Private company

National Bus Company

Logo: Norman Wilson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Former bus company in Great Britain (1969-1988)

The National Bus Company (NBC) was a nationalised bus company that operated in England and Wales between 1969 and 1988. NBC did not run buses itself, but was the owner of a number of regional subsidiary bus operating companies.2 It is part of Department of Transport.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

Jan 1, 1969Founded1

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A7 in George Street - geograph.org.uk - 1207937
Photo: Martin Addison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The National Bus Company (NBC) was a nationalised bus company that operated in England and Wales between 1969 and 1988. NBC did not run buses itself, but was the owner of a number of regional subsidiary bus operating companies.2

Corporate structure

National Bus Company sits at the top of its group. 7 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Background

Following the Labour Party victory at the 1966 General Election, Barbara Castle was appointed Minister for Transport. Castle immediately ordered a review of public transport, with a view to formulating a new transport policy.

Among the issues to be tackled were the ownership and operation of bus services, which were rapidly losing patronage and profitability due to increased prevalence of private motor cars. The state owned a considerable proportion of scheduled bus operators outside the major cities; it had obtained the Tilling Group companies in 1948 as a consequence of nationalising the railways, all of which had substantial shareholdings in the Tilling Group, having previously merged into it their own bus operations. The Tilling Group was subsequently placed under the ownership of the nationalised Transport Holding Company (THC). London Transport was also nationalised in 1948 and others voluntarily acquiesced; the last was Red & White in 1950. When the Labour Party suddenly lost power to the Conservatives in 1951, the nationalisation programme remained unfinished.

Castle proposed forming regional transport authorities, which would take over the THC subsidiaries and municipal transport undertakings in their area; it would also have the power to acquire private bus operators. However, in November 1967, British Electric Traction (BET) unexpectedly offered to sell its bus operations to the government. BET, which had been the only major private bus operating group, received £35 million for its 25 provincial bus companies and 11,300 vehicles. The deal meant that the state or municipal bus operators now operated some 90% of scheduled bus services in England and Wales. Instead of forming the regional authorities, the government published a white paper proposing the merger of the THC and BET organisations into a single National Bus Company.

The recommendations of the White Paper formed part of the Transport Act 1968; this also reorganised the already nationalised bus operation in Scotland, where subsidiaries formed the Scottish Bus Group.

Formation

The National Bus Company was formed on 1 January 1969.

In 1970, the company was enlarged when it acquired the country area buses of London Transport (as London Country Bus Services), the bus operations of the county boroughs of Exeter and Luton and the Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Company, trading under the name of Provincial.

Buses were operated by locally-managed subsidiary companies, with their own fleetnames and liveries. In the early years of the company, there was some rationalisation, generally leading to the amalgamation of operators into larger units and the transfer of areas between them. One was the merging of Aldershot & District with Thames Valley on 1 January 1972. Another example was the transfer of the land-locked Trowbridge operations from Western National to Bristol Omnibus in 1970.

From Wikipedia’s article on National Bus Company (UK), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Area of operation

Although NBC operated throughout England and Wales, it was not a monopoly. Services were provided by London Transport in Greater London, the fleets of the municipal bus companies and passenger transport executives, and by independent operators in some rural areas and a few small towns.

Bus manufacture

The NBC inherited 75% shareholdings in chassis manufacturer Bristol Commercial Vehicles and body builder Eastern Coach Works (ECW) from the Transport Holding Company. In 1969, NBC formed a joint venture with British Leyland (which owned the other 25% of Bristol and ECW); British Leyland became a 50% owner of the NBC's manufacturing companies. The joint venture designed and built a new single-deck bus, the Leyland National. The first was delivered in 1972 and it remained in production until 1986; it was also available to other bus operators. In 1982, NBC sold its 50% interest in the joint venture (including Bristol and ECW) to British Leyland.

Service reforms

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, services were reviewed under a process known within instigator Midland Red as the Viable Network Project and subsequently more generally as the Market Analysis Project (MAP). This followed on from the West Oxfordshire Market Analysis Project conducted in 1975, by the newly formed Public Transport Unit of Oxfordshire County Council. With an all-county remit, Oxfordshire included services from the Banbury area running into the West Oxfordshire survey area. Having assisted in the programme and been fully informed as to the findings, the Midland Red Area Manager (Brian Barrett) was able to recommend that the programme should be extended elsewhere within National Bus Company.

Conscious of the very limited information on their market (their passengers), NBC extended the programme throughout the areas served by the subsidiary companies. Each company carefully considered its existing and potential new demands, surveyed both on and off bus, and recast local networks to reflect the results; they indicated to local authorities those services requiring subsidy. As part of the MAP, local area identities were invariably introduced, with new fleet names applied to buses, bus stops, timetables and publicity. The process culminated in the splitting of several larger NBC subsidiaries.

