Go South Coast is a bus operator on the south coast of England. It is a subsidiary of the

Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead Group Limited is a Multinational corporation, multi-national transport group based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. While the majority of its operations are within Great Britain, it also operates services in Ireland, Australia, Singapo ...

. All services under the company come under its operating certificate, however the buses run under a multitude of brands.

History

In August 2003 the

purchased the business of

Wilts & Dorset Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...

, including its Damory Coaches and Tourist Group subsidiaries, followed in July 2005 by

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight, founded in 1921 as Dodson and Campbell. It became the Vectis Bus Company in 1923. The company was purchased by Southern Railway before being nationalised in 1969. In 1987, the company wa ...

including its

Solent Blue Line Solent Blue Line Limited, trading under the name Bluestar, is a bus operator providing services in Southampton and the surrounding areas of Hampshire. It is a subsidiary of the Go South Coast sector of the Go-Ahead Group. History Origins In ...

subsidiary. In February 2006 Wilts & Dorset purchased bus refurbishment company Hants & Dorset Trim. Later in 2006, Go-Ahead consolidated the management of its south coast operations under Go South Coast in

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

. In October 2006 Marchwood Motorways was purchased, with it being integrated into Bluestar.

Thamesdown Transport Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) is a bus operator in England, serving Swindon and the surrounding area. Previously owned by Swindon Borough Council, ownership passed to the Go-Ahead Group in February 2017 and the operation ...

was purchased from

Swindon Borough Council Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. It was founded in 1974 as Thamesdown Borough Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1997. In 1997 it was re ...

in February 2017.

Subsidiaries

All public bus services come under local brands, which have distinct liveries. These are: * Bluestar – The brand for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and the surrounding area. *

Unilink Unilink is the branded bus service operated under contract and serving the University of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The service was created in 1998 following the university's expansion onto several new campuses, requiring new transport ...

– Contracted to provide services for the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

Morebus Morebus (stylized as more) is a trading name of bus operator Go South Coast primarily used in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and the wider Dorset area. Operations in the area were formerly part of the ''Wilts & Dorset'' brand, phased ou ...

– The brand for

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and

, as well as the surrounding areas. *UNIBUS – The brand for

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The universi ...

and

Arts University Bournemouth Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a public university in Poole, England, specialising in art, architecture, film, performance, and design. Established in 1880, the university has been ranked Silver and Gold by the Teaching Excel ...

services. * Salisbury Reds – The brand for

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, as well as the surrounding area. *

– The brand for all buses on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

* Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) – The brand in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

. The company also has three coach brands: *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 Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Fleet

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

References

External links

* {{Go-Ahead Bus Companies, state=collapsed Bus operators in Dorset Bus operators in Hampshire Bus operators on the Isle of Wight Go-Ahead Group companies 2005 establishments in England