History of the PTE bus operations
Encyclopedia
The PTE bus operations were the bus operating divisions of the passenger transport executives in the United Kingdom
. In 1986 they underwent a process of deregulation and privatisation, forming some of the largest private bus companies in the UK outside of London
, with all being sold to their employees or management. Despite their relative size and lucrative operating areas, none of the companies survived beyond the late 1990s, with all falling into the hands of the major bus groups, who had their origins in privatised regional subsidiaries of the former National Bus Company and the Scottish Bus Group
.
s (PTEs) and passenger transport authorities (PTAs) were established by the Transport Act 1968
.
The PTEs were local authority bodies responsible for running transport operations in their respective regions, accountable to the PTAs. Although trams, underground trains and light rail systems were included, the majority of transport operations controlled by the PTEs were bus
services.
s came under the control of passenger transport executives following the Transport Act 1968. The following is a list of the seven PTEs established in either 1968 or 1974, and the municipal bus companies which became part of combined bus fleets.
In 1986 all PTE bus operations were deregulated and sold off.
all PTEs were compelled to transfer their bus operations to "arms length" public transport companies.
This meant that the PTE/PTA could no longer regulate the routes and fares of the bus operators, nor could they prevent (legal) competition from external operators. The PTEs moved to a role of maintaining common facilities and financing less profitable but socially necessary services, although these had to go to open tender.
As a result of the split, all bus operations were re-branded:
The rebranding served to underline the new separation of responsibilities between the PTEs and the bus companies.
In order to promote competition, the GM Buses operation was split in two in 1993.
Several PTEs faced competition from operators setup by former PTE employees made redundant during deregulation and/or privatisation. Several new competitors appealed to local customers by resurrecting former municipal company liveries which had disappeared with creation of the PTEs.
. This was put on hold as the company was sold to Stagecoach Group
, although the Busways company proceeded to immediately renew interest in Darlington, resulting in the events of the Darlington Bus War
. Strathclyde Buses merged with the neighbouring ex-Scottish Bus Group
operator Kelvin Central Buses
.
Some companies competed by setting up low cost units to compete for tendered services, such as Blue Bus and TWOC of Busways, and Merseyrider of Merseybus. West Midlands Travel set up an express coach service with London Buses
to compete with National Express
, who would ironically later purchase WMT.
One of the largest pieces of competition came from competition between MTL and Merseybus, with both operators setting up operations in each others areas. This led to both operators losing money, and was ended in a gentleman's agreement. A similar tit for tat occurred between SYT and West Riding Buses, using investment in Compass Bus
and new operation Sheffield and District respectively.
Several of the companies had difficulties in competing or upgrading their fleets due to repayments due to be made on loans made to finance the privatisations.
Stagecoach Group
adopted a strategy of taking minority stakes in the new companies. At Mainline, a 20% stake was taken to assist in financing fleet upgrades, and to give Stagecoach first refusal in any event that the company was sold. Stagecoach also took a 20% stake in SB Holdings, Strathclydes expanded company, ostensibly to prevent imminent competition from Stagecoach West Scotland
. As a result of a merger inquiries Stagecoach was forced to divest its stakes, losing both companies to First.
FirstGroup was by far the most successful national group at acquiring former PTE bus companies. The former PTE companies were sold to national groups as follows:
Several companies proceeded to make their services appear more local, by introducing local branding. Busways introduced different coloured stripes and location names. Yorkshire Rider branded its buses with a depot strapline. Once privatised, SYT (as Mainline) introduced local brands (later dropped). Merseybus, once privatised, introduced local branding for the Wirral and Southport operations. Privatised WMT maintained a network wide livery.
All PTE acquisitions by First, Arriva and Stagecoach (Manchester) were quickly repainted into the respective corporate liveries. Busways livery survived for a few years after purchase. National Express rebranded the WMT business as Travel West Midlands with a revised mostly white livery, latterly resurrecting a Coventry identity, Travel Coventry, although National Express Group is set to embark on a group wide re-branding in 2008 namely National Express West Midlands
and National Express Coventry
. The local company names persisted within the corporate schemes until the trend of regional re-grouping along geographic lines.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1986 they underwent a process of deregulation and privatisation, forming some of the largest private bus companies in the UK outside of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with all being sold to their employees or management. Despite their relative size and lucrative operating areas, none of the companies survived beyond the late 1990s, with all falling into the hands of the major bus groups, who had their origins in privatised regional subsidiaries of the former National Bus Company and the Scottish Bus Group
Scottish Bus Group
The Scottish Bus Group was a state-owned Scottish holding company that included a number of bus operators covering the whole of Scotland. The group was formed in 1961 as Scottish Omnibuses Group Ltd, to take control of the British Transport Commission's bus operating subsidiaries in Scotland...
.
Background
The first passenger transport executivePassenger Transport Executive
In the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas...
s (PTEs) and passenger transport authorities (PTAs) were established by the Transport Act 1968
Transport Act 1968
The Transport Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over public transport in large conurbations.-National Bus Company:The Act...
.
