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Preston Bus
Wright StreetLite WF in Poulton-le-Fylde in July 2024
ParentRotala
FoundedJune 1904; 120 years ago (1904-06)
HeadquartersPreston
Service areaPreston
Service typeBus services
Fleet102 (February 2014)
Chief executiveBob Dunn
Websitewww.prestonbus.co.uk

Preston Bus[1] is a bus operator running in the city of Preston, England, and surrounding areas. It is a subsidiary of Rotala. It gained some notoriety in 2009 when the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell it.

History

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Preserved Leyland Olympian in the livery introduced in the 1970s
East Lancs Lolyne bodied Dennis Trident 2 in Blackpool in April 2009 in Preston Bus livery with Stagecoach signwriting

Preston Corporation began operating electric tram services in the Borough in 1904, although horse-drawn trams had been running since 1879. It began its first bus service, along Plungington Road, in 1922. Further bus services followed and eventually replaced the trams, the last of which ran in December 1935. The Borough Council continued to run the bus services until 1986 when, in order to comply with the Transport Act 1985, which prevented councils from running bus services directly, the assets were transferred to a new legal entity, Preston Borough Transport Limited,[1] which although 100% owned by the council was required to operate on an "arm's length" fully-commercial basis. In 1993, followed further pressure from the UK government for councils to dispose of their bus companies it was sold to its management and staff in 1993 in a management buyout.[2] The newly-formed company was known formally as "Preston Transport Holdings Ltd" but traded as Preston Bus.

In 2006, Preston Bus was subject to some high-profile competition from Stagecoach North West. Competition escalated into a bus war[3] with Stagecoach offering lower fares on the busiest routes.[4] The managing director of Preston Bus was concerned Stagecoach could force his company out of business.[5] Both companies accused each other of unprofessional behaviour. [6] On 10 June 2008, the two companies agreed to a code of practice by the traffic commissioner.[7] The competition continued, with Stagecoach operating routes within Preston and Preston Bus commencing a service between Preston and Penwortham, and a limited service between Preston and Southport, duplicating existing Stagecoach routes.

On 23 January 2009, Preston Bus was sold to Stagecoach.[8][9][10] The routes operated by Preston Bus were rebranded as Stagecoach in Preston from March 2009.

In November 2009 the Competition Commission ruled that the takeover by Stagecoach had adversely affected competition in the area and ordered Stagecoach sell Preston Bus.[11][12][13] Following this ruling, the Preston Bus name and logo was reinstated and the company was operated at arm's length from the main Stagecoach business. In January 2011 Preston Bus was sold to Rotala.[14][15][16]

Fleet

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The Preston Bus fleet was originally all double deckers, but latterly the company moved to single deckers and minibuses, with the most common vehicle in 2008 being the Optare Solo midibus.

As at February 2014, the fleet consisted of 102 buses.[17] Until the 1970s, fleet livery was cream and red when a blue and cream scheme was introduced. Upon the sale to Rotala, a cream, green and blue livery was introduced in 2011.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Companies House extract company no 2004022 Preston Bus Limited formerly Preston Borough Transport Limited
  2. ^ The History of Public Transport in Preston Preston Bus
  3. ^ "How Preston's bus wars have been fought". Lancashire Evening Post. 8 October 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  4. ^ "Bus giant accused of 'dirty tactics'". Lancashire Evening Post. 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  5. ^ "Preston's bus war... it won't be over for Christmas". Lancashire Evening Post. 9 November 2007. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  6. ^ "Legal loophole delay for egg-throwing drivers". Lancashire Evening Post. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  7. ^ Preston bus and Stagecoach agree a code of conduct Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Preston Bus
  8. ^ Stagecoach set to buy Preston Bus Archived 22 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 9 January 2009
  9. ^ Stagecoach Completes Acquisition of Preston Bus Stagecoach 23 January 2009
  10. ^ "'We were forced to sell Preston Bus'". Lancashire Evening Post. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  11. ^ Preston Bus to be Sold[usurped] Competition Commission 11 November 2009
  12. ^ Company must sell 'bus war' rival BBC News 11 November 2009
  13. ^ "Stagecoach must sell Preston Bus". Lancashire Evening Post. 11 November 2009. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Preston bus sold...again". Lancashire Evening Post. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  15. ^ Acquisition Rotala plc 25 January 2011
  16. ^ Stagecoach sells 'rival' Preston Bus Ltd for £3.2m BBC News 25 January 2011
  17. ^ Preston Bus North West Buses
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