GM Buses

Preserved GM Buses Northern Counties Palatine bodied Scania N113DRB in Kirkby in June 2013
ParentGreater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
FoundedFebruary 27, 1986; 38 years ago (1986-02-27)
Defunct1996; 29 years ago (1996)
HeadquartersArdwick, Manchester
Service areaGreater Manchester
Merseyside
Service typeBus operator

GM Buses was a major bus operator serving the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester in North West England. The company was formed in February 1986 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive prior to deregulation on 26 October. In December 1993, it was split into GM Buses North and GM Buses South in order to increase competition for services in the area, before they were sold to the FirstGroup and Stagecoach respectively.

History

SELNEC and Greater Manchester Transport

Greater Manchester Transport Northern Counties 'Standard' bodied Leyland Atlantean in Rochdale in June 1984
See also: Timeline of public passenger transport operations in Manchester

The Transport Act 1968 resulted in several bus companies run by local authorities around Greater Manchester merging to create a central organisation. It consisted of companies operating in the following areas:

The new central organisation was named SELNEC, the South East Lancashire North East Cheshire Passenger Transport Executive, and commenced operations on 1 October 1969.[1] SELNEC introduced a standard fleet livery of orange and white, with the company split into three zones: Northern, Central and Southern.

From 1 April 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 changed many of the UK's administrative areas and the county of Greater Manchester was created. As a result, SELNEC was renamed Greater Manchester Transport.[2] In 1981, a new fleet livery of orange, brown and white was adopted.[3] Also in the same year, Lancashire United Transport, based in Atherton, was absorbed into Greater Manchester Transport.[4]

Deregulation

'Little Gem' MCW Metrorider in Piccadilly Gardens in August 1987

On 26 October 1986, deregulation was introduced to bus services and Greater Manchester Transport was split into two. The management of service information and tendering, bus stations and stops would be run by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE). The bus operation would be named Greater Manchester Buses or GM Buses as it is commonly known, initially being split into North, East, South and West operational areas before these were merged into South, East and West areas in March 1987.[5][6] Deregulation also saw competition introduced on several routes run by GM Buses; by March 1988, GM Buses was running 361 'Little Gem' minibuses in competition with other operators across Greater Manchester.[7]

The competing operators included Bee Line Buzz Company, which ran several services along major routes across the Greater Manchester area;[7][8] Wall's and Finglands Coachways, which introduced several services along the Wilmslow Road corridor;[9] and Bluebird Bus & Coach and Citibus Tours, which launched several routes in the North Manchester area.[10] Many of the companies that tried to compete with GM Buses failed, with most going out of business and some, such as Citibus Tours, being taken over by GM Buses or its immediate successors.[11][12]

On 11 December 1993, GM Buses was split for sale as two separate companies,[3][13][14] as the Government felt that they had a monopoly of bus services in the Greater Manchester area and wanted to increase competition. GM Buses was split into GM Buses North[15] and GM Buses South.[16][17] Both companies were purchased by their employees in separate employee buyouts in early 1994.[18]

It had been hoped by splitting the companies up, GM Buses North and GM Buses South would compete against each other. However, as their names would suggest, the two companies would continue to operate mainly in their respective operating areas.

Competition with MTL

GM Buses North Northern Counties Paladin bodied Volvo B6LE at Piccadilly Gardens bus station, 1996
GM Buses South MCW Metrobus in central Manchester

Prior to the formation of the North/South GM Buses companies, Merseyside's dominant bus company MTL was in a phase of expansion and turned its attention to Greater Manchester. In the summer of 1993, MTL Manchester began operations from a depot in Miles Platting and added an extensive network of new or duplicated services to Manchester's already hotly contested bus market.[19][20]

In October 1993, the Merseybus depot in St Helens was rebranded Lancashire Travel;[21] a further series of new or duplicate services were introduced in the Wigan, Leigh, Bolton, Salford and North Manchester areas that Merseybus/MTL had been gradually increasing its profile in since the late 1980s. Finally, around 1993/94, MTL purchased Bolton Coachways and used their fairly substantial minibus network to further strengthen their position in the town against GM Buses North.

MTL's incursions into Greater Manchester sparked a bus war with GM Buses and predictably they retaliated with new services on Merseyside. At first, route 79 from Croxteth to Liverpool City Centre, one of Merseybus's most profitable routes, saw high-frequency GM Buses operation from September 1993 as a means to discourage further MTL expansion in Greater Manchester.

