Yellow Bus Services - Between The Wars

Between The Wars

The first service, using a Ford Model T bus in brown and yellow livery, ran between the Royal Hotel, Stoughton and the Theatre Royal, Guildford, from January 1921. A very personal service, with extra trips run to pick up passengers who could not be accommodated in the small buses on the first run, led to success. Further bus chassis were bought, with YBS building the bodies themselves at their premises in Manor Road, with interior finishing by a local firm, J. Mussell and Son. A second service ran for a while between Guildford Park housing estate and the town centre, in competition with Aldershot and District Traction Company Ltd (A&D), and a Guildford to London service was run for a short period using a Chevrolet bus in a "Pullman" livery.

In 1924 the company expanded to four vehicles, a staff of seven, and larger premises in Worplesdon Road, which were further expanded in the 1930s with an impressive frontage added. A key figure in the company by this time was traffic manager Arthur Bowden, who also acted as signwriter, mechanic and handyman. By 1927, A&D were operating a high intesity Stoughton service with a flat fare of just one penny, with the clear intention of putting YBS out of business. The firm was at a low ebb but Hayter, fighting back in a "make or break" move, invested in 2 new Dennis 'G' buses for a route in 1928 from Guildford to Camberley, also in competition with A&D. That year a third Dennis bus enabled the start of a service from Guildford to Farnham via Compton, Puttenham and Seale. A third company, Safeguard was now competing for passengers in the same areas and, in 1928, the companies agreed a standard fares policy. By 1930, YBS had 5 modern Dennis buses in its fleet, to which two larger (32 seater) Dennis Lancet buses were added in 1933. Yellow Bus Services had weathered the storm. By 1935, the brand name "Yellow Bus Services" had been added to the vehicles and new Dennis Lancets delivered in 1936 carried a revised livery of creamy yellow with brown wings and flash, and bright yellow wheels. The fleet name now appeared in script within a hexagonal motif with the proprietor's name and telephone number, in gold and black.

In 1938, YBS produced an illustrated brochure, "A Yellow Bus Journey", extolling the beauty of the countryside between Guildford and Farnham and suggesting visits to the Watts Gallery and Watts Mortuary Chapel en route, or using the service as a stopping-off point for walks to Frensham Ponds, Crooksbury Hill, Waverley Abbey and other landmarks. This route alone, using 20 seat Dennis Pike buses, carried almost 25,000 passengers in just 3 months of that year.