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Subsidiaries

Original companies

The original bus and coach operating subsidiaries of the National Bus Company in 1969 and 1970 were:

Aldershot & District Traction Co. Ltd. – merged into Thames Valley & Aldershot in 1972

Bath Services (i.e. Bath Electric Tramways Ltd. and Bath Tramways Motor Co. Ltd.) – Bristol subsidiaries, absorbed by Bristol in 1969

Black & White Motorways Ltd. (coaches only) – merged into National Travel (South West) in 1974

Brighton, Hove & District Omnibus Co. Ltd. – absorbed by Southdown 1969.

Bristol Omnibus Co. Ltd., including Bristol Joint Services (a joint undertaking of the company and Bristol City Council) and services leased from the county borough of Gloucester, operated under the Gloucester fleetname

Charlie's Cars (Bournemouth) Ltd. (coaches only) – Shamrock & Rambler subsidiary, absorbed by Shamrock & Rambler in 1972

Cheltenham District Traction Co. Ltd. – Bristol subsidiary

County Motors (Lepton) Ltd. – owned jointly by West Riding, Yorkshire Traction and Yorkshire Woollen; absorbed by Yorkshire Traction in 1969

Crosville Motor Services Ltd.

Cumberland Motor Services Ltd.

Devon General Omnibus & Touring Co. Ltd., including Grey Cars coach operation. Absorbed by Western National in 1971

East Kent Road Car Co. Ltd.

East Midland Motor Services Ltd.

East Yorkshire Motor Services Ltd.

Eastern Counties Omnibus Co. Ltd.

Eastern National Omnibus Co. Ltd.

Gateshead & District Omnibus Co. Ltd. - Northern General subsidiary, absorbed by Northern General in 1976.

Greenslade's Tours Ltd. (coaches only) – Devon General subsidiary, merged into National Travel (South West) in 1974

Hants & Dorset Motor Services Ltd.

Hebble Motor Services Ltd. - became part of West Riding group in 1969 and absorbed Yorkshire Woollen's coach fleet in 1970. Bus operations were transferred to West Yorkshire and the Halifax Joint Omnibus Committee in 1970 and 1971 respectively. Hebble thereafter operated coaches only. Merged into National Travel (North East) in 1974

Jones Omnibus Services Ltd. - independent operator acquired in 1969 and operated as a subsidiary of Red & White. Became part of Western Welsh group in 1974; merged into National Welsh in 1978

Keighley–West Yorkshire Services Ltd. – owned jointly by West Yorkshire and the Borough of Keighley. Absorbed by West Yorkshire in 1974

Lincolnshire Road Car Co. Ltd.

London Country - established on 1 January 1970 to take over the country area services of London Transport; included Green Line coach services

Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd.

Mansfield District Traction Co. Ltd. – Midland General subsidiary, absorbed by East Midland in1972.

Mexborough & Swinton Traction Co. Ltd. – absorbed by Yorkshire Traction in 1969

Midland General Omnibus Co. Ltd. – absorbed by Trent in 1972

Midland Red (i.e. Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd.) – renamed Midland Red Omnibus Co. Ltd. in March 1974

Neath & Cardiff Luxury Coaches Ltd. (coaches only) - split between Western Welsh and South Wales in 1970–71

Notts & Derby (i.e. Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Traction Co. Ltd.) – Midland General subsidiary, absorbed by Trent in 1972

North Western Road Car Co. Ltd. – Bus operations split between SELNEC PTE, Crosville and Trent in 1972. North Western thereafter operated coaches only. Renamed National Travel (North West) in 1974

Northern General Transport Co. Ltd.

Oxford (i.e. City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd.)

Potteries Motor Traction Co. Ltd.

Provincial (i.e. Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Co. Ltd.) – acquired from the Swaine Group on 1 January 1970 and operated as a Hants & Dorset subsidiary

Red & White Services Ltd. – became part of Western Welsh group from 1974. Merged into National Welsh 1978

Rhondda Transport Co. Ltd. – absorbed by Western Welsh in 1971

Ribble Motor Services Ltd.

Samuelson New Transport Co. Ltd. (coaches only) – merged into National Travel (South East) in 1974

Shamrock & Rambler Motor Coaches Ltd. (coaches only) – Hants & Dorset subsidiary, merged into National Travel (South West) 1974.

Sheffield United Tours Ltd. (coaches only) – merged into National Travel (North East) in 1974

South Wales Transport Co. Ltd.

Southdown Motor Services Ltd.

