75-647: National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group (formerly National Express Group) and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of the single largest in Britain. NXWM operates services in Birmingham , Dudley , Sandwell , Walsall , Wolverhampton and Solihull , as well as express services from Birmingham to areas such as Cofton Hackett , Bromsgrove , and formerly to
150-673: A "Millennium City". The Forensic Science Service , Linpac , Lafarge Cement UK and IMI plc are on the Birmingham Business Park in Bickenhill . The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is just north. ZF Lemförder UK 's site at Bickenhill makes axle modules for Land Rover. Newey and Eyre , Britain's largest electrical wholesaler, is at Sheldon. Neopost UK is off the A452. Goodrich UK is in Shirley . TRW Conekt have
225-469: A co-ordinating role, tendering bus services and funding concessionary fares and infrastructure such as bus stations. West Midlands Travel faced its first major deregulation challenge in March 1987 when London Regional Transport (LRT) pulled out of its 'London Liner' London to Birmingham express coach service. Operated jointly by both LRT's London Coaches subsidiary and WMT's Central Coachways subsidiary using
300-866: A converted Mercedes-Benz O405N single-deck bus, this scheme was upgraded in 2024 with the conversion of an Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC for use as the group Health Bus; featuring two in-built consultation rooms and a waiting room, the bus is operated by a health coach and a health coordinator, providing physical health checks to employees for their body mass index , body and fat, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels. NXWM previously operated five travel shops located in Dudley , Coventry Pool Meadow bus station , West Bromwich bus station , Birmingham, Corporation Street and Walsall bus station . All offices sold all types of Travelcards, National Express coach tickets and assist customers with information and route planning. The travel shop at Wolverhampton bus station
375-490: A dedicated coachbuilding factory, although a few bodies for Alexander's own fleet did continue to be built at Brown Street in the 1930s and '40s. In 1947, in anticipation of the newly elected Labour Government's nationalisation of the SMT group's bus services, a new company, Walter Alexander & Company (Coachbuilders) Limited was formed in order to keep the coachbuilding business in private hands. Although Alexander remained
450-523: A fleet of MCW Metroliner coaches, following London Coaches' withdrawal, Central Coachways continued to run the service as its sole operator from the end of March. The company invested in a heavy rebranding campaign in 1988 that saw the introduction of a new silver, blue and red livery to the bus fleet, new uniforms, and the purchase of 150 new MCW Metrobus double-decker buses . After 18 months of deregulation, WMT announced in October 1988 that it had made
525-586: A fleet of over 1,600 buses and coaches from eight garages in Acocks Green , Birmingham Central ( Digbeth ), Perry Barr , Yardley Wood , Pensnett , Walsall , West Bromwich and Wolverhampton . Perry Barr is the newest location, having opened in December 2022. The site, housing infrastructure for charging a fleet of electric buses and a bus driving simulator as well as featuring 150 solar panels, environmentally-friendly heating systems and water recycling for
600-531: A good local infrastructure. Coventry was one of England's most important cities during the Middle Ages , with its prosperity built upon wool and cloth manufacture. Birmingham and Wolverhampton have a tradition of industry dating back to the 16th century, when small metal-working industries developed. Birmingham was known for its manufacture of small arms , whereas Wolverhampton became a centre of lock manufacture and brass working. The coal and iron ore deposits of
675-518: A grey and red colour scheme; some buses are given special colour schemes for select services such as the 8/X8, 9, 16, 50 and 82/87. Drivers on Platinum services are issued with suit-style uniforms. Deliveries of the first Platinum buses began in 2015, with 58 Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs from a larger order of 171 buses delivered with Platinum branding. These were initially deployed on services 900 and 957, since renumbered X1 and X2, before being rolled out onto services 934, 935, 936, 997 and X51 later in
750-547: A height of 227 metres (745 ft). There are 23 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the county. One of these SSSIs is Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, which has an area of 970 hectares (2,400 acres). As a result, it is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, and the largest outside of a capital city in Europe. The park also has national nature reserve status. There are numerous rivers that pass through
