Stagecoach in Preston - History

History

Preston Bus was founded in 1904 as Preston District Travel, and as was bought from the local authority by its employees in 1993 as part of deregulation. It became a limited company.

In 2006, Stagecoach North West set up various services using a fleet of new & old Optare Solos, Dennis Enviro 400s and new & old Dennis Dart SLFs in order to compete with Preston Bus. They were branded as "Preston Citi" Competition grew into a bus war. Stagecoach offered lower fares on the busiest routes.

Both companies accused each other of unprofessional behaviour, with some Stagecoach drivers reported to have thrown eggs at Preston Buses.

On 10 June 2008, both companies were agreed to a code of practice by the traffic commissioner. Competition continued, Stagecoach operating routes within Preston and Preston Bus operating a route between Preston and Penwortham.

On 30 December 2008, it was announced that Stagecoach had approached Preston Bus to negotiate a possible sale. This was agreed and on 23 January 2009 Stagecoach North West purchased Preston Bus for £10.4 million. From March 2009, the combined network of routes was rebranded as Stagecoach in Preston.

On 28 May 2009, the Office of Fair Trading announced that it was referring the purchase of Preston Bus by Stagecoach to the Competition Commission. Their provisional findings are that the purchase has reduced competition and may potentially harm the interests of passengers. Possible remedies may involve the sale of part or all of the business, measures to encourage new entry by other operators, as well as controls on fares and requirements to maintain service levels. The final report is due by 12 November 2009.

On the 12 November 2009 The Competition Commission submitted that Stagecoach would have to sell a "reconfigured" (i.e. profit making) Preston Bus. Stagecoach has some freedom over what it sells, although it must be approved by the Competition Commission.

Stagecoach appealed to the Competition Appeals Tribunal, stating that the Competition Commission's decision was "perverse and irrational" and that the Commission had committed an error in law with its use of the counterfactual argument and handling of Stagecoach's responses.

When the Competition Appeals Tribuneral announced their verdict, Stagecoach began actively looking for a buyer. The result was that Stagecoach retained route 11. Thing reverted to how they were before the takeover; with services transeferring between Stagecoach and Preston Bus. Service 7 was withdrawn, and service 4 revised among other changes. Services 19, 22 & 8 reverted from giving Change to fast fare. The 19-22 system has been replaced by the original system operated by Preston Bus, and smaller buses are now used on the 19.

From the moment the Competition Commission announced it was investigating, Stagecoach stopped repainting buses out of Preston Bus livery. Some of those that were painted in Stagecoach colours were later returned to Preston Bus livery before the sale.

The brand, Stagecoach in Preston, is only now seen on repainted Leyland Olympians, which new owners Rotala are planning to withdraw soon.