Western National

Western National was a bus operating company in South West England from 1929 to the 1990s.

Early History

Western National Omnibus Company Ltd started in 1929 as a joint venture between the Great Western Railway and the National Omnibus & Transport Company. The National company had originated in 1909 as the National Steam Car Company, started to run steam bus services in London. The London services ceased in 1919, when the company was renamed National Omnibus and Transport Company. The company expanded outside London, in Essex (1913), Bedfordshire (1919), Gloucestershire (1919), Somerset (1920), Dorset (1921) and Devon and Cornwall (1927).

The GWR had developed an extensive network of bus services in Devon and Cornwall. These services, and those of the National Omnibus in Devon and Cornwall, were transferred to Western National. A few months later, the new company bought the operations of the National company in south west Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, and also the GWR bus services around Trowbridge and Stroud. The result was an operating territory stretching from Cheltenham to Penzance, in five areas: Gloucestershire (based at Stroud), Wiltshire (based at Trowbridge), south and west Somerset (based at Taunton), south Devon (based at Plymouth) and Cornwall. Western National's operating territory was interspersed with those of three other major operators: Bristol in south Gloucestershire and north Somerset, Southern National in north Devon and north Cornwall and Devon General in south and east Devon.

In 1931 a controlling interest in the National Omnibus was acquired by the Tilling Group. From then on Western National was run as a Tilling company, although the GWR retained its shares until 1948. Western National and Southern National shared a common management, based in Exeter (although curiously neither company had a depot in Exeter).

At the end of 1934, Western National and Southern National bought Royal Blue Coach Services.

Nationalisation

In 1948 the Great Western Railway was nationalised, and shortly after, the Tilling Group sold its bus interests to the government. Western National therefore became a state-owned company, under the control of the British Transport Commission.

The new regime resulted in some rationalisation of the company's area of operations. In 1950 the Gloucestershire area operations were transferred to Bristol Tramways.

In 1962 Western National was passed to the state-owned Transport Holding Company, then in 1969 to the state-owned National Bus Company.

The NBC embarked on more rationalisation of Western National's operations. In 1969, the operations of Southern National were merged with those of Western National, so that Western National acquired the operating areas of north Cornwall, north Devon and Dorset. In 1970 the Wiltshire area operations of Western National were transferred to Bristol Omnibus Company. Then in 1971 the NBC transferred the operations of Devon General to Western National, although Devon General was retained as a brand. Western National pulled out of north Cornwall in 1971, leaving the area to local operators. Then in 1974 the former Southern National operations in the Swanage area of east Dorset were transferred to Hants & Dorset.

Privatisation

In 1980 the new Thatcher government embarked on a programme of deregulation and privatisation of bus services. In 1983 the National Bus Company divided Western National into four companies: Southern National Ltd in Somerset and Dorset; Devon General Ltd in the old Devon General's area in south and east Devon; North Devon Ltd trading as Red Bus in North Devon; and Western National Ltd in Cornwall and Plymouth.

In August 1986 Devon General became the first NBC subsidiary to be sold to its management, who sold it on to Stagecoach as Stagecoach in Devon in 1995.

Western National Ltd was acquired by Badgerline by 1995, and therefore became part of First Bus, later First Group, formed when Badgerline merged with Grampian Regional Transport. First changed the company's name to First Western National.

Southern National and North Devon were jointly sold to their management in 1988. In 1999 they were sold to First Group. First split Southern National into two: the Dorset operations became part of First Hampshire & Dorset, and the Somerset operations part of First Somerset & Avon. The North Devon operations were combined with those of First Western National to form First Devon and Cornwall.

Therefore today almost all of the operations of the original Western National and Southern National companies are part of First Group. The only exceptions are the old Gloucestershire area, now part of Stagecoach, and the small Swanage depot, now part of the Go Ahead Group's Wilts & Dorset.

References

* Morris, C (2008) "Western National Omnibus Company" Ian Allan ISBN 978-0711031746