Friday 5 August 2011

Around Casterbridge Town

So for once the driver's rumours have been shown to be correct, and their prophesy has come to pass.  The business of Coach House Travel of Dorchester (home of Thomas Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge) has been sold to Damory Coaches, the rapidly expanding Go Ahead subsidiary company which has recently gained a considerable percentage of the tendered bus and school work across Dorset.  This will mark the end of thirty years of independently operated town services in Dorchester, from Interbus through Bere Regis to Cawlett to Coach House.  Also transferring to Damory will be the long established Herrison Hospital bus route with its intriguing history: a route that has been commercially operated since Coach House Travel acquired it from the health authority in the mid-1990s.  Interestingly Damory are to operate the town services commercially - rather than under subsidy - when they take over in October.  Perhaps the real value of Les Watt's business to Go Ahead is for parking space rather than for the bus routes per se  (-:

1 comment:

  1. Alas Dorchester isn't the interesting place it used to be bus-wise, when the council yard in Trinity Street was a bustling place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, as the multitudinous fleet of diverse operators plied their trade on market days, fetching and carrying country folk and their purchases . . . truly those were the days!

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