Private company

Greyhound Motors

Bus and coach company based in Bristol, England

Greyhound Motors, later known as Bristol Greyhound, was an English bus and coach company based in Bristol.2 It is part of Bristol Omnibus Company.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1921Founded1
Bristol Greyhound bus 2150 (FHW 156D), 2011 Bristol Vintage Bus Group open day
Photo: Chris Sampson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Greyhound Motors, later known as Bristol Greyhound, was an English bus and coach company based in Bristol.2

Corporate structure

Greyhound Motors is part of a group headed by Bristol Omnibus Company. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Greyhound Motors was formed in February 1921 by Sydney Tom Toogood to operate motor buses in Bristol.

In February 1925, it commenced a long-distance coach service between Bristol and London, which has been claimed to be the first long-distance coach service with scheduled stops en route to pick up and set down passengers. The journey time was eight hours. It later began services from Bristol to Bournemouth and Paignton, and from London to Bournemouth. It also continued to run local bus services in Bristol, competing fiercely with Bristol Tramways.

In 1928, the company was acquired by Bristol Tramways. Greyhound continued to operate as a separate business, including its bus routes in Bristol until 1936. The new owners expanded the Greyhound coach operations. In 1934 it was one of the founder members of the Associated Motorways consortium of long-distance coach operators, but continued the London service outside the consortium.

At the beginning of 1936, the company's business was absorbed into Bristol Tramways. Bristol Omnibus Company continued to use the Greyhound name for its long-distance coach services until 1972, when the National Bus Company required Bristol to adopt the new National Express brand.

Shortly before its demise, on 9 January 1972 Greyhound Motors commenced operating an express Bristol to London service via the new M4 motorway.

From Wikipedia’s article on Greyhound Motors, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1921Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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