London Country North East
Encyclopedia
London Country North East was a bus operator in South East England
and London
. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services
in 1986 and operated a fleet of around 350 buses from six garages, with its headquarters located in Hatfield
.
The company was the last subsidiary of National Bus Company to be privatised, being sold to AJS Group in April 1988. Later in the same year it was split into County Bus & Coach and Sovereign Bus & Coach. Its former operations are now provided by Arriva East Herts & Essex and Uno
.
, Hertford
, Stevenage
, Harlow
, St Albans
and the isolated base at Grays
formed the new London Country North East (LCNE) company; its managing director was the former LCBS Chief Engineer, Alan Jones.
Early difficulties with staff conditions and wages, which the company was attempting to simplify from the complex contracts arranged by LCBS, led to strike action by staff in February 1988. Performance levels on contracted routes were already below those expected by the local councils who had awarded LCNE the contracts, and by London Regional Transport
. Following the strike three of the company's London contracts were terminated and awarded to independents.
In April 1988 London Country North East was sold by National Bus Company, the last of 72 subsidiaries to be privatised. The buyer was Alan Stephenson's AJS Group, which had been formed by the management buyout of West Yorkshire Road Car. As part of the sale LCNE's property was bought by Parkdale Holdings and leased back to the company; some was sold for redevelopment, while the remainder was later sold back to LCNE. Parkdale Holdings later went out of business having changed their name to Pavilion Leisure.
A month later LCNE was banned from registering new services for six months by the Traffic Commissioner for failing to operate service in accordance with registrations made. Alan Jones left the company, and following poor financial results, AJS decided to split the company in two.
, Grays
and Hertford
. Under AJS's ownership it was managed by Graham Willet, previously London Country Bus Services
' Chief Engineer. The company enjoyed some expansion: small independent Sampson Coaches and its garage at Hoddesdon
were bought in February 1989; however, as a result of this, Hertford garage was vacated and sold for redevelopment by its owners Parkdale Holdings. The Debden
and Wyatts Green
depots and some local routes of the former East Midland
-owned Frontrunner operation were acquired in July 1989. County's fleet policy was to use Mercedes-Benz
minibuses on most routes, including in Grays when Lakeside Shopping Centre
opened and when two London contracted routes were run; there is some evidence that passengers did not like these vehicles, and their use is thought to have reduced patronage in the area.
AJS group was wound up in 1991, and the company's director Bob Howells bought County through a new holding company, Lynton Travel Group. County was relaunched with three new local identities: Grays garage became ThameSide, Harlow became TownLink, and Hoddesdon became Lea Valley. One small operator, Davian Coaches of Upper Edmonton
, was acquired a few months after and merged with County. The company was one of the beneficiaries of the collapse of London Forest
, gaining three routes in Walthamstow
. The services of Golden Boy were also taken over, in September 1992, although this deal involved no vehicles and no garage. Lynton Travel made a surprise acquisition in July 1993, of 41-vehicle independent Citibus Tours
, based in Chadderton
near Manchester
. Other changes made in 1993 included the opening of a new garage at Grays to replace the previous building, and a totally new garage at Ware which replaced that at Hoddesdon. Two more operators were taken over in 1994, namely coach operators Airport Coaches of Stansted Airport and Biss Bros. of Bishops Stortford.
However, on October 7, 1994 County was sold to West Midlands Travel, who had also acquired the former London Buses
subsidiary Westlink. In November 1994 County became only the tenth operator in the UK to introduce low-floor vehicles into service, when four Dennis Lance SLFs with Wright Pathfinder
bodywork were introduced to route 502 (Harlow
- Romford
). West Midlands Travel was taken over by National Express Group
in 1995, and the new owners decided not to keep their London companies. Westlink was the first to be sold, to London United
in September 1995. One year later, County was sold to the rapidly expanding Cowie Group.
After also taking over British Bus, who owned most of the former London Country company, Cowie rebranded itself as Arriva in November 1997. County's garage at Grays was transferred to Arriva Southend
in 2000, with that company becoming part of the Arriva Southern Counties
operation in 2992. The rest of County's routes, garages and vehicles became Arriva East Herts & Essex. This was later combined with the former Luton & District and London Country North West
operations to form Arriva Shires & Essex
, in which form County continues to trade.