825-704: A low-floor Spectra, managed to bring their bus out into service a few hours ahead of TWM, making them the first low-floor double-decker operators in the United Kingdom. 20 more Spectras would later be delivered to TWM to upgrade West Midlands bus route 50 during 1998. Alternatively-fuelled buses were first introduced to the Travel West Midlands fleet in 1997, with 14 Alexander Ultra bodied Volvo B10Ls fuelled by compressed natural gas being launched on route 529, serving Walsall and Wolverhampton via Willenhall . These Ultras were supplied as part of
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#1732798835232900-707: A main automotive engineering research centre at The Green Business Park in Shirley Heath. The Mormons (Latter Day Saints) have their European HQ in Solihull. The UK's VAT Registration Service , for Value Added Tax is at HMRC in Wolverhampton. Flint Ink UK in the east of the town centre, was the largest ink supplier in the British Empire , before being bought in 1998. Turner Powertrain Systems
975-907: A partnership supported by the Energy Saving Trust between TWM, Volvo Bus and British Gas , the latter of whom constructed CNG refuelling points at Walsall garage for the buses. In February 2020, National Express announced its intention to operate a completely zero-emission bus fleet by 2030, pledging it would not buy another diesel-powered bus and only purchase zero-emissions vehicles for its West Midlands, Coventry and Dundee operations from 2020 onwards. The company's first nine BYD Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV battery electric buses began operation on 5 July 2020, with 20 hydrogen fuel cell -powered Wright StreetDeck Hydroliner buses following in late 2021. By 2024, over 200 BYD Enviro400EVs had been ordered for delivery to National Express West Midlands. Further hydrogen-powered buses are set to enter
1050-624: A private firm run by the Alexander family. The ownership of the company subsequently changed several times: In 1990 the family sold the company to Spotlaunch plc but within two years a management buyout occurred and it became a standalone company until 1995, when it was bought by the Mayflower Corporation plc. In 2001, it was incorporated into TransBus International. It is now part of Alexander Dennis . Walter Alexander built many different types of bodywork over 50 years, with
1125-422: A profit of over £217 million (equivalent to £736,983,000 in 2023), retained 97% of its pre-deregulation bus network and had recorded a 5% drop in passengers compared to before deregulation; the latter, however, would increase to a drop of 10% by 1989, resulting in fare rises and cutbacks in its bus network. Despite pressure from the central government, including both a threat to be split under Section 61 of
1200-543: A strongly rural character. A smaller piece of green belt between Birmingham, Walsall and West Bromwich includes Barr Beacon and the Sandwell Valley . The highest point in the West Midlands is Turners Hill , with a height of 271 m (889 ft). The hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest . Barr Beacon is another hill in the West Midlands, located on the border of Birmingham and Walsall, with
1275-551: A subsidiary Walter Alexander & Co (Belfast) Limited, and within six years started selling buses to the Far East. In 1981 the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Export . By 1983, the company was the largest supplier of double-deck bus bodies in the world, and a year later it won a British Rail contract to construct 25 Class 143 carriages . In 1987, Walter Alexander became a publicly listed company, having previously been
1350-529: A vast supply of resources and services. Alexander became an in-house supplier of bodywork for the whole of the SMT group, and only a few bodies were built for other customers during this period. Coachbuilding work had initially taken place at the company's main bus garage and works in Brown Street, Camelon , but it outgrew this facility and in 1930 a bus garage in Drip Road, Stirling was converted into
1425-433: Is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south, and is surrounded by Warwickshire to the east. The largest settlement is the city of Birmingham . The county is almost entirely urban, with an area of 902 km (348 sq mi) and a population of 2,919,600, making it
1500-460: Is also used for the much larger West Midlands region , which sometimes causes confusion. Geographically the county is on the eastern side of the region, the western side comprising Shropshire and Herefordshire and the southern side comprising Worcestershire and Warwickshire . Although the modern county has only existed since 1974, the settlements of the West Midlands have long been important centres of commerce and industry as well as developing
1575-690: Is based in the West Midlands. The national headquarters of One Stop is in Brownhills , at Clayhanger . Poundland is in Willenhall . Wedge Group , based in Willenhall, is the largest hot dip galvanising company in the UK. Assa Abloy UK (and Yale UK, former Yale & Towne), is also in Willenhall, as the town is known for manufacture of locks. A.F. Blakemore , supplies most of the SPAR shops in
