Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West of England, based in Preston. The company was started in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching from Carlisle to south Lancashire. Ribble was one of the first companies to be taken over by Stagecoach Group on privatisation in 1988.
Ribble operated red liveried buses, a colour that was retained through BET Group ownership, and then as the standard poppy red in the ownership of the nationalised operator National Bus Company, retaining the Ribble identity.
Prior to the deregulation of bus services in 1986, Ribble's territory was reduced with the company's north Cumbrian operations passing to Cumberland Motor Services, and the Merseyside operations to a recreated North Western.
The company had also operated subsidiaries Standerwick and Scout. Scout went on to become Scout Computer Services, the IT arm of Ribble that operated out of the Frenchwood Avenue offices until around 1977 when it became National Bus Company Computer Services (NBCCS) Preston and moved into the ground floor of the GUS Building on London Road. NBCCS Preston closed in 1984 when most operation stransferred to Birmingham in what was Midland Red's offices in Edgbaston.
In 2001, Stagecoach sold the Ribble operations in Blackburn, Hyndburn, Clitheroe and Bolton to the Blazefield Group, which rebranded them as Lancashire United and Burnley & Pendle.
The legal name of Ribble Motor Services is still used by Stagecoach North West.
Read more about Ribble Motor Services: Vehicles, Double Deck Coaches, Services, Depots, See Also
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