In the spring of 1994, GM Buses South formed Birkenhead & District from a depot at Cleveland Street in Birkenhead's docklands. The vehicles used a light blue and cream livery, that had slight echoes to a darker blue version used by Birkenhead Transport, and many of MTL's profitable services on the Wirral saw competition from Birkenhead & District.[22] GM Buses North, almost besieged by MTL's Lancashire Travel operation, began further operations in Liverpool, Kirkby, Formby and Southport; it also opened a new depot, this time in Bootle, to assist its Atherton and Wigan depots in the operation of these new services on Merseyside. Furthermore, some standard GMPTE Leyland Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines, originally sold by GM Buses to Yorkshire Rider in 1987/88, were re-acquired by GM Buses North for use at the new depot at Bootle.

However by the summer of 1995, both MTL and the split GM Buses companies were making substantial losses. A controversial agreement was therefore signed between the three companies in June 1995. This saw MTL pull out of much of Greater Manchester, with the exception of services linking St Helens with Leigh and Wigan. Both GM Buses companies withdrew completely from Merseyside, including the long-established route 34 between Liverpool and Manchester via St Helens and Leigh, and route 320 from Liverpool to Wigan via St Helens, the latter of which had existed for decades and had origins with the Lancashire United operation.[23][22][24]

Demise

In the first quarter of 1996, both GM Buses companies were sold by their employee shareholders. GM Buses South was purchased by Stagecoach Holdings for £40.7 million on 25 February, despite criticism from the Labour Party and protests from pensioners outside the Free Trade Hall.[25][26] GM Buses South was rebranded as Stagecoach Manchester shortly after the sale, despite Stagecoach claiming that the GM Buses South brand would be retained.[27] GM Buses North was then purchased in March by FirstBus for £47 million,[28][29] later being rebranded as Greater Manchester FirstBus, with buses repainted into a deep orange livery featuring a blue stripe.[30] By 1997, the company would be rebranded again as First Manchester, with the corporate FirstGroup livery soon being adopted.

While GM Buses South had only purchased 36 new Alexander-bodied Mercedes-Benz 811D minibuses and were leasing 20 Volvo B6 Alexander Dashes from Stagecoach at the time of their purchase,[31][32] by comparison, GM Buses North had invested in 55 'Superbus'-branded Volvo B10B Wright Endurances,[33][34][35] subsequently followed by five Volvo B10L Wright Liberators, delivered shortly after the company had been taken over by FirstBus.[36][37]

In 2005, the GM Buses name was revived by UK North for use in its Manchester operations. The operator engaged in a bus war with Stagecoach Manchester on route 192, with excessive numbers of competing UK North and Stagecoach buses causing major congestion around Piccadilly Gardens bus station.[38] Following several incidents, culminating in a UK North bus being involved in a fatal accident, the operator was banned from operating bus services in Manchester in December 2006.[39][40] The directors of UK North were sentenced to 15 months in prison following an inquiry into the company's business practices, including overworking and poorly training their 130 drivers, a majority of whom had a limited understanding of English.[41]

