Record growth announced by Pulhams, two years after Go-Ahead Group purchase

A Cotswolds coach and bus operator, which originally transported passengers and goods by horse and cart, is celebrating record growth, two years after it was acquired by Go-Ahead Group.

Founded in 1880, Pulhams operates bus, coach and school transport services across the Cotswolds and the surrounding areas from its headquarters in Bourton-on-the-Water.

After being run by the Pulham family for 143 years, the business was sold to Go-Ahead Group in summer 2023 to facilitate additional growth of its fleet and team.

Since the Go-Ahead Group’s investment, Pulhams has added a further 58 vehicles to its fleet – taking its total to 151 – and recruited 58 new staff, including 50 drivers.

It also acquired Cheltenham-based Swanbrook Transport to widen the company’s geographical spread further, and has enhanced bus service links across its patch with support from Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire County Councils. and funding obtained through the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

Additional contracts have been secured, with Pulhams and sister organisation Swindon Bus Company selected to provide bus services for students studying at Cirencester College.

Twenty-four separate routes will be operated during the five-year contract, with Pulhams responsible for 12 routes from September 2025.

The company has invested in customer experience, too with a new website and app introduced, and new generation ticket machines introduced to all of the company’s local bus services.

Community ties have also been strengthened with Pulhams partnering with Guide Dogs to offer volunteer puppy raisers free travel across its services.

Its team has also worked on behalf of the coach industry to ensure facilities for coach pick-up and drop-off in Bourton-on-the-Water have been maintained, with new trial arrangements developed in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council starting in recent weeks.

Alex Chutter joined Pulhams as Area Director in June 2023 after previously working as Operations Director at Brighton and Hove Buses and General Manager at Swindon Bus Company.

He said: “Pulhams is a much-loved and well-established business locally, with our services recognisable across towns and villages in the Cotswolds and its surrounds for more than a century.

“It’s really pleasing to see Go-Ahead Group’s investment in Pulhams driving the business forwards, for the benefit of our customers and colleagues.

“We’re committed to delivering high quality coach hire and a robust, reliable and efficient local bus and home to school coach network which many people living in the Cotswolds rely on either for work, education or to complete basic day-to-day tasks.”

As part of Go-Ahead’s commitment to becoming a net zero business by 2045 and reduce its carbon emissions by 75 per cent by 2035, Pulhams will roll out the first phase of the electrification of its fleet this autumn.

Infrastructure required to maintain a fleet of electric vehicles will be installed at Pulhams’ newly acquired Cheltenham depot in the coming months, with 15 new vehicles following shortly afterwards.

The project represents a combined £8m investment by Go-Ahead, Gloucestershire County Council and the Department for Transport into the fleet.

Alex added: “We’re moving towards a net-zero future, and Pulhams will be at the heart of this shift.

“It’s an exciting time decarbonising our fleet and making continued changes which will have a genuinely positive impact on our customer experience and the environment.

“We’re not quite going back to horse and carts, but it’s the next most environmentally friendly mode of transport!”

Further information about Pulhams is available online via www.pulhams.co.uk.