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#17327988352321650-565: Is home to numerous sports teams. In rugby union , the West Midlands is home to various clubs including Wasps RFC , Birmingham Barbarians, Sutton Coldfield RFC , Moseley Rugby Football Club , Birmingham & Solihull RFC , and Coventry RFC . In rugby league , the Midlands Hurricanes are the only team from the county playing in the professional ranks, currently in the third tier League 1 . In association football , there are six Premier League and Football League teams in
1725-541: Is one of the largest urban parks in Europe. The area between Solihull and Coventry is part of the Forest of Arden , and the rivers Sowe and Sherbourne flow through Coventry. The metropolitan county exists in law, as a geographical frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county . As such it has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff . Between 1974 and 1986, the West Midlands County Council
1800-480: Is the world market leader for transmissions for backhoe loaders , mini excavators telescopic handlers , and site dumpers is further south, near Dunstall Hill . Tata Steel (former site of British Steel Seamless Tubes until 1995) have their Wednesfield Steelpark (built in 1999) on the Walsall boundary. Essar Steel UK in west Dudley, is the largest independent steel toll processor in the UK. Hadley Group near
1875-739: The Birmingham Bullets and are currently based at a facility provided by the University of Wolverhampton in Walsall. The West Midlands has its own Quidditch team, West Midlands Revolution (after its part in the Industrial Revolution ), which won the Quidditch Premier League in 2017. 52°30′N 1°50′W / 52.500°N 1.833°W / 52.500; -1.833 Walter Alexander Coachbuilders Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
1950-549: The Black Country area provided a ready source of raw materials. The area grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution , and by the 20th century had grown into one large conurbation. Coventry was slower to develop, but by the early 20th century it had become an important centre of bicycle and car manufacture. 1966 saw a substantial reform in the local government of the area as the patchwork of county boroughs with municipal boroughs and urban district councils in between
2025-973: The District of Lichfield , Staffordshire . Further boundary changes came into effect in 1995, when part of the Hereford and Worcester parish of Frankley (including the south-west part of Bartley Reservoir ) was transferred to Birmingham and became part of the county. On 17 June 2016, a new administrative body, the West Midlands Combined Authority was created for the county, under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 , which created several other combined authorities in England. The new body has powers over transport, economic development, skills and planning. A new directly elected position of Mayor of
2100-599: The Metro's Line One extension as 'Metro's Little Sister'. Following the awarding of the 2022 Commonwealth Games to Birmingham in 2016, it was announced that the Sprint network would expand with theee cross-city bus routes linking Solihull, Sutton Coldfield and Walsall with Birmingham City Centre. These services are to be operated by National Express West Midlands; it was originally envisaged that this route would be operated by 24 Van Hool ExquiCity articulated buses in time for
2175-716: The Warwickshire Constabulary . The West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority was established in 1968. In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 came into effect, creating the metropolitan county of West Midlands. This area was based on the seven county boroughs and the other non-county boroughs and urban districts around the fringe of the conurbation. The new area consisted of seven new metropolitan boroughs, with Aldridge-Brownhills added to Walsall ; Halesowen and Stourbridge to Dudley and Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham. A new borough of Sandwell
2250-556: The West Midlands Combined Authority . The county was historically part of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The west of the county encloses the valley of the River Tame and its tributaries; the highest point of the surrounding area is Turners Hill , at 271 metres (889 ft). West Midlands contains the Sutton Park Site of Special Scientific Interest , which has an area of 970 hectares (2,400 acres) and
2325-597: The second most populous county in England after Greater London . After Birmingham (1,144,919) the largest settlements are the cities of Coventry (345,324) and Wolverhampton (263,700), Solihull (126,577), and Sutton Coldfield (109,899). Nearly all of the county's settlements belong to the West Midlands and Coventry built-up areas, though the ' Meriden Gap ' between them is rural. For local government purposes West Midlands comprises seven metropolitan boroughs : Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley , Sandwell , Solihull , Walsall , and Wolverhampton. They collaborate through
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2400-586: The Commonwealth Games, however it was later announced in 2019 that construction of infrastructure related to the Sprint articulated buses would be delayed until after the Commonwealth Games. Phase 1 of the Sprint network was completed in May 2022, with bus lanes and priority junctions being introduced on commuter corridors on the A34 and A45 roads . As of June 2024, National Express West Midlands operates
