Background
As a result of bus deregulation in 1986, the National Bus Company as the largest regional bus operator was split into pieces and sold off, and municipal bus companies were being put into stand alone companies, with many being privatised. In March 1986 the bus operations of Darlington Borough Council (DBC) were incorporated as the Darlington Transport Company Ltd (DTC), although not initially sold.
In August 1986, United Automobile Services began hail and ride town services within the Darlington area, using a number of Mercedes and Dodge S56 minibuses, under the Roadranger livery, resulting in a doubling of services and intense competition with Darlington Transport. From 1988 to 1992 many requests and attempts were made to sell DTC, all coming to nothing. Your Bus, another operator set up by ex-United employees, entered into Darlington in May 1993, prompting a response from United with further registrations, later described as predatory and anti-competitive by the Competition Commission. By 1993, with 3 competing operators, concerns had been raised over ‘over-bussing’ and congestion in the town centre. By 1994 all three operators were making financial losses.
Due to its financial state, DTC was put up for sale in July 1994. In response to the sale announcement, United registered additional services on DTC’s routes.
Read more about this topic: Darlington Bus War
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