The PTEs were local authority bodies responsible for running transport operations in their respective regions, accountable to the PTAs. Although trams, underground trains and light rail systems were included, the majority of transport operations controlled by the PTEs were bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
services.
Former municipal bus companies absorbed into passenger transport executives
Many municipal bus companies in the largest conurbationConurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
s came under the control of passenger transport executives following the Transport Act 1968. The following is a list of the seven PTEs established in either 1968 or 1974, and the municipal bus companies which became part of combined bus fleets.
In 1986 all PTE bus operations were deregulated and sold off.
- MerseysideMerseyside Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
(1969).- Birkenhead
- Liverpool
- St Helens (1974)
- Southport (1974)
- Wallasey
- SELNEC (South East Lancashire North East Cheshire, 1969), later Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester Passenger Transport ExecutiveTransport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester, in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to...
(1974)- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Bolton
- Bury
- Leigh
- Manchester
- Oldham
- Ramsbottom
- Rochdale
- Salford
- Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield
- Stockport
- Wigan (1974)
- South YorkshireSouth Yorkshire Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for South Yorkshire in England. It is supervised by the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, which consists of representatives from the metropolitan boroughs of Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, and...
(1974)- Doncaster
- Rotherham
- Sheffield
- StrathclydeStrathclyde Partnership for TransportThe Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland...
(1972)- Glasgow
- Tyneside (1969), later Tyne and WearTyne and Wear Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive using the brandname of Nexus, is the Passenger Transport Executive for the Tyne and Wear region of North East England....
(1974)- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- South Shields
- Sunderland (1973)
- West MidlandsWest Midlands Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive , sometimes known as Centro, is a local government organisation responsible for certain transport services in the West Midlands county in England....
(1969)- Birmingham
- Coventry (1974)
- Walsall
- West Bromwich
- Wolverhampton
- West YorkshireWest Yorkshire Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
(1974)- Bradford
- Halifax
- Huddersfield
- Leeds
Deregulation
In 1986 as a result of deregulation of bus servicesBus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
all PTEs were compelled to transfer their bus operations to "arms length" public transport companies.
This meant that the PTE/PTA could no longer regulate the routes and fares of the bus operators, nor could they prevent (legal) competition from external operators. The PTEs moved to a role of maintaining common facilities and financing less profitable but socially necessary services, although these had to go to open tender.
As a result of the split, all bus operations were re-branded:
- South Yorkshire SYTSouth Yorkshire TransportSouth Yorkshire Transport was formed in 1986, as a result of deregulation of bus services in the UK. The South Yorkshire PTE was no longer allowed to operate buses itself, so an arms length operating company was created....
(South Yorkshire Transport) (Mainline when privatised) - West Yorkshire Yorkshire RiderYorkshire Rider-History:Yorkshire Rider was formed in 1986, as a result of deregulation of bus services in the UK. The West Yorkshire PTE was no longer allowed to operate buses itself, so an arm's length operating company was created. In 1988 the undertaking became fully privatised when it was subject to an...
- West Midlands West Midlands Travel
- Strathclyde Transport Strathclyde Buses
- Greater Manchester GM BusesGM BusesGM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
(split into North and South divisions in 1993) - Merseyside Transport Merseybus
- Tyne and Wear BuswaysBusways Travel Services Ltd.Busways Travel Services Limited was a large bus operator in the 1990s in the north east of England. In July 1995 Busways was acquired by Stagecoach Group.-PTE divestment:...
The rebranding served to underline the new separation of responsibilities between the PTEs and the bus companies.
In order to promote competition, the GM Buses operation was split in two in 1993.
Privatisation
All the arms length bus companies were privatised by 1994:- SYT sold in 1993 to employees
- Yorkshire RiderYorkshire Rider-History:Yorkshire Rider was formed in 1986, as a result of deregulation of bus services in the UK. The West Yorkshire PTE was no longer allowed to operate buses itself, so an arm's length operating company was created. In 1988 the undertaking became fully privatised when it was subject to an...
sold in 1988 to management - West Midlands Travel sold in 1991 as an esop (employee shared ownership plan)
- Strathclyde Buses sold in 1993 to employees
- GM BusesGM BusesGM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
North sold in 1994 to management - GM BusesGM BusesGM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
South sold in 1994 to management - Merseybus sold in 1993 to some employees as MTL (Merseyside Transport Limited)
- BuswaysBusways Travel Services Ltd.Busways Travel Services Limited was a large bus operator in the 1990s in the north east of England. In July 1995 Busways was acquired by Stagecoach Group.-PTE divestment:...
sold in 1989 as an esop
Competition with new companies
As a result of deregulation, all the new bus companies faced competition from both regional operators and small independents. Some of the biggest competition occurred in Liverpool, with competition with Merseybus from North Western and generally professional medium to large-sized independents like CMT Buses, Fareway, Liverbus and Liverline. When Merseybus was sold to its management and employees and transformed into MTL it acquired most of these competitors - most notably Fareway and Liverbus with Liverline acquired by British Bus and integrated into their North Western operation.Several PTEs faced competition from operators setup by former PTE employees made redundant during deregulation and/or privatisation. Several new competitors appealed to local customers by resurrecting former municipal company liveries which had disappeared with creation of the PTEs.
