| image A Leyland Olympian of London Country North West at Penn. | |
| Founded | 1986 (publicly owned company); 1988 (privatised) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Garston |
| Service area | Hertfordshire Berkshire Buckinghamshire Greater London |
| Service type | Buses |
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 the run-up to deregulation, London Country Bus Services was broken up into four smaller companies in September 1986. London Country North West took over 360 buses and garages at Garston, Hemel Hempstead, High Wycombe, Amersham and Slough. It also operated several London contracts. Its managing director was Dennis Ord.[1] In January 1988 LCNW became the first of the four new companies to be privatised.[2] It was sold to its management.[3] In 1989 a new livery of green and grey was introduced.[4] The two years between 1988 and 1990 proved difficult for the company: in May 1988 it was found guilty by the area Traffic Commisionner of having failed to operate local bus services in accordance with registrations, and banned from registering any new routes for three months.[1]; in February 1990 the duration of its O-licence was cut following an inspection in which half of the vehicles examined were found not to be roadworthy.[1] Some new buses, including a number of Leyland Olympians and Dennis Darts, were bought to help overcome these problems.[1]
Takeover and subsequent history[]
In October 1990 the company was acquired by neighbouring operator Luton & District.[2] The former London Country North West depot at Slough was acquired by BeeLine (Berks Bucks Bus Co, part of the former Alder Valley operation) in 1993, and is now part of First Berkshire & The Thames Valley.[5] Luton & District was taken over by British Bus in 1994. Under Luton & District and later British Bus ownership the former London Country North West garages and vehicles took on various different geographical names:[6] [7]
A Volvo B6 in LCNW livery with Watford Bus branding in 1995, five years after the company was taken over by Luton & District.
- Garston: Watfordwide (1990-1993); Watford Bus (1993-1995); Network Watford (1995-1997)
- Hemel Hempstead: Hemel Bus (1990-1995); Gade Valley (1995-1997)
- High Wycombe and Amersham: Chiltern Bus (1990-1995); Chiltern Rover (1995-1997)
The previous LCNW livery was retained, and the original Luton & District livery adapted to match its design[6], until 1995, when the whole company was rebranded as The Shires.[7] British Bus became part of the Cowie Group in August 1996 in a deal which brought three of the four segments of London Country under common ownership.[2] Cowie was rebranded as Arriva in 1997, and the former Luton & District operations are now part of Arriva the Shires and Essex.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 McLachlan, Tom (1995). London Buses 1985-1995: Managing The Change. Venture Publications, 91–92. ISBN 1898432740.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ampyx Web World - "London Country Bus Services" Accessed March 4 2010.
- ↑ Hansard 18 April 1988
- ↑ Three Counties Bus and Commercial Vehicle Museum - Vehicle Collection: London Country Leyland National
- ↑ BeeLine Company History easyweb.easynet.co.uk
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brown, Stewart J (September 1993). Buses in Britain. Capital Transport, 165. ISBN 1854141589.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Morris, Stephen (September 1996). "NBC since NBC: a history of the former NBC subsidiaries". Buses Focus.
Template:Defunct British Bus Companies Template:Bus companies in South East England