Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Milton Keynes Buses
    Milton Keynes Buses
    Milton Keynes Buses
    Ebook118 pages39 minutes

    Milton Keynes Buses

    By Gary Seamarks

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Designated as a new town some fifty years ago, Milton Keynes was designed for the car owner, but public transport has provided a vital link for many. The large shopping centre opened in 1979 became the focus point for both town and country routes, with an underused bus station next to the new rail station a short distance away.United Counties provided the backbone of services until 1986 when it was replaced by Milton Keynes Citybus. Recast services at deregulation brought almost 100 minibuses to the area, with bigger buses returning over the following decade. It then passed through several owners over the next fifteen years until coming under Arriva ownership. Independents now run several routes in the area, with Stagecoach running services from its Bedford, Northampton and Kettering depots. National Express has a coachway located by the Park & Ride to provide further interest.In this book, Gary Seamarks takes us on a pictorial journey through the buses of Milton Keynes.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAmberley Publishing
    Release dateJun 15, 2019
    ISBN9781445686752
    Milton Keynes Buses

    Related to Milton Keynes Buses

    Related ebooks

    European History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      The Great Western Societyat 60

      Jul 6, 2021

      The Great Western Society was an organisation waiting to happen. Someone, somewhere, was bound to have the idea sooner or later. In many ways it’s surprising that it took until the 1960s before anyone did. However, the decade was quite possibly the l

      13 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Vct Collection

      May 28, 2018

      The Vct Collection
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A new Golden Age?

      Jul 4, 2022

      A new Golden Age?
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      90 Not Out!

      Aug 1, 2022

      90 Not Out!
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      On Shed

      Nov 12, 2018

      On Shed
      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The RCTS: Then And Now

      Jul 1, 2019

      The RCTS: Then And Now
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      New Home For ‘Centenary’ 645

      Sep 4, 2023

      New Home For ‘Centenary’ 645
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Ross-on-Sever N

      Oct 22, 2019

      Ross-on-Sever N
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      West Riding Miniature Delight

      Jul 10, 2020

      West Riding Miniature Delight
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Many Peaks Of peak Rail

      Apr 11, 2022

      The Many Peaks Of peak Rail
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Midlands Success

      Apr 16, 2018

      Midlands Success
      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Portuguese Tram Will Provide Events Space

      Oct 30, 2023

      CROWLE Peatland Railway (CPR) intends to make its former Lisbon tramcar available as a hireable space for events. At the end of October, No. 711 featured as a storytelling venue during the railway’s Halloween weekend and will also be used for the sec

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Power To The People©

      Aug 27, 2021

      Electric power distribution is one industry that has long relied on trucks of all sizes and configurations to transport everything from large transformers and sub-station equipment, to the distribution of stores and many single-purpose tasks. In the

      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Getting trolley-d

      Jun 7, 2022

      Getting trolley-d
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Saga Of Bardney Station

      Aug 19, 2021

      The Saga Of Bardney Station
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Worth Valley diesels

      Jul 16, 2018

      Worth Valley diesels
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      From The Railway Magazine Archives

      Aug 30, 2021

      A FURTHER advance in the development of facilities for the instruction of enginemen on the Great Central Railway has been made by the conversion of a parcels van into atravelling instruction car. The car contains sections of the various appliances fi

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      300 Not Out!

      Nov 22, 2022

      300 Not Out!
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Milton Keynes Buses

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Milton Keynes Buses - Gary Seamarks

      Introduction

      Of all the new towns designated by the government in the 1960s, Milton Keynes became the largest, taking in the towns of Stony Stratford, Wolverton, Newport Pagnell and Bletchley. With a road system designed on the American grid system, junctions would in the main be roundabouts. Within most ‘boxes’ of the grid would be a residential, industrial or retail estate, although some were mixed. As Milton Keynes was designed with the private car in mind, a separate ‘redway’ system was created for cycling/walking, and no residence was to be more than 400 metres from a bus stop. Bus transport was at first provided by United Counties, with much help from Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC), including discounted fare options to encourage bus use in the early days of the new town when much of the area was still open fields. Services were recast as developments grew, which included the revision of many inter-urban routes in the area. A major shopping centre was opened in 1979 to a format that was new to many, featuring bus stops just outside the building. This drew in custom from near and far, with many coach excursions appearing on a daily basis. United Counties opened a new state-of-the-art depot at Winterhill in 1983 to replace the former sites at Stony Stratford and Bletchley, and a new major rail station was opened in May 1983 with a bus station a couple of hundred yards away. In hindsight this was perhaps a bad decision as few passengers used the bus facility. Since 1997 stops have been relocated to the station forecourt and the old bus station building was put to other uses.

      January 1986 saw Milton Keynes City Bus created by NBC to take over the local services in the area plus the Winterhill depot, which was later disposed of for retail redevelopment. With deregulation it became all change, with almost the entire fleet of big buses replaced by over ninety Mercedes minibuses. The recast services were able to enter the estates for the first time, but in the event this was to prove overoptimistic and some were quickly sold as frequencies were reduced. The only real competition at deregulation was from Redline Buses, a local operator running a small fleet of mostly Leyland Nationals on a couple of key routes. A management buyout of MKCB from NBC was completed in August 1987. Local independent Johnson of Hanslope (Northamptonshire) was then purchased in 1990 and run as a separate entity for a while, with R&I Buses of London having an operation in the area between 1992 and 1994 with a core fleet of Leyland Nationals and some hired West Midlands buses. Challenger, a Luton-based minibus company, also tried to set up in the area but soon gave up.

      Vehicle purchasing was regular, with small batches of minibuses along with some choice second-hand purchases of both minibuses and full-sized vehicles being obtained. Tendered routes were picked up, in some cases miles from home, including work at Kettering and Bedford. New operator licences were set up for Bucks Road Car and Countyline in an attempt to cut costs. A takeover by Cambus in November 1992 was to see a return to big buses on several routes, mainly using elderly Bristol VRs and REs. The Mk 3 fleets were merged under the Bucks Road Car title, which became MK Metro in 1994. Parent Cambus was taken over by Stagecoach in late 1995, but was then referred to the OFT, who ordered that something must be sold. As a result, the Milton Keynes and Huntingdon operations of United Counties were sold off in May 1997 to Julian Peddle as Premier Buses. Huntingdon was sold on a year later to Blazefield but not before a new livery of yellow and dark blue was applied.

      The Premier Buses era saw much investment, including some very early Optare Solos to update the network, which increased ridership. As the new town grew, colourful route branding was introduced across many trunk routes. The next change of owner saw Arriva purchase the company in early 2006, retaining it as a separate entity, including liveries from the parent ‘Arriva The

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1