Go-Coachhire Limited,

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Go-Coach, is a bus operator running a total of 40 bus services (including school services) across

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. The majority of these services are operated on behalf of

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

from their depot in

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2021 ce ...

History

Go-Coach was founded on 1 February 2008 by Austin Blackburn. The company began operating as a coach hire company initially just using a single coach.A decade of Go ''

Coach & Bus Week ''Coach & Bus Week'' (CBW) is a weekly trade magazine based in Peterborough for the road passenger transport industry in the United Kingdom. The magazine is available by subscription, from main branches of WHSmith and from some independent newsa ...

'' issue 1350 19 July 2018 pages 16-23 In April 2010, Go-Coach began operating bus services for the first time when they took over the

tendered routes 401 (

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. I ...

) and 421 (Sevenoaks to

) from

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Surrey in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which is part of the Arriva group owned by Deutsche Bahn. The ...

. In May 2011, Go Coach extended route 421 to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

to replace the Arriva Southern Counties route 423 bringing the operator into the town for the first time. The companies Dartford services were further boosted with the instruction of the ''Dart'' local town services in 2014. In April 2014, Go-Coach expanded its operations into Edenbridge by taking over routes 232, 234, 238, 631 and 632 from Arriva Southern Counties. A number of its Sevenoaks services were altered at the same time. In 2015, a number of Go-Coach services were boosted. The company took over a number of

contracted services as well as introducing new circular town service 8 in Sevenoaks at the same time. Go-Coach also upgraded and took over existing route 401 on a commercial basis in 2015, this being the first time that the company had operated a bus service in this way. In July 2017, Go-Coach introduced two new routes in Sevenoaks (routes 431 and 435) in response to Arriva Southern Counties withdrawing major parts of their route 402 service at the same time. In April 2019, Arriva Southern Counties withdrew a number of their local services in Sevenoaks. Go Coach introduced a number of replacement services and at the same time became the network operator of the town. In December 2020, Go-Coach launched the new E1 circular bus service in Edenbridge giving the town a dedicated local service for the first time. On 23 August 2021, Go-Coach introduced the 24-hour Fastrack branded AZ service between Dartford and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

, serving the new

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

LCY3 distribution centre in Dartford. On 2 April 2022, this service was transferred to

Arriva Kent Thameside Arriva Kent Thameside Limited, trading as Arriva Kent Thameside, formerly known as London Transport, London Country and Kentish Bus, is a bus operator based in north-west Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. The company operates ...

in April 2022 with the Amazon LCY3 also now served by the current Fastrack A service. In December 2023, the company was sold to Derbyshire-based

Hulleys of Baslow Hulleys of Baslow was an independent bus company based in Baslow, Derbyshire, England. History The origins of Hulleys can be traced back to 1914 when Henry Hulley purchased a Ford Model T and commenced running a taxi service based from Baslow ...

, but retained the Go-Coach branding, fleet and staff. Within a year however, Hulleys sold the operation back to previous owner and founder Austin Blackburn.

Garages, fleet and services

Go-Coach run services from a single depot

which runs a mixture of commercial and school services as well as services operated on behalf of

with a total of 40 routes. Go Coach operate a number of rural services across Kent and as such, a number of their services operate at very low frequencies with limited operating hours. Go Coach are also the main bus operator in the town of Sevenoaks (since

withdrew a number of their Sevenoaks routes in April 2019) and currently run and operate Sevenoaks bus station.Go-Coach becomes Sevenoaks area's main operator ''Coach & Bus Week'' issue 1390 23 April 2019 page 10 Go-Coach currently operate the following services (excluding school services): The fleet consists of

Optare Solo The Switch Solo (formerly sold as the Optare Solo) is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Switch Mobility in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketin ...

Optare Solo SR The Switch Solo (formerly sold as the Optare Solo) is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Switch Mobility in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketin ...

, Switch Metrocity (formerly known as the ''Optare Metrocity''),

Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018.Optare Tempo The Optare Tempo is an integral low-floor bus, low-floor, heavy duty, full-size Rigid bus, rigid single-deck bus manufactured by Optare and was launched in late 2004. It is marketed and sold as the replacement for the Optare Excel. It is design ...

, Mellor Sigma 10, Mellor Sigma 7,

ADL Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, also marketed as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014 as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The Enviro200 MMC ...

, ADL Enviro400, and soon the RB6.

Go2 Sevenoaks

Since April 2020, Go-Coach have operated the Go2 demand responsive service in

in partnership with ViaVan. The service is designed to allow passengers to hail buses to their locations to remove the need for unnecessary bus operations.

