Selwyns Travel is a coach tour operator and

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

partner operator based in

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

, England.

History

Selwyns Travel was founded in 1968 by Robert Alun Jones. It grew with the purchase of Yates Tours in 1979, the

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...

division of Ambassador Coaches t/a Starline Travel in 1994, Hardings Tours,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1996 and Haytons, Manchester in 2011. In March 2013, the business was sold to the

RATP Group The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (Établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial, EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under th ...

with a fleet of 90 vehicles operating from depots in

, Manchester and St Helens. In April 2020 RATP returned control back to Selwyn Jones through his newly incorporated private company, Selwyns Coaches Limited which became the major shareholder of Selwyns Travel Limited.

Operations

Selwyns operate from two depots in Runcorn and

Sharston Sharston is an area of Wythenshawe, south Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 16,754. History Built on former farming land (as was most of Wythenshawe when the estate was first being built in the 1920s), the area was i ...

, as well as from a

outstation at

Milton Keynes Coachway The Milton Keynes Coachway (also Milton Keynes coach station) is a Coachway interchange close to junction 14 of the M1 motorway on the eastern edge of Milton Keynes, north Buckinghamshire, England. It supports National Express intercity coach ...

. A National Express outstation was also maintained at

Leeds City bus station Leeds City bus station serves the city of Leeds, England. Owned and managed by West Yorkshire Metro, it is situated between the Quarry Hill and Leeds Kirkgate Markets areas of Leeds city centre. The National Express Dyer Street Coach Station ...

until its closure on 17 May 2024. Their head office depot in Runcorn covers private bookings, various contracts including

Sir John Deane's College Sir John Deane's Sixth Form College is a sixth form college in Northwich, Cheshire, UK. It was formerly Sir John Deane's Grammar School, which was founded in 1557. History Sir John Deane (in the 16th century, the title indicated a presbyter ...

and Reaseheath College, as well as some National Express routes. Selwyns' Sharston depot is responsible for the operator's airside crew transfer operations at

and also some National Express routes operate from this depot. During the

2021 Go North West strike The 2021 Go North West strike was a labour strike involving bus drivers working for Go North West, a bus operator in Greater Manchester, England, that lasted from 28 February to 18 May. The strike involved approximately 500 drivers unionised w ...

, Selwyns Travel 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 Edwards Coaches is a family-owned coach company based in Llantrisant, near Pontypridd in South Wales. History In 1925 Edwards Coaches was founded by George Edwards. Over recent years, the company has expanded by acquiring several smaller local ...

and

Midland Classic Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of Rotala. History Midland Classic Midland Classic was founded in July 2005 by Ja ...

Footnotes

References

External links

Coach operators in England RATP Group Transport companies established in 1968 1968 establishments in England {{UK-bus-company-stub