References

  1. ^ "SELNEC PTE transfer". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 5 September 1969. p. 26. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ Moses, Derek (6 December 1974). "British bus fleets maintain their strength despite the odds". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. pp. 62–64. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Greater Manchester Transport Timeline - Integration: 1969-1985". Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  4. ^ Allen, Richard; Eyre, Michael; Greaves, Peter G. (March 2020). Lancashire United: The Fleet 1900-1981 (PDF) (2 ed.). Manchester: Greater Manchester Transport Society. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-946022-04-5. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  5. ^ Duffy, Michael (15 July 1986). "All change on buses". Manchester Evening News. p. 2. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "GM Buses fights back". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 21 March 1987. p. 18. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b "GM Buses fights back". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 24 March 1988. p. 16. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  8. ^ "[untitled]". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 13 December 1986. p. 18. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  9. ^ Conn, David (23 February 1995). "True stories: Bust-up on the buses". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Citibus appeal". Coach & Bus Week. No. 3. Peterborough: Emap. 7 March 1992. p. 4. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  11. ^ "BET hives off Bee Line Buzz". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 25 August 1988. p. 5. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  12. ^ Jarsoz, Andrew (24 June 1995). "GMN completes its consolidation in NW". Coach & Bus Week. No. 173. Peterborough: Emap. p. 14. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Greater Manchester Transport and beyond". SELNEC Preservation Society. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016.
  14. ^ Jarosz, Andrew (18 December 1993). "Split GM Buses ready to be sold". Coach & Bus Week. No. 96. Peterborough: Emap.
  15. ^ Companies House extract company no 2818607 First Manchester Limited formerly Greater Manchester Buses North Limited
  16. ^ Companies House extract company no 2818654 Greater Manchester Buses South Limited
  17. ^ "Business and City in Brief". The Independent. London. 12 July 1993. Retrieved 10 June 2023. Manchester's main bus company, the publicly owned GM buses, will be split in two and offered to the private sector. The split will be on geographical lines with the northern half becoming the larger entity, containing over 900 buses with a turnover of £60m. The southern section will run more than 700 buses with a turnover of £50m.
  18. ^ Murray, John (28 March 1994). "Manchester bus company won by employee buyout". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  19. ^ "No Mersey!". Middleton and North Manchester Guardian. 14 October 1993. p. 13. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Battle of the buses". Manchester Evening News. 19 February 1994. p. 74. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Jarosz, Andrew (13 November 1993). "Major rejig for MTL St Helens operations". Coach & Bus Week. No. 91. Peterborough: Emap.
  22. ^ a b Snowdon, Neal (8 June 1995). "Final stop for Mersey bus firm". Liverpool Echo. p. 33. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Jarosz, Andrew (29 April 1995). "Liverpool-Manchester war: end is near". Coach & Bus Week. No. 165. Peterborough: Emap. p. 4.
  24. ^ Salter, Alan (25 April 1995). "New job toll in bus wars". Manchester Evening News. p. 1. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Tooher, Patrick (26 February 1996). "Pensioners lead protest at £41m Stagecoach takeover". The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  26. ^ "GMS staff vote yes". Coach & Bus Week. No. 207. Peterborough: Emap. 2 March 1996. p. 5. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Upgrade after buyout". Coach & Bus Week. No. 210. Peterborough: Emap. 23 March 1996. p. 5. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  28. ^ "North follows south into big group fold". Coach & Bus Week. No. 209. Peterborough: Emap. 16 March 1996. p. 5.
  29. ^ "FirstBus double acquisition". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 349. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 15 March 1996. p. 4.
  30. ^ "GMBN boosts its branding". Coach & Bus Week. No. 218. Peterborough: Emap. 18 May 1996. p. 8. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Sprints for GMS". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 342. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 26 January 1996. p. 22.
  32. ^ "GMS in vehicles deal with ex-rival". Coach & Bus Week. No. 165. Peterborough: Emap. 29 April 1995. p. 6.
  33. ^ "Superbus for GMN Buses". Coach & Bus Week. No. 153. Peterborough: Emap. 4 February 1995. p. 7. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  34. ^ Salter, Alan (27 January 1995). "Take a ride to future". Manchester Evening News. p. 13. Retrieved 20 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Fleet Additions". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 332. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 10 November 1995. p. 21. Retrieved 11 May 2024. GM Buses North is currently placing in service 35 Wright Endurance bodied Volvo B10Bs in addition to 20 similar buses delivered earlier.
  36. ^ Morgan, Mike (21 October 1995). "GM Buses North B10L liberated". Coach & Bus Week. No. 190. Peterborough: Emap. p. 10. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  37. ^ Barton, Mark (15 June 1996). "Liberator: less weight, more seats". Coach & Bus Week. No. 222. Peterborough: Emap. p. 13. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Council concerns over 'bus war'". BBC News. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  39. ^ "Bus companies banned from roads". BBC News. 22 December 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  40. ^ "Bus fleet banned from city's roads". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  41. ^ "Bus bosses jailed for fake papers". BBC News. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2022.

Read other articles:

Kokernel

Coker (matematika) beralih ke halaman ini. Untuk kegunaan lain, lihat Coker (disambiguasi). Artikel ini sudah memiliki daftar referensi, bacaan terkait, atau pranala luar, tetapi sumbernya belum jelas karena belum menyertakan kutipan pada kalimat. Mohon tingkatkan kualitas artikel ini dengan memasukkan rujukan yang lebih mendetail bila perlu. (Pelajari cara dan kapan saatnya untuk menghapus pesan templat ini) Dalam matematika, kokernel pada pemetaan linear dari ruang vektor f : X → Y a...