Service history

April 2020

The Go2 demand responsive service was introduced in April 2020 when Go-Coach suspended all of its fixed line bus services in Sevenoaks and Edenbridge due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The service initially ran Monday-Saturday only and covered the majority of the

Sevenoaks District Sevenoaks is a local government district in west Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Sevenoaks Urban District, Sevenoaks Rural District and part of Dartford Rur ...

as well as extending north to

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

and south to

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

. It also served a number of hospitals outside of the main operating area including Tunbridge Wells Hospital in

Pembury Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of 6,128 at the 2011 census. It lies just to the north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a ...

, Queen Mary's Hospital in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

and Princess Royal Hospital in

Locksbottom Locksbottom is a suburb of south-east London within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Bromley Common, west of Crofton, north-west of Farnborough, and ...

August 2020

In August 2020, Go-Coach reinstated a number of their fixed line bus services in Sevenoaks and Go2 continued to operate alongside these services. At the same time, the service was removed from Orpington and Tonbridge as well as the hospitals outside the main operating area.

January 2021

In January 2021, Go-Coach again suspended a number of its Sevenoaks services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and replaced them with Go2.

April 2021

In April 2021, the Go2 service area was expanded to serve

West Kingsdown West Kingsdown is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England, on the A20 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Swanley, 5.5 miles (9 km) northeast of Sevenoaks and from London. The area The parish was part of Axst ...

, East Hill, Fairseat and

Stansted Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

. A limited Sunday service was also introduced on the service covering Sevenoaks, Swanley and West Kingsdown. At the same time, a number of Go-Coach fixed line bus services in Sevenoaks were reintroduced and Go2 again operates alongside these.

January 2023

In January 2023, a number of major changes were made to Go2 in response to a reduction in funding from

. The service was scaled back to operate on weekdays and Saturdays from 06:00-19:00 only, with the Sunday service being withdrawn. In addition, the operating area was reduced, no longer serving

, Edenbridge or

Operating area

As of January 2023, the key areas served by the Go2 service include: Sevenoaks Town Centre,

Sevenoaks Weald __NOTOC__ Sevenoaks Weald is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, Low Weald, immediately south of Sevenoaks town, with the village of Sevenoaks Weald a ...

Ide Hill Ide Hill is a village within the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Sundridge with Ide Hill, in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It stands on one of the highest points of the Greensand Ridge about three mi ...

, Sundridge,

Brasted Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Brasted lies on the A25 road, between Sundridge, Kent, Sundridge and Westerham; the road is named Westerham Road, High Street and Main Road ...

, Chipstead,

Dunton Green Dunton Green is a small village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies in the valley of the River Darent, north of the town of Sevenoaks. Dunton Green is designated as being part of the Kent Downs area of outstandi ...

Knockholt Knockholt is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent. It is located north west of Sevenoaks & south of Orpington, and is adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London. The village is mostly a ribbon development, surrou ...

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Shoreham,

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist C ...

, Godden Green,

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

and

Kemsing Kemsing is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish lies on the scarp face of the North Downs, 20 miles south east of Central London and north east of ...

Go2 Ebbsfleet

Go2 has been operating in Ebbsfleet since 3rd February 2025. As of April 2025 it serves Ebbsfleet Green, Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet International,

Swanscombe Swanscombe /ˈswɔnzkəm/ is a town in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford. History Prehistory Bone fragments and to ...

Greenhithe Greenhithe may refer to: *Greenhithe, Kent Greenhithe is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is located east of Dartford and west of Gravesend. Area In the past, Gree ...

Bluewater Bluewater(s) or Blue Water(s) may refer to: Maritime * Blue water, the global deep oceans *Blue Water 24, an American sailboat design * Blue-water navy, a navy that can operate in deep waters of open oceans * , a Panamanian tanker in service 1952- ...

Darent Valley Hospital Darent Valley Hospital is a 478-bed, acute district general hospital in Dartford, Kent, England. The hospital has an Emergency Department. The hospital is managed by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. History The hospital, which was built to ...

, Stone Crossing and Springhead. Majority of the areas covered are also run by the GC1 bus service. It will be run by RB6's which are produced by

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Irish bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman Jo Bamf ...

, under sub-brand Rightech, and will be used by Go2 and the GC1 by June 2025. It is currently run by Mellor Sigma 7's and

's (also known as the ''Switch Solo'')

References

External links

{{Bus companies in South East England, state=collapsed Bus operators in Kent Transport companies established in 2008 2008 establishments in England