GHA Coaches

GHA Coaches is a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. Due to purchases of other companies in the Wrexham area they are now easily the main rival to Arriva Buses Wales within North Wales. The Headquarters at Ruabon are considered the main operating base for engineering and office functions. Other depots are at Tarvin (near Chester), Ruthin and Middlewich. Vehicles also operate from outstations at Bettws Gwerfil Goch (near Corwen) and Macclesfield.

History
GHA Coaches was founded by Eifion Lloyd Davies in 1990 and was originally based at Mill Garage, Betws Gwerfil Goch, near Corwen before moving to Ruabon, near Wrexham in the mid-nineties and since then has expanded with the purchase of a number of other local companies, including:


 * Hanmers Coaches, Southsea
 * Chaloner's Buses, Moss
 * Bryn Melyn, Llangollen
 * Vale (of Llangollen) Travel, Cefn Mawr
 * JO Travel, Ponciau
 * Pat's Coaches, New Broughton (bus operations only)
 * RS Travel, Middlewich
 * Dobsons, Lostock Gralam

Despite the first services being operated in north east Wales, with rapid expansion only about half the services currently run by GHA are in this area. The company operates the DeeBee services on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester Council, as well as a number of commercial routes in the Cheshire area. Most of the acquired firms have been absorbed into the main GHA business, though Bryn Melyn and Vale Travel have remained as semi-autonomous companies. Bryn Melyn mainly operates the Shropshire routes, and Vale Travel mainly operates the routes in eastern Cheshire and Staffordshire.

GHA bought its first new buses in 1996, a pair of Mercedes 719d minibuses for service work in the Corwen, Dolgellau and Bala areas. The garage at Betws Gwerfil Goch remains in use, though is now generally regarded as an outstation of Ruthin depot. Eifion Lloyd Davies' sons, Arwyn and Gareth, are now the company directors.

Bus operations
As GHA is made up of three separate companies a number of different, standard liveries are used. GHA Coaches buses wear a livery of silver, red and burgundy, Bryn Melyn buses carry a white livery with large blue,red and yellow stripes, while Vale Travel buses are white with red and grey branding.

GHA makes full use of route branding and a number of subsidised routes feature branding including Linxx, Connexxions, DeeBee, Into the Port, Cheshire Connect, Shuttle +, X50/X52 and the commercial Wrexham - Llangollen 'Express' service 5. Subsidised services in Denbighshire use the standard GHA pattern but with the council's green, white and blue colours.

As of March 2013, the following public bus services are operated:


 * 1 Ruthin – Loggerheads – Mold
 * 2 Ruthin – Maeshafn – Mold
 * 2E Wrexham – Chirk (evenings)
 * 2V Wrexham – Cefn Mawr (Vale Travel)
 * 3E Wrexham – Penycae (evenings)
 * 4E Wrexham – Penycae (evenings)
 * 5 Wrexham – Llangollen - Corwen (partially Bryn Melyn)
 * 5A Wrexham – Llangollen – Chirk (Sundays)
 * 5C Wrexham - Cefn Mawr (Sundays)
 * 5M Wrexham – Acrefair (early mornings)
 * 6 Gleneagles Road – Ellesmere Port – Stanney Grange circular
 * 6E Shavington - Crewe - Leighton Hospital (evenings)
 * 6R Stanney Grange - Ellesmere Port - Rivacre (1 evening service)
 * 6 Wrexham – Ruabon (Pont Adam)
 * 7/7A Kendal Road – Ellesmere Port – Netherpool - Rivacre circular
 * 9 Chester – Connahs’ Quay
 * 11 Rhyl - Prestatyn - Holywell (evenings)
 * 11A Holywell/Mold - Flint - Chester (evenings)
 * 14 Denbigh – Caerwys - Mold (operated Mon-Fri; jointly with Townlynx, Holywell)
 * 14Y Pantymwyn - Yale College (schooldays)
 * 15/15A	Wrexham - Brymbo
 * 16 Chelford - St Nicholas RC High School (schooldays)
 * 17 Wrexham – Moss
 * 19/19X Macclesfield - Whirley Barn - Prestbury (Vale Travel)
 * 21E Chester - Helsby - Frodsham (evenings)
 * 23 Neston - Burton (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays)
 * 23 Wrexham – Summerhill
 * 23A Wrexham – Coed-y-Glyn
 * 27/27A/27B Macclesfield - Chelford - Knutsford (from 1st April 2013)
 * 34 Wrexham – Trevalyn
 * 36 Ellesmere Port - Frodsham - Halton Lea
 * 38 Meadowbank - Winsford (Mondays; Vale Travel)
 * 39 Crewe – Shavington – Nantwich
 * 40 Wrexham – Mold
 * 41 Wrexham – Wrexham Industrial Estate
 * 42 Wrexham – Wrexham Industrial Estate
 * 44 Wrexham – Barkers Lane
 * 44E Wrexham – Borras Park (evenings)
 * 48 Frodsham – Kingsley – Northwich
 * 51 Nantwich town service
 * 52 Nantwich town service
 * 52A Nantwich - Reaseheath College (Monday – Friday)
 * 53 Nantwich town service
 * 56 Caldy Valley Road - Saighton/Bishop Bluecoat School (schooldays)
 * 56 Tiverton – Nantwich (Tuesdays and Saturdays; Vale Travel)
 * 60 Llanarmon DC - Glyn Ceiriog – Chirk - Oswestry
 * 61/62/63 Denbigh – Llansannan/Nantglyn
 * 63 Ruabon - Oswestry – St Martins - Ellesmere (schooldays; Bryn Melyn)
 * 64/64A Llanarmon DC – Glyn Ceiriog - Chirk – Llangollen
 * 65 Llanarmon DC - Glyn Ceiriog – Chirk – Wrexham (Bryn Melyn)
 * 70 Ruthin area Fflecsi bus
 * 72 Nantwich – Wrenbury – Whitchurch
 * 73 Ruthin town service
 * 73 Nantwich – Audlem – Whitchurch
 * 75 Nantwich – Audlem - Market Drayton (Wednesdays)
 * 76 Denbigh - Ruthin - Pentrecelyn (evenings)
 * 77 Ruthin - Llanelidan
 * 82/82A/82B/X82 Chester – Northwich
 * 83 Bulkeley – Chester (Tuesdays)
 * 83/83A/84/84A Rhyl town services (operated Sundays)
 * 88 Altrincham – Wilmslow – Knutsford (Vale Travel)
 * 91 Melin-y-Wig – Betws Gwerfil Goch – Llangollen (Tues, Thurs and Fris)
 * 95 Melin-y-Wig-Betws Gwerfil Goch–Wrexham (Mons, Weds and Sats)
 * 97 Llangollen – Pengwern (Bryn Melyn)
 * 98 Llangollen – Rhewl – Pantydwr (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays)
 * 99 Sandycroft - Mold (schooldays)
 * 101 Wrexham Town Centre Circular ‘Shoppa Hoppa’/'Bws Siopa'
 * 109 Shotton - Mold (schooldays)
 * 130 Manchester Piccadilly - Macclesfield (Sundays and Bank Holidays)
 * 141/142 Holt/Wrexham Industrial Estate – Wrexham – Bwlchgwyn (evenings)
 * 146 Wrexham – Whitchurch (daily)
 * 200 Wilmslow - Macnchester Airport - Airport Viewing Park (daily; Vale Travel)
 * 289 Northwich – Knutsford - Altrincham
 * 319 Sandbach-Holmes Chapel - Goostrey - Holmes Chapel - Sandbach circular
 * 340 Elton - Helsby High School (schooldays)
 * 501 Ellesmere – Shrewsbury (Bryn Melyn)
 * 569 Bala - Y Parc (schooldays)
 * 576 Oswestry – Knockin – Baschurch – Shrewsbury (Bryn Melyn)
 * 604 Neston - Chester Catholic High School (schooldays)
 * 605 Saughall - Bishop Bluecoat School (schooldays)
 * B37 Rhydtalog - Mold (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
 * C87 Utkinton - Northwich (Fridays; Vale Travel)
 * C88 Tiverton - Winsford (Mondays; Vale Travel)
 * C89 Utkinton - Winsford - Northwich (Wednesdays; Vale Travel)
 * CFR Crewe area FlexiRider (early mornings and evenings)
 * DB1 Blacon – Chester – Mold
 * DB2 Saltney Ferry – Chester – Ellesmere Port
 * DB3 Blacon – Chester – Leeswood (Monday – Friday)
 * DB5 Huntington – Chester – Lache (evenings)
 * DB6 Vicars’ Cross-Chester–Saughall (daily evenings);Frodsham–Chester–Saughall (Suns)
 * DB8 Chester – Ince (early mornings and evenings)
 * P1 Middlewood - Poynton - Hazel Grove (Vale Travel)
 * RR3 Disley – Macclesfield (Wednesdays only; Vale Travel)
 * S8 Broughton - Queensferry (schooldays)
 * SP1 Ellesmere Port – Mold (Monday – Friday)
 * SP2 Ellesmere Port – Mold
 * TL Wrexham TownLink (operated evenings)
 * X1 Ruthin - Mold – Chester
 * X5 Corwen – Ruthin – Denbigh
 * X9 Cefn Mawr - Wrexham – Broughton Park - Connahs’ Quay
 * X20 Middlewich – Winsford –Chester – Cheshire Oaks (Tues, Thurs and Sats)
 * X50 Wrexham – Ruthin - Denbigh (daily)
 * X52 Denbigh – St Asaph – Rhyl (daily)
 * X81 Winsford – Middlewich – Sandbach – Hanley (Wednesdays and Fridays)
 * X94 Wrexham – Llangollen - Corwen – Bala – Dolgellau – Barmouth (Evenings and Sundays)

Coach operations
Many coaches were inherited with the purchase of Hanmers Coaches, though as with the bus operations, the coach fleet has expanded rapidly. Most coaches carry a livery of silver with red and burgundy stripes and the GHA Coaches name; some are in a similar livery with a white base and the Vale Travel name; some carry a plain yellow livery for schools work.

The most common use for the coach fleet is school transport, and GHA has a number of high-capacity coaches dedicated to this work. Coaches are also used for private hire, and occasional day trip and holiday work.

Fleet
GHA have an ever increasing fleet. Recent buys include Optare Solos, Wright Eclipse Urbans and a number of second-hand low floor vehicles.

GHA have had a number of demonstrators over the past year's, such as an Optare Versa, an Alexander Dennis Enviro300, and a Wrightbus Eclipse.