Southern National Omnibus Co. Ltd. – absorbed by Western National in 1969

Southern Vectis Omnibus Co. Ltd., including Crinage's and Fountain Coaches coaching units

W.C. Standerwick Ltd. (coaches only) - Ribble subsidiary, absorbed by National Travel (North West) in 1974

Stratford Blue (i.e. Stratford-upon-Avon Blue Motors Ltd.) – Midland Red subsidiary, absorbed by Midland Red in 1971

Sunderland District Omnibus Co. Ltd. – Northern General subsidiary, absorbed by Northern General 1975.

Thames Valley Traction Co. Ltd., including South Midland coach unit. South Midland transferred to City of Oxford in 1971, Thames Valley merged into Thames Valley & Aldershot in 1972

Thomas Bros. (Port Talbot) Ltd. – absorbed by South Wales in 1971

Tilling's Travel (NBC) Ltd. (coaches only) – Eastern National subsidiary, absorbed by Eastern National in 1970 but re-established in 1971. Merged into National Travel (South East) in 1974

A. Timpson & Sons Ltd. (coaches only) – merged into National Travel (South East) in 1974

Trent Motor Traction Co. Ltd.

Tyneside Omnibus Co. Ltd. – Northern General subsidiary, absorbed by Northern General in 1976

Tynemouth & District Transport Co. Ltd. – Northern General subsidiary, absorbed by Northern General in 1975

United Automobile Services Ltd.

United Counties Omnibus Co. Ltd.

United Welsh Services Ltd. – Absorbed by South Wales in 1971

Venture Transport Co. Ltd. – acquired by NBC in 1970 and became a Northern General subsidiary. Absorbed by Northern General in 1975

West Riding Automobile Co. Ltd.

West Yorkshire Road Car Co. Ltd., including operation of York-West Yorkshire joint committee services provided on behalf of the County Borough of York

Wakefield's Motors Ltd. (coaches only) - Tynemouth & District subsidiary, absorbed by Tynemouth & District in 1970

Western National Omnibus Co. Ltd., including Royal Blue coach operation joint with Southern National

Western Welsh Omnibus Co. Ltd.

Wilts & Dorset Motor Services Ltd. – Hants & Dorset subsidiary, absorbed by Hants & Dorset in 1972

Yorkshire Traction Co. Ltd.

Yorkshire Woollen District Transport Co. Ltd - became part of the West Riding group in 1969.

In addition, another NBC subsidiary, Amalgamated Passenger Transport Ltd, inherited the former British Railways/THC shareholdings in several further Joint Omnibus Committees (JOC) in Yorkshire. These comprised Halifax JOC and Todmorden JOC (merged to form Calderdale JOC in 1971), Huddersfield JOC, and Sheffield JOC.

Consolidation

During its early years, NBC pursued a policy of merging smaller subsidiaries to form larger regional companies. At the same time, some depots were transferred between subsidiaries to reduce overlap between operating territories. In addition to those businesses inherited from the Transport Holding Company, NBC took over the municipal bus operations in Exeter and Luton during 1970, with these operations being absorbed by Devon General and United Counties respectively; the country area services of London Transport also passed to NBC in 1970 as London Country.

Notable independent operators acquired during this period included Jones of Aberbeeg, Venture of Consett, Provincial of Fareham and Wessex of Bristol, which were (at least initially) retained as subsidiaries. In 1974, the coach-only subsidiaries consolidated into four National Travel companies, while a fifth was established to take over another independent coach operator, Don Everall of Wolverhampton.

On the other hand, the NBC shareholdings in Huddersfield and Sheffield JOCs were sold to the respective local authorities in 1969, and most of Hebble's bus operations passed to the jointly owned Halifax JOC during 1970. The 1968 Transport Act gave the new passenger transport executives the right to purchase any bus operations within their territories, including those of the National Bus Company. Not all of the PTEs chose to exercise this power but, on 1 January 1972, SELNEC PTE purchased the majority of North Western Road Car, and in 1973 the services of Midland Red within the West Midlands PTE passed to that executive. In 1974, the remaining NBC interest in Calderdale JOC was acquired by the newly-formed West Yorkshire PTE.

