
[edit] External links
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