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| Parent | Trevor Brown |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1924 |
| Ceased operation | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Cranleigh |
| Service area | Surrey West Sussex Hampshire Berkshire |
| Service type | Bus operator |
| Fleet | 70 (at closure) |
Tillingbourne Bus Company[1] was a bus company based in Cranleigh, Surrey. The company operated bus and coach services in Surrey, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire from 1924 until 2001.
It was founded as Tillingbourne Valley in 1924, and became a limited company in 1931, taking the name Tillingbourne Valley Services. It initially operated routes in the Guildford area from a garage in Chilworth using small single-deck buses painted in a maroon livery. Coach hire and excursions began in 1931, but two years later these activities split into a separate company, Tillingbourne Valley Coaches, which operated independently for a further 24 years. Until 1970 Tillingbourne was owned and managed by three generations of the Trice family, before being sold to Trevor Brown.
The company changed its name to Tillingbourne Bus Company in 1972, changing its livery to blue and yellow, and moved to a garage in Gomshall in the same year. A second garage in Ewhurst was opened in 1974. An expansion of operations in the late 1970s and early 1980s, much of it through the award of county council contracted routes, took the company's vehicles into West Sussex and Hampshire as well as Surrey. Tillingbourne took over the services of London operator Orpington & District following that company's collapse in 1981. These were run separately from the main company as Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) which, in 1983, was sold to its management to form Metrobus, now part of the Go-Ahead Group. The company moved garages again in 1980, settling in Cranleigh. A new, larger garage in the same town was opened in February 2001. Deregulation of local bus services in 1986 led to further expansion, including the establishment in 1989 of a new brand, Hobbit, for Tillingbourne's minibus operations. A high-quality coaching subsidiary, Dorking Coaches, was also operated towards the end of Tillingbourne's life.
Tillingbourne began operations with a single vehicle, expanding to operate around 70 buses by 2001. A range of types were operated, including early Thornycroft and Dennis vehicles, and later Guy and Bedford products. The company's fleet was updated in the 1990s with new Volvo and Optare vehicles. Following Tillingbourne's closure, its fleet was disposed of, with vehicles sold to Shamrock Coaches, Norfolk Green, Black Prince Buses, Safeguard Coaches, Arriva Guildford & West Surrey and Islwyn Borough Transport.
The company was placed in administration in March 2001, following two years of heavy losses, and closed down permanently a month later.[2] This led to a series of service changes, which saw its operations covered by a range of different operators. Other effects causing Tillingbourne's collapse included a fall in the total number of passengers using buses in Hampshire and local criticism following an increase in the number of vehicles using the, later closed, Arriva West Sussex garage in Warnham. The sites of both Tillingbourne garages in Cranleigh were converted for use by other industries.
- ^ Companies House extract company no 259480[permanent dead link] Tillingbourne Bus Company Limited
- ^ "Cranleigh bus company calls in receivers". 3 July 2013 [23 March 2001]. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.