, Stevenage
and St Albans
. These were quickly joined by the operations and Stevenage depot of Jubilee Coaches, an independent which had previously taken several contracted routes from LCNE, but found it had bid too low for the routes and could no longer fulfil its operations. Hatfield garage was closed in 1989, and a new site established at Welwyn Garden City
. Another operator, competitor Welwyn Hatfield Line, was taken over in 1990 and retained as a separate subsidiary for several years. Most of Sovereign's Stevenage operation was sold to Luton & District (successors to London Country North West
) in 1990. In 1991 the owning AJS Group was wound up. Two directors formed a new company, Blazefield Group
, which took over Sovereign and most of AJS's other major operator, West Yorkshire Road Car. At the time Sovereign operated 76 vehicles.
Some expansion followed. In October 1991 a new offshoot, Sovereign Buses (Harrow), was formed to operate a number of London contracts won by the company. In 1994 the company's position in London strengthened with the acquisition of the 43-vehicle Borehamwood Travel Services, which brought tendered route 13
, run with Routemaster
double-deckers, under Sovereign operation. BTS was renamed Sovereign London and merged with the Harrow operation.
The company's fleet and operations remained largely static until 2002, when Sovereign London was sold to Transdev
. It was renamed London Sovereign and now contains 130 buses and 450 staff. Sovereign contracted further in 2002 with the sale of the St Albans operation to Centrebus
. Centrebus sold the depot to Uno
in March 2008.
By 2002 Sovereign's fleet amounted to just 45 vehicles. Stevenage depot was closed and a smaller garage in the same town acquired, with Arriva Shires & Essex
taking over the old site. Finally, in January 2005, the remainder of Sovereign was sold to Arriva. Having previously acquired the successors to the former London Country North West
, London Country South West
and London Country South East
companies as well as County Bus & Coach, Arriva now owned all of the former London Country Bus Services
apart from the St Albans operation.
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
and 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...
. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...
in 1986 and operated a fleet of around 350 buses from six garages, with its headquarters located in Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
.
The company was the last subsidiary of National Bus Company to be privatised, being sold to AJS Group in April 1988. Later in the same year it was split into County Bus & Coach and Sovereign Bus & Coach. Its former operations are now provided by Arriva East Herts & Essex and Uno
Uno (bus company)
Uno is a bus service operated by the University of Hertfordshire, England, serving members of the general public, and also its own students and staff...
.
Creation and early history
In the run-up to deregulation, London Country Bus Services (LCBS) was broken up into four smaller companies with in September 1986. Three hundred and fifty buses, the garages at HatfieldHatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
, Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
, St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
and the isolated base at Grays
Grays
Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock's traditional parishes...
formed the new London Country North East (LCNE) company; its managing director was the former LCBS Chief Engineer, Alan Jones.
Early difficulties with staff conditions and wages, which the company was attempting to simplify from the complex contracts arranged by LCBS, led to strike action by staff in February 1988. Performance levels on contracted routes were already below those expected by the local councils who had awarded LCNE the contracts, and by London Regional Transport
London Regional Transport
London Regional Transport was the organisation responsible for the public transport network in Greater London, UK from 1984-2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.The organisation was...
. Following the strike three of the company's London contracts were terminated and awarded to independents.
In April 1988 London Country North East was sold by National Bus Company, the last of 72 subsidiaries to be privatised. The buyer was Alan Stephenson's AJS Group, which had been formed by the management buyout of West Yorkshire Road Car. As part of the sale LCNE's property was bought by Parkdale Holdings and leased back to the company; some was sold for redevelopment, while the remainder was later sold back to LCNE. Parkdale Holdings later went out of business having changed their name to Pavilion Leisure.
A month later LCNE was banned from registering new services for six months by the Traffic Commissioner for failing to operate service in accordance with registrations made. Alan Jones left the company, and following poor financial results, AJS decided to split the company in two.
