Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of

Rotala Rotala Limited is a company established in 2005, which owns a number of bus operators in England. It was listed on the Alternative Investment Market from 2005 until 2024. History In March 2005, Rotala was listed on the Alternative Investmen ...

History

Midland Classic

Midland Classic was founded in July 2005 by James Boddice and John Mason with a pair of

London Central The London Central Bus Company is a bus operator brand under London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and primarily operates services in South London under contract to Tran ...

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...

s operating charter services. Boddice had a 69% shareholding with

D&G Bus D&G Bus is a bus operator based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates local and interurban bus services in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. D&G Bus is the largest bus operator in Cheshire ...

proprietor David Reeves, and

Julian Peddle Julian Peddle (born November 1954) is an entrepreneur who has worked in the bus industry since the early 1980s, having owned or part-owned numerous bus companies. He spent 11 years as co-owner of Stevensons of Uttoxeter between 1983 and 1994, h ...

each having 13% and John Mitchelson 5%. It later diversified into operating route services. In April 2016, Midland Classic entered talks with

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

to purchase its Stanton Road,

garage and fleet. The deal took effect on 27 August 2016 with 30 buses and 80 staff transferring. All routes later transferred to the Wetmore Road garage, with the Stanton Road garage closing. During the 2021 Go North West strike, Midland Classic was one of a number of bus operators who provided vehicles and drivers to operate services on behalf of

Go North West Go North West is a bus operator in Greater Manchester, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group, operating franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester. History Go North West commenced operat ...

along with Edwards Coaches and Selwyns Travel. In June 2022, Midland Classic underwent a fares revision which included a joint day-ticket with Select Bus Services and

Chaserider Chaserider is the brand name for bus services operated around Cannock and Staffordshire by D&G Bus, a local bus operator owned by Centrebus who are based in Adderley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. History The Chaserider brand name, wh ...

. On 1 August 2022, Midland Classic took over routes 125 and 129, expanding its reach of services out to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Coalville Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire in Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on the A511 road, A511 between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junct ...

and

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

Diamond East Midlands

Group acquired Midland Classic on 3 August 2022, for £2 million. The business changed its name to Diamond East Midlands, with buses from other Diamond operations being transferred into the fleet and a repaint programme for pre-existing Midland Classic vehicles beginning. The services and fleet also become directly controlled from the group's headquarters in

Tividale Tividale is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands. It straddles the borders of the towns of Dudley, Tipton, Oldbury. History Tividale Park has been known as Derygate (Deer Gate) Park; it can be traced back as ...

in November 2022. In October 2022, Diamond East Midlands began running contract services for

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

, further extending their reach of services out towards

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and the surrounding areas. In June 2023, Rotala reversed the decision to create a multi-operator day ticket with Select Bus Services and

as part of the Diamond East Midlands Rebranding. Following this in January 2024, they also withdrew from accepting Staffordshire Knot tickets on the majority of routes, citing its "impact on commercial viability".

Services

Diamond East Midlands are the main provider of services around

with services extending to

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch (), also spelled Ashby de la Zouch, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. Its population at the 2021 census was ...

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Staffordshire borough of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. The town is from Burton upon Trent via the A50 and the A38, from Stafford via the A51 ...

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

East Midlands Airport East Midlands Airport is an international airport in Castle Donington, England. The airport is situated between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is to the south and Lincoln, England, Lincoln northeast. It serves the maj ...

, and other surrounding towns and villages. Services are also operated on behalf of Derbyshire County Council in Derby and the local surrounding areas.

References

External links

{{Rotala Burton upon Trent Bus operators in Staffordshire Transport companies established in 2005 2005 establishments in England