2475-624: The NXWM fleet following funding from the Department for Transport . A total of 124 hydrogen buses are due to enter service by 2024, which will give Birmingham the largest hydrogen bus fleet in Europe. National Express West Midlands are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Mobico Group's 'Health Bus', an employee benefit scheme free to use for all employees that travels across the Mobico Group's bus operations. Launched in 2014 using
2550-757: The National Express Group in April. In September 1996, WMT was rebranded to Travel West Midlands . This was followed in November 1997 with the sale of TWM's Central Coachways arm to the Flights Travel Group. In November 2002, Travel West Midlands' Coventry services were separated from the main TWM operation and rebranded to Travel Coventry . In February 2008, as part of a rebranding of all National Express subsidiaries, Travel West Midlands
2625-571: The Platinum Fleet is no longer providing free Wi-Fi. The reasoning for this is that despite pulling in an average of 600,000 passengers daily, only 1% (~6000 a day) used the Wi-Fi provided. The Sprint cross-city bus rapid transit service was first announced in July 2014, initially taking the form of a single service linking Birmingham city centre and Quinton via Hagley Road , connecting with
2700-465: The Platinum brand. The Platinum range of buses is a premium brand which offers passengers extra legroom, high backed seats, next stop announcements (on supported services), free Wi-Fi and USB charging on a select series of routes in the West Midlands. The Platinum brand uses Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs , Alexander Dennis Enviro400EVs and Wright StreetDeck Hydroliners , which are usually painted in
2775-623: The Soho Foundry is the largest cold roll forming manufacturer in the UK. Caparo Precision Tubes in Oldbury, is the UK's largest producer of electric resistance welded (ERW) steel tubes, and Wellman Group make boilers to the west. Metsec , east of Oldbury, is one of the UK's largest cold roll-forming companies. The AA have a main office in Rounds Green , west of Oldbury. 2 Sisters Food Group , Britain's largest processor of chicken,
2850-754: The Transport Act 1985 to force its sale and government funding for the Midland Metro tram project being lost if the company was not sold, West Midlands Travel remained in public ownership under the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority. Plans for a management buyout through an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) were first submitted to the WMPTA in June 1989 by WMT's management and employees in response to
2925-604: The UK. The West Midlands contains ten universities, seven of which are located in Birmingham: Both of Coventry University and the University of Warwick are located in Coventry whilst University of Wolverhampton is located in Wolverhampton with campuses in Telford and Walsall . Each of the local authorities has at least one further education college for students aged over 16, and since September 1992 all of
3000-432: The UK. Birmingham , Wolverhampton , the Black Country and Solihull together form the third most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom with a combined population of around 2.44 million. However, the West Midlands is not entirely urban; Coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by a stretch of green belt land approximately 13 miles (21 km) across, known as the " Meriden Gap ", which retains
3075-502: The West Midlands was created in 2017 to chair the new body. The first Mayoral election was held in May 2017, and the position was won by Andy Street of the Conservative Party . The West Midlands is a landlocked county that borders the counties of Warwickshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south, and Staffordshire to the north and west. The West Midlands County is one of the most heavily urbanised counties in
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3150-735: The West Midlands , a position currently held by Richard Parker of the Labour Co-op . Other county-wide bodies include the West Midlands Police , the West Midlands Fire Service and Transport for West Midlands . The county is sometimes described as the "West Midlands metropolitan area " or the " West Midlands conurbation " or "Greater Birmingham", although these have different, less clearly defined, boundaries. The main conurbation or urban area does not include Coventry, for example. The name "West Midlands"
3225-446: The West Midlands is divided into districts called metropolitan boroughs . There are seven boroughs in the West Midlands, six of which are named after the largest settlement in their administrative area. The West Midlands is unusual amongst the metropolitan counties in that three of its boroughs have city status ; Coventry is a city by ancient prescriptive usage , Birmingham was granted city status in 1889, and Wolverhampton in 2000 as
