Go South Coast

Go South Coast^[4] is a bus operator on the south coast of England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. All services under the company come under its operating certificate, however the buses run under a multitude of brands.^[5]

Go South Coast

Parent	Go-Ahead Group
Founded	2005; 20 years ago (2005)
Headquarters	Poole
Service area	Dorset Hampshire Isle of Wight Wiltshire Somerset[1]
Service type	Bus & coach services
Depots	13
Fleet	850 [2]
Annual ridership	46 million (June 2014)[2]
Chief executive	Ben Murray[3]
Website	gosouthcoast.co.uk

History

Wilts & Dorset Scania OmniCity in Salisbury in July 2009

Bluestar Mercedes-Benz Citaro in Southampton in August 2008

Southern Vectis Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL in Newport in August 2008

In August 2003 the Go-Ahead Group purchased the business of Wilts & Dorset, including its Damory Coaches and Tourist Group subsidiaries,^[6] followed in July 2005 by Southern Vectis including its Solent Blue Line subsidiary.^[7] In February 2006 Wilts & Dorset purchased bus refurbishment company Hants & Dorset Trim.^[8]

Later in 2006, Go-Ahead consolidated the management of its south coast operations under Go South Coast in Poole.

In October 2006 Marchwood Motorways was purchased, with it being integrated into Bluestar.^[9][10]

Thamesdown Transport was purchased from Swindon Borough Council in February 2017.^[11]

Subsidiaries

All public bus services come under local brands, which have distinct liveries. These are:

• Bluestar – The brand for Southampton and the surrounding area.
• Unilink – Contracted to provide services for the University of Southampton
• Morebus – The brand for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, as well as the surrounding areas.
• UNIBUS – The brand for Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth services.
• Salisbury Reds – The brand for Salisbury, as well as the surrounding area.
• Southern Vectis – The brand for all buses on the Isle of Wight
• Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) – The brand in Swindon.

The company also has three coach brands:^[12]

• Excelsior Coaches – Bournemouth, offering private coach hire, school services and tours
• Damory Coaches – school buses and services in central East Dorset
• Tourist Group – Dorset and Wiltshire, providing services to schools in Wiltshire.

Finally, the company has a bus refurbishment and repair shop, called 'Hants and Dorset Trim'. The company is based in Eastleigh.

Fleet

As at May 2023, Go South Coast operated over 850 buses and coaches from thirteen depots.^[2]