ROADLINER
The
Rossmore Flyer back with a private operator again from 2006 until 2009
For many many years the Rossmore Flyer route was in private hands,
originally Miss Foott the founder ran the service, then Cosy Coaches of
Parkstone, next
Stanbridge & Crichel and finally Oakfield of Blandford.
But subsequently the route
passed to Wilts & Dorset and then to Bournemouth Yellow
Buses. From 1st April 2006 another private operator came along, this
time local coaching firm Roadliner Passenger Transport of Poole, who ran an hourly
service (supported by the Borough of Poole) on the
extended Rossmore route, with each journey serving both
Alderney East and Bourne Estate as well as the traditional
points of Trinidad Estate and Rossmore Road. This was their
first bus service, but the firm was established in 2001 and had a fleet
of seven coaches.
Reviving its popular name, it was known again as
the
number 8 "Rossmore Flyer" as
shown in the timetable leaflet below. The
service was also extended from Upper Parkstone to Alton
Road, Sandecotes Road, Kings Avenue and Penn Hill Avenue in Lower
Parkstone as the number 8 "Parkstone Flyer". Reviving in part
the
original 1930's concept proposed seventy odd years ago by Miss Foott,
albeit by a slightly different route!
This is a picture of the new Rossmore
Flyer on its first day of
operation,
1st April 2006, with driver David at the wheel of the smartly liveried Optare Solo Y811
KRP (subsequently reregistered as Y555 ELF) at Penn Hill Corner on the extended route, with
Roadliner Passenger Transport managing director Mark Self proudly looking on.
Following the introduction of the 8 on 1st April, and with the planned
changes to the network of Wilts & Dorset
services from June 2006 there were more new Roadliner
routes, including the "Super Seven" which started on 5th June.
These services
linked Talbot View (7A) and Bloxworth Road (7B) with Alder Road and the
Upper Parkstone shops, continuing via Sea View, Cranbrook Road and
Trinidad Estate to Tower Park. The Super Seven was operated
by
another Optare Solo but in silver livery. Another new
route also
started on this date, the 32 from Merley and Gravel Hill to Poole
Hospital and Poole Bus Station, three times a day in each direction,
off-peak. Again this was a service plugging gaps in the bus
network after network changes by Wilts & Dorset.
Unfortunately Roadliner's tenure in operation on the 7A, 7B and 32 was
short-lived and despite the hard work they had put in to building up
these routes since their introduction their participation ceased at the
end of September 2006, when their tender
bid to continue the routes for five years was not accepted.
The
7A and 7B passed to Damory Coaches (a Wilts & Dorset
subsidiary)
and the 32 to Shamrock Buses
of Poole, with a route extension from
Merley to Bearwood and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
Happily
Roadliner continued to operate the number 8 Rossmore Flyer from their
new base in
Bunbury Road on the Nuffield Industrial Estate in Poole. From 1st
March 2008 the route of the Rossmore Flyer was extended a short
distance further
northwards along Ringwood Road to include Alderney West as well
as
Alderney East.
Press reports of financial problems for Roadliner began to appear in
August 2009, and on 19th August Wilts & Dorset were observed as
operating the Rossmore Flyer as an interim cover. From 29th
August operation of the Rossmore Flyer was taken over for a six month
period by Shamrock
Buses (running to the Roadliner timetable below).
Subsequently it was announced that the assets of Roadliner Coaches of
Poole had been acquired by the Cavendish School of English in
Bournemouth, securing around 20 jobs. It has also acquired the
Exceptional Coach Company – currently trading
as Victory Tours – and has rebranded the whole business Cavendish
Liner. The new team is headed by directors Marcus and Jane Barber from Cavendish School of English.
The former Roadliner managing director Mark Self has left the
business and is no longer associated with it.
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