3300-566: The West Midlands metropolitan area by the Redcliffe-Maud Report . The 1974 reform created the West Midlands County Council that covered the entire area and dealt with strategic issues. A new West Midlands Police service was formed covering the entire area, with the West Midlands Constabulary and Birmingham City Police abolished, and also taking over responsibility from the county forces. West Midlands
3375-610: The abolition of the county council, some county-wide bodies continued to exist, which were administered by various joint-boards of the seven districts, among these were the West Midlands Police , the West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive . In 1994, the western/southern shores of Chasewater , plus the adjacent Jeffreys Swag, were transferred from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall to
3450-439: The area is served by BBC Radio WM and BBC CWR covering Coventry . Commercial radio stations include Hits Radio Birmingham , Capital Midlands , Capital Mid-Counties , Heart West Midlands , Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire , Smooth West Midlands , Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands , and Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire . Community radio stations include: The West Midlands
3525-466: The area of countryside between Solihull and Coventry, whilst Coventry itself received only small changes and Wolverhampton was unaltered. This led to (apart from in the east, with Coventry and the Meriden Gap) quite a tightly defined metropolitan border, excluding such places as Burntwood , Bromsgrove , Cannock , Kidderminster , Lichfield and Wombourne which had been considered for inclusion in
3600-507: The city of Coventry (now operated by National Express Coventry ). In August 1986, prior to the deregulation of bus services , West Midlands Travel (WMT) was formed out the bus operations of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive . The PTE ceased to be a bus operator as a result of the Transport Act 1985 , but both the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority and successor organisation Transport for West Midlands retain
3675-825: The corresponding name of the depot the bus was based from, forming combinations such as WM Buses Acocks Green, amid moves by senior management to use the West Midlands Travel name as a holding company ahead of a possible floatation of WMT on the London Stock Exchange . In March 1995, the National Express Group purchased West Midlands Travel from employee ownership for £85 million (equivalent to £592,467,000 in 2023), with over 5,000 employee shareholders of WMT receiving windfall gains averaging £30,000 (equivalent to £73,000 in 2023). Operations were subsequently merged into
3750-604: The county had a two-tier system of local government, and the seven districts shared power with the West Midlands County Council . However, the Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan county councils, and the West Midlands County Council ceased to exist in 1986. Most of its functions were devolved to the West Midland boroughs, which effectively became unitary authorities , with responsibility for most local authority functions. Following
3825-467: The county of which two, Aston Villa , and Wolverhampton Wanderers , play in the Premier League. The following clubs are often referred to as the West Midlands "Big Six": The West Midlands is also home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club , who are based at Edgbaston Cricket Ground , which also hosts Test matches and One Day Internationals . The Birmingham Panthers basketball team replaced
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#17327988352323900-635: The county, including the River Tame . The river basin is the most urbanised basin in the United Kingdom, with approximately 42% of the basin being urbanised. The River Tame is fed by the River Rea , River Anker , and the River Blythe , which in turn is fed by the River Cole . The River Sowe and River Sherbourne both flow through Coventry. The River Stour flows through the west of the West Midlands county. Like other metropolitan counties ,
3975-660: The delivery of 72 more Enviro400 MMCs, some of which would be delivered to National Express Coventry for the city's first Platinum services, and the West Midlands buses operating on routes connecting Stourbridge , Druids Heath and Chelmsley Wood with central Birmingham. National Express West Midlands' first zero-emissions Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV buses were built to Platinum specification, and entered service in July 2020 on route 6 from Birmingham to Solihull via Shirley . The fuel cell electric Wright StreetDeck Hydroliner FCEVs that followed entered service on route 51 from Birmingham to Walsall via Perry Barr. As of January 2024,
4050-468: The early 1990s (and in Halesowen in 1982) as the local authorities changed direction towards further education colleges. All secondary state education in Dudley and Sandwell is mixed comprehensive, although there are a small number of single sex and grammar schools existing in parts of Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall. In August 2009, Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College merged to become Birmingham Metropolitan College , one of