 

Sola fide

Lima solaReformasi Protestan Sola scriptura Sola fide Sola gratia Solus Christus Soli Deo glorialbs Martin Luther: pencetus pandangan Sola Fide Justificatio sola fide (atau hanya sola fide), berarti pembenaran hanya oleh iman, adalah sebuah doktrin soteriologis dalam teologi Kristen yang umumnya dipegang untuk membedakan tradisi Lutheran and Reformed Protestan,[1] dari gereja-gereja Katolik, Ortodoks Timur, Ortodoks Oriental, Assyria and Anabaptis.[2][3] Doktrin ini me...

 

Live It Up (Nicky Jam song)

2018 single by Nicky Jam featuring Will Smith and Era IstrefiLive It UpSingle by Nicky Jam featuring Will Smith and Era IstrefiLanguageEnglishSpanishReleasedMay 25, 2018 (2018-05-25)GenreTechnoreggaeLength3:28LabelSony LatinSongwriter(s)Marty JamesWill SmithJean-BaptisteThomas Wesley PentzNick Rivera CamineroQuavious MarshallJocelyn DonaldClement PicardJuan Diego Medina VélezMaxime PicardEra IstrefiMichael McHenryProducer(s)DiploThe Picard BrothersFree SchoolNicky Jam sing...

Angelo San Raffaele, Venice

Church in Venice, Italy Angelo San RaffaeleFacade of Chiesa dell'Angelo RaffaeleReligionAffiliationRoman CatholicProvinceVeniceLocationLocationVenice, ItalyShown within VeniceShow map of VeniceAngelo San Raffaele, Venice (Italy)Show map of ItalyGeographic coordinates45°25′57.02″N 12°19′8.37″E / 45.4325056°N 12.3189917°E / 45.4325056; 12.3189917 The Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (English: Church of the Angel Raphael) is a church in Venice, northern Italy, loca...

 

Whistleblower protection in the United States

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Whistleblower protection in the United States – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Federal government of the United States's whistleblower awareness poster A whistleblower is a perso...

 

Apple Tape Backup 40SC

Mini-cartridge tape drive by Apple Apple Tape Backup 40SCIntroduced1987 (1987)Discontinued1994 (1994)CostUS$1,499 (equivalent to $4,020 in 2023)[1]TypeTape driveConnectionSCSIPorts2 SCSI portsPower consumption15 – 60 wattsWeight7.3 lb (3.3 kg)Dimensions246 mm (W) × 266 mm (D) × 78 mm (H) The Apple Tape Backup 40SC is an external, SCSI-interfaced, 1⁄4-inch (6.35 mm) QIC, mini-cartridge tape drive.[2] It was first introduced by Apple Inc. in 1987 and...

Dancing (Kylie Minogue song)

2018 single by Kylie MinogueDancingSingle by Kylie Minoguefrom the album Golden B-sideRollin'Released19 January 2018Recorded2017Genre Electropop country pop[1][2] Length2:58Label Darenote BMG Songwriter(s) Kylie Minogue Steve McEwan Nathan Chapman Producer(s)Sky AdamsKylie Minogue singles chronology Wonderful Christmastime (2016) Dancing (2018) Stop Me from Falling (2018) Music videoDancing on YouTube Dancing is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 19...

 

Music of Kazakhstan

Music and musical traditions of Kazakhstan This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Music of Kazakhstan – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Music of Central Asia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Mongolia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan vte M...

 

Mordechai Tenenbaum

Polish resistance fighter (1916–1943) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Mordechai Tenenbaum – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Mordechai TenenbaumBorn1916 (1916)Warsaw, PolandDied20 August 1943(1943-08-20) (aged 26...

Театральная (станция метро, Москва)

У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Театральная. «Театральная» Замоскворецкая линияМосковский метрополитен Перронный зал станции, 2018 год. Выявленный объект культурного наследия № 2957029№ 2957029 Район Тверской Округ Центральный Дата открытия 11 сентября 1938 �...

 

若望二十三世

本條目存在以下問題，請協助改善本條目或在討論頁針對議題發表看法。 此條目可参照英語維基百科相應條目来扩充。 (2022年12月23日)若您熟悉来源语言和主题，请协助参考外语维基百科扩充条目。请勿直接提交机械翻译，也不要翻译不可靠、低品质内容。依版权协议，译文需在编辑摘要注明来源，或于讨论页顶部标记{{Translated page}}标签。 此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2022年...