Competition by the new companies
As PTEs had historically held operating areas limited by authority boundaries, expansion into neighbouring areas was a viable strategy. Busways had looked to expand into other areas, notably DarlingtonDarlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
. This was put on hold as the company was sold to Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, although the Busways company proceeded to immediately renew interest in Darlington, resulting in the events of the Darlington Bus War
Darlington Bus War
The Darlington Bus War refers to a series of events between 1986 and 1995 in the UK bus industry in the town of Darlington, northern England, culminating in the wholesale entry of Stagecoach Group onto the Darlington bus scene, and the collapse of Darlington Corporation Transport.In November 1994,...
. Strathclyde Buses merged with the neighbouring ex-Scottish Bus Group
Scottish Bus Group
The Scottish Bus Group was a state-owned Scottish holding company that included a number of bus operators covering the whole of Scotland. The group was formed in 1961 as Scottish Omnibuses Group Ltd, to take control of the British Transport Commission's bus operating subsidiaries in Scotland...
operator Kelvin Central Buses
Kelvin Central Buses
Kelvin Central Buses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group formed in July 1989 from the merger of Kelvin Scottish and Central Scottish in preparation for privatisation, and operated until July 1998 when it became First Glasgow Ltd....
.
Some companies competed by setting up low cost units to compete for tendered services, such as Blue Bus and TWOC of Busways, and Merseyrider of Merseybus. West Midlands Travel set up an express coach service with London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
to compete with National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
, who would ironically later purchase WMT.
One of the largest pieces of competition came from competition between MTL and Merseybus, with both operators setting up operations in each others areas. This led to both operators losing money, and was ended in a gentleman's agreement. A similar tit for tat occurred between SYT and West Riding Buses, using investment in Compass Bus
Compass Bus
Compass Bus, or Compass Travel, is an independent bus and coach operator based in Durrington, Worthing, West Sussex. They operate over 50 bus services throughout West Sussex and Surrey, linking many places other bus companies do not serve. They operate commercial and contracted routes, including...
and new operation Sheffield and District respectively.
Several of the companies had difficulties in competing or upgrading their fleets due to repayments due to be made on loans made to finance the privatisations.
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
adopted a strategy of taking minority stakes in the new companies. At Mainline, a 20% stake was taken to assist in financing fleet upgrades, and to give Stagecoach first refusal in any event that the company was sold. Stagecoach also took a 20% stake in SB Holdings, Strathclydes expanded company, ostensibly to prevent imminent competition from Stagecoach West Scotland
Stagecoach West Scotland
Stagecoach West Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, comprising Western Buses Ltd and Stagecoach Glasgow Ltd, based in Ayr, Scotland.-Operation:...
. As a result of a merger inquiries Stagecoach was forced to divest its stakes, losing both companies to First.
Sell out to the major groups
Despite their large fleets and high density operating areas, most of the former PTE groups were eventually surpassed by the growth of the emerging national bus groups. MTL was arguably the most successful former PTE, acquiring one of the former London Buses subsidiaries, London Northern (and expanding the operation), and securing two rail franchises (Merseyrail Electrics and Regional Railways North East), surviving the longest. However, even MTL was later declared bankrupt in 1999, and the majority of the business was acquired by Arriva.FirstGroup was by far the most successful national group at acquiring former PTE bus companies. The former PTE companies were sold to national groups as follows:
- Mainline (ex SYT) sold to First in 1998
- Yorkshire Rider sold to Badgerline in 1995 (which merged to form First in 1995)
- West Midlands Travel sold to National Express GroupNational Express GroupNational Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
in 1995. - Strathclyde Buses sold to First in 1996
- GM Buses North sold to First in 1996
- GM Buses South sold to Stagecoach in 1996
- MTL bought as a bankrupt concern by ArrivaArrivaArriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
in 2000. - Busways sold to Stagecoach in 1994
Liveries
As a result of the rebranding, nearly all the bus companies produces bright new liveries, to contrast with the more understated liveries of the PTE operations.Several companies proceeded to make their services appear more local, by introducing local branding. Busways introduced different coloured stripes and location names. Yorkshire Rider branded its buses with a depot strapline. Once privatised, SYT (as Mainline) introduced local brands (later dropped). Merseybus, once privatised, introduced local branding for the Wirral and Southport operations. Privatised WMT maintained a network wide livery.
All PTE acquisitions by First, Arriva and Stagecoach (Manchester) were quickly repainted into the respective corporate liveries. Busways livery survived for a few years after purchase. National Express rebranded the WMT business as Travel West Midlands with a revised mostly white livery, latterly resurrecting a Coventry identity, Travel Coventry, although National Express Group is set to embark on a group wide re-branding in 2008 namely National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
and National Express Coventry
National Express Coventry
National Express Coventry is the current trading name and brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from its depot in the city of Coventry in the West Midlands region of England. All of West Midlands Travel Ltd other bus depots in the West Midlands operate...
. The local company names persisted within the corporate schemes until the trend of regional re-grouping along geographic lines.