Bowers Coaches

Eric W. Bowers Coaches Limited trading as Bowers (formerly known as Bowers Coaches) was a bus operator based in the High Peak district of Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It was a subsidiary of the Centrebus Group, having been so since 2007, and prior to that an independent family business. It operates local bus services centered around the towns of Buxton, Glossop and New Mills. The company specialises in local bus services and the service area covers the High Peak Borough and some surrounding areas such as the town of Marple in Stockport and Ashbourne in the Derbyshire Dales. Some time after the Centrebus purchase of the company in 2007, the company was rebranded to 'Bowers' from the previous name of 'Bowers Coaches'; however, the legal entity of the company is still 'Eric W. Bowers Coaches Limited'.

In addition, after the takeover, the majority of buses added to the fleet have been painted in the Centrebus corporate livery of orange and blue; however, they do contain the Bowers name. However, in early 2010 buses appearing on route 27 were repainted to say 'Cheshire Connect operated by Centrebus.'

The High Peak is a tourist area. During the summer, there is a large influx of visitors, and the Bowers bus network provides tourist links between the key towns of Buxton, Glossop and Ashbourne, and areas of specific tourist interest or beauty.

The company became 'defunct' on 1 April 2012 as it joined with Trent Barton to create High Peak.

Routes
The table below summarizes the local bus routes previously operated in parts of Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Greater Manchester (both commercial routes and those operated under contract to local authorities).

The majority of the bus services above were operated under contract to Derbyshire County Council and other local authorities; however, a number of services such as the 61 between Glossop and Buxton are operated commercially. Until September 2007 the company operated an hourly service between Hayfield and Stockport, Greater Manchester as service 62/62A; however, this service was withdrawn to run only as far as Marple due to falling revenues.

Operations
In 2009 two new low-floor buses were bought, with extra seating capacity to meet customer demand. These operate in the "Go Green" livery, promoting environmental credentials of bus travel, and these Euro 5 specification low emission buses in particular.

In Cheshire, Bowers works in partnership with the East Cheshire Council to deliver a number of key bus services, including the important Knutsford to Macclesfield route, serving the busy Astra Zeneca facility, and one of the first bus routes in Cheshire to offer real-time passenger information through satellite tracking.

History and naming
The company began life as a coach operator, known as Bowers Coaches. It later expanded into local bus operation, particularly after the deregulation of local bus services in 1986. Throughout its history as a coach company, Bowers provided excursions from locations around its base in High Peak, and also provided coaches for school transport and other uses. The Bowers Coaches name continued to be used until some time after the Centrebus takeover. However, the new owners soon decided that coaches were no longer a viable asset, and thus their coaches were sold, and the "Coaches" was dropped from the company name. The company are still able to offer private hire, using service buses on shorter trips.

High Peak
In April 2012, Bowers merged with the Buxton division of Trent Barton to form a new company called High Peak. The new company runs all services previously run by Bowers and the Buxton division of Trent Barton. It operates from the Dove Holes depot.