Arriva’s recent closure of two depots in Buckinghamshire has led to some major changes throughout the Thames Valley. Richard Sharman visited the area to document the changes, and looks at the history of competition in the area
The coach and bus industry has become much less predictable in recent years; we are in a transitional phase, where the big groups are changing tack to survive and the independents are starting to gain ground again where the corporates are retrenching in various areas of the UK.
High Wycombe and Aylesbury have always been hotly contested territory since deregulation, simply because they are what would have been classed as ‘good bus operating territory,’ with both areas having plenty of shops and big shopping centres. Both towns are also large in size and have many villages situated around them. In High Wycombe’s case you have the likes of Uxbridge in West London a short distance away, as well as a large number of the population working at nearby Heathrow Airport. Aylesbury is also surrounded by towns and cities such as Oxford, Buckingham, Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead.
Post-deregulation goliath
Whilst the independents in these areas may have increased in size in recent years, there has always been a group-owned goliath to contend with, and over the years that has been what is today known as Arriva The Shires.
Luton & District is a name that any time-served busman or enthusiast will know well, and this is where our journey begins. Out of the ashes of bus deregulation a company called Luton & District Transport (LDT) was born, set up to undertake a management buyout following the splitting up of United Counties. This gave the newly formed company depots in Luton, where the head office was located, Aylesbury and Hitchin. A year later it acquired the High Wycombe, Amersham, Hemel Hempstead and Slough operations of London Country Bus Services (North West). LDTs Aylesbury operations were further bolstered by the acquisition of the notable independent Red Rover in 1989, a name to look out for further on in this feature.
By 1994 LDT itself was acquired by British Bus Group. By that time Amersham depot had closed and Slough depot had been sold off to the Berks Bucks Bus Company, which today forms the First BeeLine operation. By 1998 Cowie Group and British Bus Group merged to form the Arriva we know today.
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