- Former municipal bus companies of the United Kingdom
This is a of former
municipal bus companies of the United Kingdom and a brief description of their fate, with the exception of the several municipals which disappeared in 1968 and 1974 with the formation of the PTE bus operations.Of the remaining municipals, post-1986 many were sold off or collapsed in the process of
bus deregulation , which required their spearation into stand-alone arms length companies.Only a handful of municipal operators remain, with some securing their futures with equity partnership deals with private operators. Of the remaining operators,
Cardiff Bus ,Lothian Buses andNottingham City Transport are the largest.Former UK local authority-owned bus companies
The companies listed here were sold or ceased operating after 1986.
*Barrow Borough Transport
*
Blackburn Transport On22 January 2007 ,Lancashire United acquired the business of Blackburn Transport fromBlackburn with Darwen Council.*Yellow Buses, Bournemouth
Bournemouth 's Yellow Buses was sold to Transdev onDecember 17 ,2005 for £15m, after the Liberal Democrat-controlled borough council decided that it could not satisfactorily invest in the company itself. The Conservatives, who had long supported Yellow Buses' retention, have called for an independent inquiry. Transdev returned 10% of the equity to the council. The undertaking had been under municipal control or ownership for over 100 years.*Brighton Borough Transport The municipal operator in
Brighton was sold to its employees in December 1993, using the operating name Brighton Blue Bus.Go-Ahead Group purchased the company in May 1997 and subsequently integrated the company into its existing Brighton & Hove operations.*Burnley & Pendle Transport Burnley & Pendle was jointly owned by Burnley and
Pendle councils. Liberal Democrat-controlled Pendle council's 50% share was sold to Stagecoach in February 1996. At the time, Labour-controlled Burnley council stated at the time that it had no intention of selling its share in the company, but it was not able to invest sufficient funds in the company and voted in October 1996 to sell its share to Stagecoach. Stagecoach was later to sell the former Burnley & Pendle garage and operations toBlazefield Group in 2001, reviving the red-and-cream livery and fleetname. The Blazefield Group has since been bought byTransdev .*
ChesterBus In June 2007 ChesterBus was sold toFirstGroup byChester City Council . The sale process was longer than anticipated due to a court case againstArriva North West and Wales . Only the operations were sold, and as of July 2007, the fleet and depot remained in Council ownership, on temporary loan to the new owner.*Chesterfield Transport
*Cleveland Transit
*Colchester Borough Transport Acquired by British Bus in October 1993, which was subsequently sold to the Cowie Group, the bus operations of Colchester were rebranded as Arriva Colchester when Cowie renamed itself
Arriva in 1997. The company later passed toTellings-Golden Miller control and goes under the nameNetwork Colchester .Tellings-Golden Miller has recently since been bought by Arriva, bringing Colchester operations back under their control.*Cynon Valley Transport
*Darlington Transport Amid widely-reported events, the bus operations of Darlington council went into administration in November 1994 during an attempted sale, due to historical financial difficulties and the effects of the
Darlington Bus War .*Derby City Transport
*
Grampian Regional Transport Sold to its emloyees in January 1989, and expanded into theGRT Group , precursor toFirstGroup .*Great Yarmouth Transport Great Yarmouth's 49-vehicle fleet and operations were acquired by FirstBus in September 1996 for £1.1 million. The services initially operated under the Blue Bus (f) moniker, but operations were eventually absorbed into sister company
Eastern Counties .*Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport The 111 vehicle bus operations of the boroughs of
Grimsby andCleethorpes were sold to Stagecoach in November 1993.*Hartlepool Transport The company was acquired by Stagecoach in December 1994." [http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1995/fulltext/360a3.3.pdf Acquisitions by Stagecoach, April 1987 to September 1995 (Competition Commission), accessed September 25, 2007] "] It was subsequently merged into the Cleveland Transit susidiary of
Stagecoach North East .*Hyndburn Transport
Hyndburn council, based inAccrington , sold its bus operations to Stagecoach in September 1996. The operation was soon merged into sister-companyStagecoach Ribble , with the garage in Accrington closed and services operated from the Ribble garage in neighbouring Blackburn. Stagecoach was later to sell its Blackburn garage and operations to Blazefield Group in 2001, which operates the services under the fleetname Lancashire United. The Blazefield Group has since been bought byTransdev .*Inter-Valley Link
*Kingston-upon-Hull City Transport Former municipal Cleveland Transport bought
Kingston upon Hull 's municipal bus operations in December 1993, offering a 49% stake in the company back to the employees. The operation passed into the hands of Stagecoach in September 1994.*Lancaster City Transport The company was placed on the market by Lancaster City Council on
December 16 ,1992 . Interest was expressed in buying the company as a going concern by Blackpool Transport Services and MTL, owners of Merseybus. However, following increased competition by Stagecoach, it was decided to wind the company up. OnAugust 22 ,1993 the company ceased trading, having sold the depot and its twelve newest buses to Stagecoach (North West). [ [http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1993/fulltext/344c2.pdf "A report on the merger situation between Stagecoach Holdings plc and Lancaster City Transport Limited" (Competition Commission), accessed September 24, 2007] ]*Leicester CityBus
Leicester City Council sold its bus operations toGRT Group (the formerAberdeen bus operator) in November 1993. Trading now asFirst Leicester .*Lincoln City Transport
*
Boro'line Maidstone Boro'line Maidstone was formed in 1986 as an arms length company ofMaidstone Borough Council from their historical transport arm. After brief expansion into London tendered routes, financial difficulties saw the council attempt to sell the company. The london operations were sold toKentish Bus , and after a period of operation in administration, the Maidstone operations were sold to Maidstone & District, ending the Boro'line identity.*Merthyr Tydfil Transport
*Northampton Transport The municipal operations of
Northampton were sold toGRT Group in October 1993 and today operate under the nameFirst Northampton .*Portsmouth City Transport
*
Preston Bus Sold to its employees in 1993. Still in business but currently in increased competition withStagecoach North West as of 2007.*Southampton Citybus
Southampton Citybus was sold to its employees in December 1993.First Group bought the company in 1997, initially renamed as First Southampton, which was to merge with the former People's Provincial operations inPortsmouth in 1999 to operate as First Hampshire, today known asFirst Hampshire & Dorset .*Southend Corporation Transport The company was acquired by the British Bus Group in June, 1993."Buses: Focus on British Bus Fleets Today", Shepperton, 1994] In 1997 it became part of the rebranded Arriva group as
Arriva Southend .*Taff Ely Transport
*Tayside Transport
ee also
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Bus deregulation
*History of the PTE bus operations External links
References
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