Division
In 20 months of existence London Country North East had lost £5.5 million, while turning over only £14 million. Two operating subsidiaries were created to help improve the situation, under the control of a single holding company initially called the London Country Travel Group (later renamed to South of England Travel Group). Its chief executive, Bob Howells, had previously been West Yorkshire Road Car's Traffic Manager. A third company, Cambridge-based Premier Travel Services, was added to the group in 1989 but was sold to Cambus in 1991. Both subsidiaries continued to be owned by AJS until 1991, when they were sold to new owners.County Bus & Coach
County Bus & Coach took over the former London Country North East garages at HarlowHarlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
, Grays
Grays
Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock's traditional parishes...
and Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
. Under AJS's ownership it was managed by Graham Willet, previously London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...
' Chief Engineer. The company enjoyed some expansion: small independent Sampson Coaches and its garage at Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...
were bought in February 1989; however, as a result of this, Hertford garage was vacated and sold for redevelopment by its owners Parkdale Holdings. The Debden
Debden, Epping Forest
Debden is a suburb of the town of Loughton, in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It takes its name from the ancient manor of Debden, which lay at its northern end. The area is predominantly residential, but is also the location of Epping Forest College, East 15 Acting School and the De...
and Wyatts Green
Wyatts Green
Wyatts Green is a settlement in the Brentwood borough of Essex, England. Although located in the parish of Blackmore, Hook End and Wyatts Green it is adjacent to the village of Doddinghurst....
depots and some local routes of the former East Midland
Stagecoach East Midlands
Stagecoach East Midlands is a bus company, part of the Stagecoach Group.Its headquarters are in Lincoln, England, and it operates services under the following brand names:*Stagecoach in Bassetlaw*Stagecoach in Mansfield*Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes...
-owned Frontrunner operation were acquired in July 1989. County's fleet policy was to use Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
minibuses on most routes, including in Grays when Lakeside Shopping Centre
Lakeside Shopping Centre
The Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London...
opened and when two London contracted routes were run; there is some evidence that passengers did not like these vehicles, and their use is thought to have reduced patronage in the area.
Upper Edmonton
Upper Edmonton is a part of Edmonton, which is located in the eastern part of the London Borough of Enfield, England. The main shopping area of Upper Edmonton is often referred to as "The Angel" by locals and is...
, was acquired a few months after and merged with County. The company was one of the beneficiaries of the collapse of London Forest
London Forest
London Forest was a subsidiary of London Buses active between 1988 and 1991. Formed as one of the eleven operating divisions of London Buses in readiness for privatisation, the company initially operated from garages at Ash Grove, Walthamstow and Leyton on a network of routes in North-East London...
, gaining three routes in Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
. The services of Golden Boy were also taken over, in September 1992, although this deal involved no vehicles and no garage. Lynton Travel made a surprise acquisition in July 1993, of 41-vehicle independent Citibus Tours
Citibus tours
Citibus was a bus operator in Greater Manchester, England. They mainly operated on the north side of Manchester, radiating outwards from their headquarters at Chadderton in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.-History:...
, based in Chadderton
Chadderton
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
near Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Other changes made in 1993 included the opening of a new garage at Grays to replace the previous building, and a totally new garage at Ware which replaced that at Hoddesdon. Two more operators were taken over in 1994, namely coach operators Airport Coaches of Stansted Airport and Biss Bros. of Bishops Stortford.
However, on October 7, 1994 County was sold to West Midlands Travel, who had also acquired the former 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...
subsidiary Westlink. In November 1994 County became only the tenth operator in the UK to introduce low-floor vehicles into service, when four Dennis Lance SLFs with Wright Pathfinder
Wright Pathfinder
The Wright Pathfinder, or Pathfinder 320, is a low-floor single-decker bus body built by Wright of Ballymena on Dennis Lance SLF and Scania N113CRL chassis. It was introduced in 1993....
bodywork were introduced to route 502 (Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
- Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
). West Midlands Travel was taken over by National Express Group
National Express Group
National 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, and the new owners decided not to keep their London companies. Westlink was the first to be sold, to London United
Transdev London
London United is one of many operators of London Buses and is owned by the RATP Group, an international public transport operator owned by the government of France...
in September 1995. One year later, County was sold to the rapidly expanding Cowie Group.
