 Yutong ZK6129H in Bridgwater in April 2017 | |
| Parent | Buses of Somerset |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Bridgwater |
| Service area | Somerset |
| Website | www.somersetpassengersolutions.co.uk |
Specialist Passenger Solutions [1] is a bus and coach operator based in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Somerset Passenger Solutions commenced operating staff and community services in 2016 during the construction of EDF Energy's Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. The contract is scheduled to run until 2025 and at its peak will require 160 buses. [2] [3] [4] [5]
It was a 50/50 joint venture between First Group's Buses of Somerset and JJP Holdings South West's Southern National, owned by former Crosville Motor Services proprietor Jonathan Jones-Pratt. [6] Southern National's name is revived from that of a former National Bus Company subsidiary. [7] [8] [9] [10] Its operation was not affected by the April 2018 cessation of Crosville. In October 2021 Buses of Somerset took 100% ownership. [11]
In 2023, the company was renamed Specialist Passenger Solutions, [1] reflecting its aim to work outside of Somerset, such as potentially transporting staff for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk. [12]
A Wright StreetDeck double-deck bus crashed on the A39 road near Bridgwater on the morning of 17 January 2023 while carrying passengers to Hinkley Point. An investigation concluded that ice on the road was the significant factor in the incident which resulted in the bus leaving the road and falling on its side. 53 people were injured. [13]
In December 2021 the Somerset Passenger Solutions fleet included consisted of 54 Yutong and 8 Mercedes-Benz Tourismo coaches, 35 Wright StreetDeck double-decker buses, 32 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC single-decker buses and 5 Ford Transit minibuses. They are maintained at a depot in Bridgwater. [14]
Yutong is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, especially electric buses, headquartered in Zhengzhou, Henan. Yutong also has businesses in construction machinery, real estate, and other investments. As of 2016 it was the largest bus manufacturer in the world by sales volume.
Bridgwater railway station serves the town of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. It is on the Bristol to Taunton Line and is operated by Great Western Railway. It is 151 miles 47 chains from the zero point at London Paddington via Box.
Xplore Dundee is a bus operator based in Dundee, Scotland, operating services mainly within the city. The operator also runs a service to Edinburgh Airport. It is a subsidiary of McGill's Bus Services.
Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, 5 miles north of Bridgwater and 5 mi (8 km) west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett.
British Cellophane Ltd (BCL) was a joint venture company formed in 1935 between La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds, when they began building a major factory for producing Cellophane in Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
Crosville Motor Services was a bus operator based in the north-west of England and north and mid-Wales.
Hinkley Point B nuclear power station was a nuclear power station near Bridgwater, Somerset, on the Bristol Channel coast of south west England. It was the first commercial Advanced Gas Cooled reactor to generate power to the National Grid in 1976 and shares its design with sister station Hunterston B nuclear power station. It ceased operations permanently on 1 August 2022.
First Aberdeen is the main bus company operator in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and First Leeds.
Stagecoach East is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the East of England, operating in the counties of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered and registered in Cambridge.
The North Western Road Car Company was a bus company in Stockport, England, formed in 1923 from the existing bus services of the British Automobile Traction Company Limited in Macclesfield. The company operated bus services in five counties through a combination of growth and the acquisition of other bus companies, such as the takeover in 1924 of the Mid-Cheshire Motor Bus Company Limited, which brought new operations in Northwich and Flixton. The company also operated express coach services to London, North Wales and Yorkshire.
Southern National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 until 1969, and again from 1983 until 1999.
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (HPC) is a two-unit, 3,200 MWe EPR nuclear power station under construction in Somerset, England.
The Wright Gemini 2 is a double-decker bus built by Wrightbus between 2009 and 2013. It was announced in December 2007 but was not named until 2008. It was constructed as a semi-integral vehicle, with chassis modules provided by VDL. The bodywork utilised some lighter materials so that the vehicle was lighter than the Eclipse Gemini and Pulsar Gemini bodied buses. It was available in two versions; the Gemini 2 DL diesel-powered version, and the Gemini 2 HEV diesel-electric hybrid version.
The earliest known infrastructure for transport in Somerset is a series of wooden trackways laid across the Somerset Levels, an area of low-lying marshy ground. To the west of this district lies the Bristol Channel, while the other boundaries of the county of Somerset are along chains of hills that were once exploited for their mineral deposits. These natural features have all influenced the evolution of the transport network. Roads and railways either followed the hills, or needed causeways to cross the Levels. Harbours were developed, rivers improved, and linked to sources of traffic by canals. Railways were constructed throughout the area, influenced by the needs of the city of Bristol, which lies just to the north of Somerset, and to link the ports of the far south-west with the rest of England.
The Port of Bridgwater is a port, originally located in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England. Created under the Bridgwater Navigation and Quays Act 1845 it extends from Brean Down to Hinkley Point in Bridgwater Bay, and parts of the rivers Parrett, River Brue and River Axe. Although no ships now dock in the town, in 2001 103,613 (metric) tonnes of cargo were handled within the area of the Port Authority, most of which were stone products through the wharf at Dunball.
Nuclear New Build Generation Company is a subsidiary created by EDF Energy to build and then operate two new nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom. The new plants are to be Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C and will eventually produce up to 6.4 GW in total.
Crosville Motor Services operated both contract hire and stage carriage bus services between 2011 and 2018 from its base in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It also operated a fleet of heritage vehicles and continues to do so as 'Crosville Vintage'.
The Buses of Somerset is the trading name used by bus operator First South West for services operated in Somerset from its depot in the town of Taunton since 2014. The services were formerly managed as part of First Somerset & Avon.
The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus manufactured by Wrightbus since 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subsequently been produced. Production of the StreetDeck range was briefly suspended when Wrightbus entered administration in September 2019.
Media related to Somerset Passenger Solutions at Wikimedia Commons
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