One of Sunray's two Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Darts, at the bus stop for the Box Hill National Trust Visitor centre. These buses were the first two Enviro200 Darts to operate near London. |
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| Headquarters | Epsom |
| Service area | Surrey, England |
| Service type | Urban and rural bus services Private hire coaches |
| Destinations | Dorking, Epsom and Leatherhead |
| Chief executive | Noel Millier |
| Web site | www.gosunray.com |
Sunray Travel is a bus and coach operator based in the Surrey town of Epsom, England. They operate private hire coaches, and previously a variety of bus services, however as of September 2011 are now only running one Surrey County Council school bus contract. Previously two standard bus services were run, providing important links to rural Surrey villages, but the contracts for these services were lost to other operators.
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Sunray currently operate one bus service, school special route 518. Previously up to four routes have been operated. Route 318 transferred to London General in September 2011. Sunray ran the service on a Surrey CC contract on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays using one bus across the day, a route branded Dennis Dart. Latterly this was an ex-Metrobus Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer MPD, acquired in 2006. Previously a step entrance bus was used. Until October 2010, Sunray operated a commercial Sunday service on the route, operating via a slightly different route and covering roads served on Mondays-Saturdays by routes 420 and 460. Improved Surrey CC supported Sunday services on these routes, starting from August 2010 as a result of phase 1 of the council's Bus Review, was the reason the Sunday 318 was withdrawn. London General now runs on Mondays - Fridays, including Tuesdays.
One notable tender win was route 516, gained from the Surrey operations of Centra in 2006. Two Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Darts were purchased to operate this Monday - Saturday route, these were the early examples of the type and the first to operate near London.[1][2]. The contract for this service was lost to Countryliner in 2011, who started running the service on 3 September.
A further hit to Sunray Travel, at around the same time of the losses of the contracts for services 318 and 516, was the Surrey CC school special services review. Route 808, which Sunray operated, was identified as too expensive to run, and the route was terminated on 22 July 2011.
Current bus service:
| No. | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 518 | Banstead, Drift Bridge, Tattenham Corner, Epsom, Ashtead | School Service |
Bus services previously operated:
| No. | Route | Notes | Reason it is no longer run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 318 | Epsom, Burgh Heath, Tattenham Corner, Banstead, Tattenham Corner, Burgh Heath, Epsom (Circular) | Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursday and Fridays only. | Contract lost to London General. Sunray's last day on Friday 2 September 2011. |
| 516 | Chart Downs, Dorking, Dorking railway station, Brockham, Box Hill, Headley, Leatherhead, Woodbridge Tesco, Leatherhead, Ashtead, Epsom | Irregular timetable Monday to Saturday. | Contract lost to Countryliner. Sunray's last day on Friday 2 September 2011. |
| 808 | Stoneleigh, Newbury Gardens, Kingston Road, Kenilworth Road, Sparrow Farm Road, London Road, Ewell, Ewell East railway station, Nonsuch High School | School Service | Service axed by Surrey CC as part of review of school special bus serviced. Last day 22 July 2011. |
Sunray currently use their coaches for private hire services, such as airport transfers, weddings, and school parties. Excursions around South West London and Surrey are also operated. Coaches are operated with varying numbers of seats, and seat belts are fitted as standard.[3] In addition to standard coaches, a high-specification Plaxton Panther is named "Y4" as the registration is Y4 HMC from Wiltax. This has a number of luxury features.[4]