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Down South |
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The Chosen Few
In 1986 at deregulation there were 36 council owned bus companies. Now just over 25 years later there are only 11 left. This is 11 more than the Conservative government of the 1980s expected as they actively sought to have them privatised. Here are the chosen few:
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Top
right:
Thamesdown operate buses
in Swindon where their
162 (S162BMR),
a Plaxton bodied Dart, is seen in July 2006. Top left: One of the largest remaining companies is Cardiff Buses whose 711 (CN04NRJ), a Transbus Enviro 300, is seen in June 2013. Middle: The other Welsh municipal is Newport whose Dennis Enviro200 301 (YX11CRK) is seen leaving its home town for Chepstow on a former Stagecoach service in June 2013. Middle right: Ipswich Buses operates in an ocean of First (Eastern Counties to the north, Eastern National to the south) - their 91 (X91LBJ), an East Lancs bodied Dennis Dart, and 189 (R189DDX), an Optare Excel, are seen in the bus station in July 2007. Lower left: Reading has colour-coded routes throughout the town including their premier service 17 on which their 225 (SN61BCV), a hybrid Enviro400, is seen in May 2013. Lower right: Nottingham are another company that brands most of its routes - their 322 (YK08EPZ), an Optare Versa, heads up a multi-coloured mass in September 2011. |
Background
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Up North |
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The Chosen Few
Top left: Blackpool operate both trams and buses, and absorbed Fylde Buses, another former council owned company that operated in neighbouring Lytham St Annes. Their 332 (PF06EXP) and 326 (PN04XDK), both East Lancs bodied Tridents, are seen at the depot in June 2011.
Top right: Rossendale are based in Rawtenstall but their vehicles can mainly be found in neighbouring Lancashire towns such as Rochdale and Bury. Their 149 (S9BLU), a Plaxton bodied Dart, is seen on the Transport for Greater Manchester service from Norden to Rochdale in March 2010.
Lower left: Lothian are the largest company still in local authority ownership. Having seen off First in Edinburgh, they are now part of the group that will operate the trams when they finally enter service. They have reverted to traditional madder and white livery recently as demonstrated by 959 (SN11EAO), a Wright bodied Volvo, at The Jewel in Edinburgh
Lower middle: This elderly Marshall bodied Dart - 25 (Y631GFM) - is in the Network Warrington fleet and is seen outside the then relatively new bus station in March 2010.
Lower right: Halton Transport operate in Runcorn and Widnes, where MCV bodied Dart 3 (AE57FAM), is seen in March 2010.
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Council Waste Companies that collapsed |
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Deregulation caught many smaller operators off-guard -
particularly council owned companies. One of the
first casualties was Barrow Transport who operated a small fleet
in its home town in North East England. They
suffered competition almost immediately from Ribble who flooded
the town with minibuses. Although Barrow responded
with its own fleet worse was follow when Stagecoach bought
Ribble. At one point it even looked as though the
council might sell to them, but in 1989 it went into
administration and the council received nothing.
Today Stagecoach Cumberland serve the town as represented by
47143 (PX54EPX), an Optare Solo, seen in
December 2004. |
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The next
tale of woe concerns Lancaster City Transport, whose Y-Type
bodied Leopard 301 (MFR301P) is seen on a hazy
day in Morecambe in August 1981. It too faced intense
competition from Stagecoach Ribble, and although the council
tried to sell it on the open market in late 1992, it ceased
trading with Stagecoach taking over services in 1993. |
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Perhaps the most shocking failure was that of Darlington
Transport. The North East town seems like the unlikeliest place for a bus
war, yet for a period in 1993 three operators were vying for
local business. So in 1994 Darlington
Transport was offered for sale resulting in several bids,
including one from Stagecoach Busways (based in Newcastle) and
one from Yorkshire Traction which was chosen. Before
Yorkshire Traction could start services, Stagecoach started free
services in the town resulting in Yorkshire Traction withdrawing
and Darlington Transport going into administration.
In a further twist, Stagecoach sold its Darlington operations in
2007 to Arriva, whose predecessor United had been on of the
three operators involved in the bus war. Seen above is 13 (GHN813V), an unusual East Lancs
bodied single decker Dominator, in December 1989. |
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Latest Sale |
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| The last council owned company to be sold is Islywn Borough Transport or IBT as it had become known when Stagecoach bought it in early 2010. Their 26 (N812XJH), a former Reading Optare bodied MAN, is seen in Blackwood bus station in November 2009. |