4125-521: The examiners. West Midlands Travel also made a number of acquisitions during its employee ownership. In 1990, WMT partly owned minibus operator Merry Hill Motors, and that same year, WMT purchased a fleet of new Alexander bodied Scania N113 double-decker buses to compete with Your Bus of Alcester ; Your Bus would later be acquired by WMT in 1993. Retained as subsidiary companies of WMT, these operators were later rebranded to Travel Merry Hill and Travel Your Bus respectively before being absorbed into
4200-406: The future of the omnibus, Alexander established W. Alexander & Sons Limited, to run them and to manufacture bodywork for its own fleet and for sale to other operators. In 1928, several of the major British railway companies bought into the Scottish Motor Traction Company (SMT). Walter Alexander decided to sell his business to the SMT group in 1929, and through this action, received access to
4275-445: The introduction of bus franchising and further hydrogen buses on the NXWM network. Previously garages in Stourbridge , Dudley , Merry Hill (part of Travel Merry Hill), Harts Hill, Sutton Coldfield , Hockley , Cotteridge , Selly Oak , Wolverhampton (Cleveland Road), Washwood Heath and Quinton have been operated. The Dudley garage closed on 28 August 1993 to make way for the Dudley Southern By-Pass (which opened in 1999) and
4350-448: The largest further and higher education institutions in the country. Plans are afoot for the construction of a new campus in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham. The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central which both broadcast from Birmingham , the local based-television station TalkBirmingham also covers the area. Television signals are received from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. In terms of BBC Local Radio ,
4425-425: The largest supplier of bodywork to what became the Scottish Bus Group , the independent company also began to broaden its customer base. The company outgrew the Drip Road premises and in 1958 it relocated to a purpose-built factory at Glasgow Road, Camelon. The coachbuilding business continued to flourish and expansion was rapid. In 1969, the company bought out Potters, a bodybuilder in Northern Ireland , and set up
4500-726: The local authorities have operated traditional 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior, and 11-16/18 secondary schools for students in compulsory education. This followed the demise of 5–8 first, 8–12 middle and 12-16/18 secondary schools in the Sutton Coldfield area . For 18 years before September 1990, Dudley had operated 5–8 first, 8–12 middle, and 12-16/18 secondary schools before then, while Halesowen (September 1972 until July 1982) and Aldridge-Brownhills (September 1972 until July 1986) had both operated 5–9 first, 9–13 middle and 13-16/18 secondary schools. Many local authorities still have sixth form facilities in secondary schools, though sixth form facilities had been axed by most secondary schools in Dudley since
4575-440: The main Travel West Midlands operation by 2001. A further competitor purchased by WMT in August 1993 was Metrowest Omnibus of Dudley, which was also retained as a separate subsidiary of WMT after founding director Keith Danks left the company a month prior. In April 1994, West Midlands Travel made its first out-of-area acquisition by purchasing former London Buses subsidiary Westlink from its employee owners, followed in October by
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#17327988352324650-399: The original WMT headquarters located in a building on Summer Lane, Birmingham that was shared with Centro . Bordesley Green garage closed in 2022 following the sale of the land in and around the depot for redevelopment, resulting in the head office relocating to the National Express Group headquarters in Digbeth, and Walsall bus garage was sold to the West Midlands Combined Authority ahead of
4725-521: The purchase two Essex-based companies from the Lynton Group: County Bus & Coach , a bus operator formed from the split of London Country North East that consisted of over 240 vehicles, as well as Sampson Coaches. Westlink was sold by WMT to fellow former London Buses subsidiary London United a year later, while County Bus & Coach was later sold to the Cowie Group . West Midlands Travel underwent another rebrand during 1994. Buses had their West Midlands Travel fleetnames replaced with "WM Buses" and
4800-506: The splitting threat, which were approved by the PTA and submitted to Minister of State for Transport Michael Portillo in early 1990; after a competing bid by Stagecoach Group owner Brian Souter to buy WMT for £85 million (equivalent to £230,493,000 in 2023) was rejected by ths PTA, the ESOP offer was finally approved in December 1991, with WMT sold to its management and employees for £70 million (equivalent to £189,818,000 in 2023). In November 1992, West Midlands Travel
4875-481: The three bus washes on site, replaces the 90-year-old original Perry Bar garage, which was deemed unsuitable for modernisation and housing charging infrastructure. Prior to the construction of the new Perry Barr garage, Bordesley Green garage was the newest location, having opened in 2005. Bordesley Green was also the headquarters for National Express West Midlands, which replaced a freehold office site in St Paul's Square that WMT moved to in 1994; this office replaced
