Town Link


SM Coaches was a bus and coach operator based in Harlow, Essex. SM Coaches mostly operated local services around Harlow, as well as school services and private hire. Olympian Coaches, which was part of the business, operated school services, private hire, and commuter services into London. Many of their bus services operated in competition with Arriva routes. Some of the bus services were operated under the trading name Roadrunner Coaches. In 2016, operating licences of Townlink Buses, Roadrunner Buses, and Olympian Coaches were revoked by the Eastern Traffic commissioner, resulting in the ceasation of their services.

History

SM Coaches started off as a post regulation company under the name of SM Travel. Their first route was T15, a peak hour Essex County Council contract between Potter Street and Templefields Industrial Area in Harlow. The route missed out Harlow town centre completely. The route eventually became a commercial operation with many route changes throughout the years. Over the years, SM Coaches grew with many routes competing with Harlow's main operator, Arriva Shires & Essex.
Olympian Coaches purchased the Stort Valley Coaches business which included the London commuter services.
In November 2012, services operated by Centrebus Harlow depot were transferred to Olympian Coaches.

Services

As at October 2013, seven routes were operated.
SM Coaches mostly operated local bus services in Harlow, but some routes enter other towns, including Bishops Stortford, Sawbridgeworth, Epping, Ongar, and Hertford. Roadrunner operated a few public service routes, but many school routes mostly around Hertfordshire were also operated. Olympian Coaches mainly operated commuter routes from Hertfordshire and Essex into central London, with many school contracts as well as private hire.