After also taking over British Bus, who owned most of the former London Country company, Cowie rebranded itself as Arriva in November 1997. County's garage at Grays was transferred to Arriva Southend
Arriva Southend
Arriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva which operates bus services in and around the Southend-on-Sea, Rochford, Rayleigh, Basildon, and Thurrock areas of Essex...
in 2000, with that company becoming part of the Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties is a bus operator in London, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex in England. It is a regional division of Arriva.- History :...
operation in 2992. The rest of County's routes, garages and vehicles became Arriva East Herts & Essex. This was later combined with the former Luton & District and London Country North West
London Country North West
London Country North West was a bus operator in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England. It was formed in 1986 when London Country Bus Services was broken up, and acquired by Luton & District in 1990.-History:...
operations to form Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
, in which form County continues to trade.
Sovereign Bus & Coach
Sovereign Bus & Coach took over three former London Country North East depots in the 1989 split, namely HatfieldHatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
and St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
. These were quickly joined by the operations and Stevenage depot of Jubilee Coaches, an independent which had previously taken several contracted routes from LCNE, but found it had bid too low for the routes and could no longer fulfil its operations. Hatfield garage was closed in 1989, and a new site established at Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
. Another operator, competitor Welwyn Hatfield Line, was taken over in 1990 and retained as a separate subsidiary for several years. Most of Sovereign's Stevenage operation was sold to Luton & District (successors to London Country North West
London Country North West
London Country North West was a bus operator in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England. It was formed in 1986 when London Country Bus Services was broken up, and acquired by Luton & District in 1990.-History:...
) in 1990. In 1991 the owning AJS Group was wound up. Two directors formed a new company, Blazefield Group
Blazefield Group
Transdev Blazefield is one of the main bus groups in England. Owner of several bus companies around the Yorkshire and Lancashire regions, since 2006 it has been part of the international transport company Transdev.-History:...
, which took over Sovereign and most of AJS's other major operator, West Yorkshire Road Car. At the time Sovereign operated 76 vehicles.
Some expansion followed. In October 1991 a new offshoot, Sovereign Buses (Harrow), was formed to operate a number of London contracts won by the company. In 1994 the company's position in London strengthened with the acquisition of the 43-vehicle Borehamwood Travel Services, which brought tendered route 13
London Buses route 13
London Buses route 13 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. The service is currently contracted to London Sovereign.-History:...
, run with Routemaster
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
double-deckers, under Sovereign operation. BTS was renamed Sovereign London and merged with the Harrow operation.
The company's fleet and operations remained largely static until 2002, when Sovereign London was sold to Transdev
Transdev
Transdev was a major international public transport group based in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France and operating in several countries. Originally created as Société centrale pour l'équipement du territoire in 1955 and developing transportation activities since 1973, Transdev was a subsidiary...
. It was renamed London Sovereign and now contains 130 buses and 450 staff. Sovereign contracted further in 2002 with the sale of the St Albans operation to Centrebus
Centrebus
Centrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
. Centrebus sold the depot to Uno
Uno (bus company)
Uno is a bus service operated by the University of Hertfordshire, England, serving members of the general public, and also its own students and staff...
in March 2008.
By 2002 Sovereign's fleet amounted to just 45 vehicles. Stevenage depot was closed and a smaller garage in the same town acquired, with Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
taking over the old site. Finally, in January 2005, the remainder of Sovereign was sold to Arriva. Having previously acquired the successors to the former London Country North West
London Country North West
London Country North West was a bus operator in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England. It was formed in 1986 when London Country Bus Services was broken up, and acquired by Luton & District in 1990.-History:...
, London Country South West
London Country South West
London Country South West was a former bus operator which existed between 1986 and 1997. It was formed from a part of London Country Bus Services. The company was privatised in 1988 and sold to Drawlane, who adopted the trading name London & Country...
and London Country South East
London Country South East
London Country South East was a bus operator in South-East England. It was formed in 1986 from the break-up of London Country Bus Services, and was known as Kentish Bus for most of its existence...
companies as well as County Bus & Coach, Arriva now owned all of the former London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...
apart from the St Albans operation.