ASSOCIATED MOTORWAYS was formed in July 1934, following the 1930 Road Traffic Act, which encouraged competing coach operators to co-ordinate their express services. Six of Britain's largest express coach service operators joined forces to form Associated Motorways. They pooled their services between the Midlands and the south and west of England and between London and South Wales. The founding members were: 

• Black & White (Cheltenham), 
• Greyhound (Bristol), 
• Midland Red (Birmingham),
• RED & WHITE (Chepstow), 
• Royal Blue, (Bournemouth) and 
• United Counties (Northampton).

Associated Motorways was an early example of a travel brand. It didn't own or run any coaches. Each member company provided an agreed mileage of timetabled journeys for Associated Motorways and took an agreed share of the profits. The pool mainly operated services from the art-deco Coach Station at Cheltenham, which Black & White opened in 1931.

The consortium suspended operations during World War II from 1942 to 1946, but prospered greatly after.

New members joined:

• Lincolnshire in 1956,
• Eastern Counties in 1956,
• Crosville in 1965,
• Southdown in 1972.
  

All of the members (except Black & White) also operated their own express services outside of the Associated Motorways consortium.

On summer weekends Associated Motorways could have over 800 coaches on the road. Every day, coaches from all over England and Wales converged on Cheltenham Coach Station and exchanged passengers with each other. At 2pm (from Winter 1968 at 2.30pm) an inspector blew his whistle, and all the coaches departed on-mass for hundreds of towns and cities across Britain. It caused temporary traffic chaos in Cheltenham , especially on busy summer Saturdays!

Two things led to the end of Cheltenham Coach Station. First, the expansion of the motorway network during the 1960's and ‘70s made coach services faster and more direct. It made Cheltenham services, which mainly followed traditional A-roads and only ran once a day uncompetitive. 

Second, in 1973 the National Bus Company formed NATIONAL Travel to run its express coach services. Their focus was on more frequent, direct and quicker routes. Travel trends were changing and travel via Cheltenham was no longer an attractive proposition. National Travel was re-branded NATIONAL EXPRESS in 1980. The company still operates Britain's largest express coach service network. 

Cheltenham Coach Station closed in 1984 and was demolished in the late-1990's. The plot where it once stood on St. Margaret’s Road, is now awaiting redevelopment.

ASSOCIATED MOTORWAYS timetables from summer 1968

Below are details of the daily, express coach services run by RED & WHITE in 1968 as part of the ASSOCIATED MOTORWAYS network. Ruby operated most of these routes in her early years in service.

SWANSEA – CHELTENHAM 

via Neath, Aberdare, Merthyr, Tredegar, Monmouth, Coleford, Cinderford & Gloucester.

SWANSEA – CHELTENHAM

via Cardiff, Newport, Caerwent, Chepstow, Lydney & Gloucester.

TREHERBERT – CHELTENHAM  

via Porth, Pontypridd, Pontypool, Monmouth, Ross & Gloucester.

SWANSEA – LONDON 

via Cardiff, Newport, Caerwent, Chepstow, Newbury, Reading, Maidenhead, Slough & London Airport.

CARDIFF – BIRMINGHAM 

via Newport, Monmouth & Ross-on-Wye.

MONMOUTH – COVENTRY

via Ross-on-Wye & Birmingham.

CARDIFF – BLACKPOOL

via Newport, Monmouth, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Chester, Birkenhead, Liverpool & Preston.

ABERDARE – PAIGNTON

via Merthyr, Caerwent, Chepstow, Bristol, Weston, Taunton, Exeter, Teignmouth & Torquay.

TREHERBERT – SALISBURY / Brighton*

via Pontypridd, Pontypool, Caerwent, Chepstow & Chippenham.

(* Summer service extended to Brighton on Fri/Sat/Sun's).

Saturdays only:  24 May to 12 October 1968 

CARDIFF – BOURNEMOUTH 

via Newport, Caerwent, Chepstow, Warminster, Blandford & Poole.

ABERDARE – WEYMOUTH  

via Merthyr, Caerwent, Chepstow, Bristol, Yeovil & Dorchester.

PORTH – MINEHEAD

via Pontypridd, Pontypool, Caerwent, Chepstow, Weston-Super-Mare & Bridgwater.

Saturdays only: 1 June to 28 September 1968

ROCHDALE – BARRY ISLAND   

via Manchester, Monmouth, Newport & Cardiff.

(joint Yelloway of Rochdale) 

For passengers wanting to travel to most towns and cities across England or Wales, Cheltenham   Coach Station was the main interchange between all Associated Motorways express coach services. RED & WHITE also used two local interchange and refreshment halts in Wales at:

• Monmouth Bus Station - for services heading towards Birmingham, Blackpool and Cheltenham;

• Austral Cafe , (near Caerwent on the A48) - for services heading towards Cheltenham, London, Paignton and Salisbury. In 1971 this was changed to Aust Services (on the M4) instead.