By 1978, the following bus operating companies existed:

Alder Valley – formed on 1 January 1972 from Aldershot & District and Thames Valley

Bristol – absorbed Cheltenham District Traction in 1975, separate Cheltenham fleetname retained

Crosville

Cumberland

Devon General – became a subsidiary of Western National in 1971

East Kent

East Midland – absorbed Mansfield District in 1975, separate Mansfield fleetname retained

East Yorkshire

Eastern Counties

Eastern National

Hants & Dorset – absorbed Wilts & Dorset in 1972

Jones – finally absorbed by National Welsh in 1980

Lincolnshire

London Country

Maidstone & District

Midland Red (Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company) – absorbed Stratford Blue in 1971

National Travel London – formed in 1974 from Samuelson, Timpson's and Tillings (as National Travel South East); renamed in 1978

National Travel East – formed in 1973 (as National Travel North East) from Hebble, Sheffield United Tours; renamed in 1977

National Travel South West – formed in 1973 from Black & White, Greenslades and Grey Cars

National Travel West - formed in 1977 from National Travel North West (formed in 1974 from Standerwick) and National Travel Midlands (formed in 1973 from part of former South Midland)

National Welsh – formed 1978 from Western Welsh (which had absorbed Rhondda in 1971) and Red and White

Northern General – absorbed Sunderland District, Tynemouth & District and Venture in 1975; absorbed Tyneside, Gateshead & District in 1976

Oxford (City of Oxford Motor Services) – absorbed South Midland inJanuary 1971

Potteries Motor Traction

Provincial (Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Company)

Ribble

South Wales – absorbed Neath & Cardiff, Thomas Bros and United Welsh in 1971

Southdown – absorbed Brighton, Hove & District in March 1974

Southern Vectis

Trent Motor Traction, absorbed Midland General in 1971

United Automobile Services

United Counties

West Riding

West Yorkshire

Western National

Yorkshire Traction

Yorkshire Woollen – under West Riding management.

Break-up and privatisation

In 1981, Midland Red, weakened by losing its core area, was broken into six smaller operating companies. Most of the National Travel companies were closed down in the mid-1980s, with coaches mainly going to local bus companies. Wessex National was formed from part of National Travel South West, and Pilgrim Coaches from part of National Travel West.

In preparation for the introduction of deregulation in 1986, and for privatisation soon after, many of the companies were broken up into smaller units. In some cases, the names of earlier companies – such as Wilts & Dorset or North Western – were revived, although often with quite different areas from their namesakes.

Two additional non-bus-operating subsidiaries were also disposed of in 1988:

National Express was sold to its management.

Victoria Coach Station passed to the state-owned London Transport.

The Scarborough operations of United Automobile Services passed to East Yorkshire Motor Services in September 1986.

From Wikipedia’s article on National Bus Company (UK), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

  • Department of Transport

Subsidiaries

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. Jan 1, 1972Alder Valley became a subsidiary1
  2. Jan 1, 1970London Country Bus Services became a subsidiary1
  3. Jan 1, 1969Bristol Omnibus Company became a subsidiary1
  4. Jan 1, 1969Crosville Motor Services became a subsidiary1
  5. Jan 1, 1969Cumberland Motor Services became a subsidiary1
  6. Jan 1, 1969Devon General became a subsidiary1
  7. Jan 1, 1969East Kent Road Car Company became a subsidiary1
  8. Jan 1, 1969East Yorkshire became a subsidiary1
  9. Jan 1, 1969Eastern Counties (bus company) became a subsidiary1
  10. Jan 1, 1969Eastern National Omnibus Company became a subsidiary1
  11. Jan 1, 1969Hants & Dorset became a subsidiary1
  12. Jan 1, 1969Maidstone & District Motor Services became a subsidiary1
  13. Jan 1, 1969Midland Red became a subsidiary1
  14. Jan 1, 1969National Welsh Omnibus Services became a subsidiary1
  15. Jan 1, 1969Northern General Transport Company became a subsidiary1
  16. Jan 1, 1969Potteries Motor Traction became a subsidiary1
  17. Jan 1, 1969Red & White Services became a subsidiary1
  18. Jan 1, 1969Ribble Motor Services became a subsidiary1
  19. Jan 1, 1969Acquired South Midland Motor Services1
  20. Jan 1, 1969South Wales Transport became a subsidiary1
  21. Jan 1, 1969Southern National became a subsidiary1
  22. Jan 1, 1969Southern Vectis became a subsidiary1
  23. Jan 1, 1969Acquired Thames Valley Traction1
  24. Jan 1, 1969Trentbarton became a subsidiary1
  25. Jan 1, 1969United Automobile Services became a subsidiary1
  26. Jan 1, 1969United Counties Omnibus became a subsidiary1
  27. Jan 1, 1969West Riding Automobile Company became a subsidiary1
  28. Jan 1, 1969West Yorkshire Road Car Company became a subsidiary1
  29. Jan 1, 1969Western National became a subsidiary1
  30. Jan 1, 1969Yorkshire Traction became a subsidiary1
  31. Jan 1, 1963Acquired Midland General (bus company)1
  32. Succeeded Transport Holding Company1

Timeline

  1. Apr 1988Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. Jan 1, 1969Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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  5. 5