CAVES BUS SERVICES
Caves
Bus Services only operated in Redditch for a
relatively short period after bus deregulation in
October 1986. However, the company continued to operate
a network of services in Solihull, South Birmingham and
Wythall until its untimely closure in June 1999. Founded
in 1956 by Edward Cave, the business began with a single
Strachan-bodied Trojan minibus. During the 1960s the
fleet expanded to around five vehicles, consisting
mainly of Bedford-based buses and coaches used for
private hire work and excursions. By the early 1980s
Caves had developed into a local bus operator. It
introduced service 5 between Redditch and Solihull to
replace the withdrawn Midland Red West R19 service.
Following bus deregulation on 26 October 1986, service 5
was renumbered 175 and curtailed to operate only between
Wythall and Solihull. Caves also continued to operate
its service 9 between Solihull and Redditch after
deregulation, although only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays. The Saturday journeys were withdrawn on 7
March 1987, with the remaining weekday service finally
ending on 22 December 1988, bringing Caves' involvement
in Redditch bus services to a close. Throughout the late
1980s and 1990s the company built up a modest network of
local services centred on Solihull, many of them school
contracts. Caves also operated several of Birmingham's
weekend night bus services, becoming a familiar sight
across the south of the city. During the early 1990s the
ageing Bedford fleet was replaced by a number of Leyland
National single-deck buses, which were better suited to
the company's expanding stage carriage operations.
Following the death of company founder Edward Cave, the
business passed to his children, George Cave and Ann
Lewis. Tragedy struck in June 1999 when George Cave died
suddenly. Without his leadership the company was unable
to continue trading and ceased operations within days,
bringing to an end more than 40 years of independent bus
operation. The final journey undertaken by a Caves Bus
Services vehicle was by HHA 126L, George Cave's
favourite Leyland National. The bus carried company
staff to and from his funeral, providing a poignant
farewell to both George and the family business. After
the closure, HHA 126L was preserved and repainted into
the classic Midland Red West National Bus Company
livery. For several years it attended preservation
rallies before later finding an unusual second life as
an office at the Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley.
Sadly, after the museum no longer required the vehicle,
it was sold to UK Bus Dismantlers at Bromyard and was
subsequently scrapped, marking the end of the last
surviving link with Caves Bus Services.
The operational fleet at the closing of the business in June 1999
| Registration Number | Vehicle Chassis | Body Work | Seating Capacity | Date Built |
| HHA126L | Leyland National 1151/1R 00413 | Leyland National | B51F | 01-Mar-73 |
| GLJ681N | Leyland National 11351A/1R/SC 01879 | Leyland National | DP48F | 01-Jan-75 |
| NWO476R | Leyland National 11351A/1R 03872 | Leyland National | B52F | 01-Nov-76 |
| NWO483R | Leyland National 11351A/1R 04073 | Leyland National | B49F | 01-Jan-77 |
| NWO499R | Leyland National 11351A/1R 04084 | Leyland National | B49F | 01-Jan-77 |
| THX204S | Leyland National 10351A/2R 05133 | Leyland National | B36D | 01-Mar-78 |
| THX216S | Leyland National 10351A/2R 05162 | Leyland National | B36D | 01-Sep-78 |
| HMA567T | Leyland National 11351A/1R 05786 | Leyland National | B44F | 01-Dec-78 |
| TTC534T | Leyland National 11351A/1R 05473 | Leyland National | B52F | 01-Oct-78 |
| YPL397T | Leyland National 11351B/1R 05667 | Leyland National | B41F | 01-Nov-78 |
| YPL442T | Leyland National 11351B/1R 05783 | Leyland National | B41F | 01-Dec-78 |
| KRP562V | Leyland National 11351A/1R 06459 | Leyland National | B52F | 01-Jan-79 |
| J921TUK | ACE 90016 | Willowbrook 91001 | B40F | 01-Aug-91 |
The operational fleet at the closing of the business in June 1999
| Registration Number | Vehicle Chassis | Body Work | Seating Capacity | Date Built |
| TUP198E | Bedford VAS1 | Plaxton Embassy | C29F | |
| TPD192M | Leyland National 1051/1R 01102 | Leyland National | B40D | 01-Jan-74 |
| NHA286M | Leyland National 11351/1R 2501 | Leyland National | B51F | 01-Mar-74 |
| GNV980N | Bedford YRQ DW456912 | Willowbrook 73790 | B45F | 01-Nov-74 |
| HNB24N | Leyland National 11351/1R 01987 | Leyland National | B41F | 01-May-75 |
| LIL3059 | Leyland National 11351/1R 02562 | Leyland National | B49F | 01-Sep-75 |
| KDW360P | Leyland National 11351/1R/SC 02802 | Leyland National | DP48F | 01-Nov-75 |
| UGH738R | Leyland National 11351A/1R 03564 | Leyland National | B49F | 01-Oct-76 |
| OOX816R | Leyland National 11351A/1R/SC 04314 | Leyland National | DP45F | 01-Jun-77 |
| AYR346T | Leyland National 10351A/2R 06324 | Leyland National | B36D | 01-Sep-79 |