Your Bus

Your Bus was a trading name of Smiths Coaches (Shenington) Ltd who were also known as Smiths of Tysoe. The Company was based on the Arden Forest Industrial Estate in Alcester in Warwickshire. The Your Bus network of bus services started on 30th November 1987 when a 50Y service introduced. This ran every 20 minutes in competition with the West Midlands Travel’s route 50 between Druids Heath and Birmingham City Centre via Alcester Road using second hand Daimler Fleetline double deck buses purchased from Greater Manchester Buses. The company adopted the orange brown and white livery these vehicles arrived in as their fleet colours for the bus operation and uniquely added a Y to the end of all it’s bus service numbers. To get buses to and from the West Midlands and Alcester the Company introduced placing journeys initially just at peak times, which ran the most direct way via the A435 and thus bypassing Redditch.

On 3rd September 1988 a peak hour 51Y service of 3 journeys each way was introduced that diverted via Redditch New Town when it ran between Alcester and Birmingham. This service ran until 13th January 1992 when the service was withdrawn. The Company also introduced a 47Y on 31st October 1998 which was also a way of getting buses to and from the West Midland that ran via Redditch New Town It however accessed Birmingham via West Heath and the Pershore Road. This service was renumbered 45Y on 28th October 1989 and was finally withdrawn on the 13th January 1992. This brought to an end the brief operation of Your Bus in Redditch. As a Company Your Bus continued to develop services in south Birmingham and Solihull over the next few years and invested heavily in new single deck vehicles. During 1993 the Company was taken over by West Midlands Travel’s parent Company National Express who continued to run it as a separate subsidiary. The operating Centre was soon moved to Miller Street in Birmingham where the coaching interests of West Midlands Travel under the Central Coachways trading name were absorbed. Following a group restructuring that was introduced on 4th February 2001 the Your Bus services were absorbed into the main Company which by now was trading as Travel West Midlands. This ended the Your Bus operation. The Central Coachways name and some contract work was sold to Flights Coaches.