4950-420: The year. The Platinum brand would be extended out into the Black Country in 2016 with the delivery of a further 96 Platinum Enviro400 MMCs resulting in Platinum buses being cascaded from Birmingham Central garage to Pensnett for the Merry Hill to Birmingham X10 service, and then would expand to Harborne in December 2017 with the delivery of 38 new buses. The Platinum brand would further expand again in 2018 with
5025-506: Was a Scottish builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Falkirk . The company was formed in 1947 to continue the coachbuilding activities of W. Alexander & Sons when their bus service operation was nationalised . After several mergers and changes of ownership it now forms part of Alexander Dennis . In 1913, Walter Alexander founded Alexander's Motor Service to expand upon the Falkirk & District Tramways Company's route into previously unserved Grangemouth . In 1924, believing in
5100-542: Was also established as a new ceremonial county , with the offices of Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff created. Its constituent components had previously been, for ceremonial purposes, under the equivalent offices of Warwickshire ( Birmingham CB , Coventry CB, Solihull CB, Sutton Coldfield MB and Meriden RD ), Staffordshire ( Wolverhampton CB, Walsall CB, West Bromwich CB, Dudley CB and Aldridge-Brownhills UD ) and Worcestershire ( Warley CB, Stourbridge MB and Halesowen MB). Between 1974 and 1986,
5175-441: Was formed by the merger of West Bromwich and Warley. The actual designation of Warley itself was abolished and the three towns of Smethwick, Oldbury and Rowley Regis reinstated as component parts of Sandwell, although these areas formed the Warley postal district. Solihull took in much of the suburban fringe to the east of Birmingham, including the former villages of Chelmsley Wood and Castle Bromwich , also Birmingham Airport , and
5250-525: Was ordered to have its entire fleet of over 1,800 buses given MOT tests by July 1993 after 108 fleet vehicles were found by the Vehicle Inspectorate to be poorly maintained, with faults including faulty brakes, broken lights and bell pushes, oil leaks, and damaged passenger seating. In an examination of 343 WMT fleet vehicles, inspectors immediately prohibited 66 from running services and marked 42 as being in need of repair; twelve WMT buses found to have faults so serious that they were classified as "neglected" by
5325-491: Was renamed National Express West Midlands, with the adopted red and white livery being the sixth livery to be used by the company. The Travel Coventry operation was also rebranded as National Express Coventry . National Express West Midlands aimed for their whole fleet to be low floor by March 2010, a goal that was achieved in July of that year with the withdrawal of the final MCW Metrobuses in public service at Acocks Green garage. In 2015, National Express West Midlands launched
5400-554: Was replaced by a core of county boroughs covering a contiguous area, roughly as follows: Near the area, three other towns remained separate ( Halesowen , Stourbridge and Sutton Coldfield ), while Aldridge and Brownhills joined to form a single unit, called Aldridge-Brownhills . In the same year, a single West Midlands Constabulary was formed for the Black Country county boroughs, whilst Birmingham retained its Birmingham City Police and Solihull continued being policed by
5475-465: Was replaced, along with the former Travel Merry Hill depot, by a depot at Pensnett . In July 2010, Lea Hall depot closed. On 4 February 1998, Travel West Midlands were poised to become the first bus operator in the United Kingdom to operate a double-decker low-floor bus in service, with Birmingham Central garage having taken delivery of one of two Optare Spectra bodied DAF DB250LFs in October 1997. However, Abus of Bristol , who had also bought
5550-424: Was the administrative body covering the county; this was abolished on 31 March 1986, and the constituent metropolitan boroughs effectively became unitary authorities . A new administrative body for the county (and some of the district surrounding it as Non-Constituent members), the West Midlands Combined Authority , was created in June 2016. Since May 2017, the authority has been headed by a directly elected Mayor of
5625-766: Was unique in that it was the only travel shop within a bus station not operated by NXWM, instead being operated by Transport for West Midlands (previously Centro then Network West Midlands ), a division of the West Midlands Combined Authority. In October 2021, National Express West Midlands announced that they were closing all of their travel shops; this was apparently due to people preferring to buy their tickets online and fewer people visiting their shops. The travel shop in Wolverhampton closed permanently on 1 April 2023. [REDACTED] Media related to National Express West Midlands at Wikimedia Commons West Midlands (county) West Midlands
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