 

إيه 24

إيه 24الشعارمعلومات عامةسميت باسم Autostrada A24 (en) البلد  الولايات المتحدة التأسيس 20 أغسطس 2012 النوع عمل تجاري — شركة إنتاج أفلام الشكل القانوني شركة خاصة المقر الرئيسي نيويورك الولايات المتحدة — لوس أنجلوس الولايات المتحدة المنظومة الاقتصاديةالصناعة صناعة الأفلام ال�...

Средняя точка попадания

У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. СТП.Определение средней точки попадания (красный цвет) при разбросе небольшого количества выстрелов (попаданий). Средняя точка попадания или средняя точка прицеливания (СТП), Точка прицеливания — «Яблоко»[1] — термин, ...

 

Paleontology in South Dakota

The location of the state of South Dakota Paleontology in South Dakota refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of South Dakota. South Dakota is an excellent source of fossils as finds have been widespread throughout the state.[1]: 254–255  During the early Paleozoic era South Dakota was submerged by a shallow sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, cephalopods, corals, and ostracoderms. Loca...

 

Nuestra Señora de la Limpia y Pura Concepción

Nuestra Señora de la Limpia y Pura ConcepciónBanderas HistorialAstillero La HabanaTipo GaleónAsignado 1620Baja 1641Destino hundidoCaracterísticas generalesDesplazamiento 600 t[editar datos en Wikidata] Nuestra Señora de la Limpia y Pura Concepción, fue un galeón de 600 toneladas construido en La Habana en 1620, perteneciente a la Flota de Nueva España. En julio de 1641 partío de Veracruz en su viaje de retorno a la Península. El 30 de octubre de 1641 el navío impactó con...

Locator/Identifier Separation Protocol

This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. (August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article is about an Internet communication protocol. For the programming language, see Lisp (programming language). For other uses, see Lisp (disambiguation). The LISP Logo Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP) (RFC 6830) is a map-and-encapsulate protocol wh...

 

Rancho San Francisco

Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles and Ventura counties, California Rancho San Francisco1843 map of Rancho San FranciscoLocationNorthwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, CaliforniaCoordinates34°26′02″N 118°36′28″W / 34.43389°N 118.60778°W / 34.43389; -118.60778Area48,612 acres (19,673 ha)EstablishedJanuary 22, 1839 California Historical LandmarkOfficial nameRancho San Francisco[1]Reference no.556 California His...

 

Resolusi 1173 Dewan Keamanan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa

Resolusi 1173Dewan Keamanan PBBAngolaTanggal12 Juni 1998Sidang no.3.891KodeS/RES/1173 (Dokumen)TopikSituasi di AngolaRingkasan hasil15 mendukungTidak ada menentangTidak ada abstainHasilDiadopsiKomposisi Dewan KeamananAnggota tetap Tiongkok Prancis Rusia Britania Raya Amerika SerikatAnggota tidak tetap Bahrain Brasil Kosta Rika Gabon Gambia Jepang Kenya Portugal Slovenia Swedia Resolusi 1173 Dewan Keamanan Per...

Vevo

VevoURLvevo.comTipesitus web dan layanan hosting video SloganSee music play PemilikUniversal Music GroupSony Music GroupWarner Music GroupAlphabet Inc.Big Hit MusicRBWC9 EntertainmentGenie MusicPembuatSony Music Entertainment Berdiri sejak8 Desember 2009 (2009-12-08)Lokasi kantor pusatKota New York Peringkat Alexa 53,061 (November 2018[update])[1]StatusAktif Vevo (ditulis vevo) adalah layanan simpan video yang dimiliki dan dioperasikan secara patungan oleh Universal Music...

 

Arizona Bound (1927 film)

1927 film Arizona BoundLobby cardDirected byJohn WatersWritten by Alfred Hustwick (titles) Marion Jackson John Stone Story byRichard Allen GatesProduced byE. Lloyd SheldonStarring Gary Cooper Betty Jewel El Brendel CinematographyCharles Edgar SchoenbaumProductioncompanyFamous Players–LaskyDistributed byParamount PicturesRelease date April 9, 1927 (1927-04-09) (USA) Running time53 minutes5 reels, 4,912 ft [1][2]CountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilentEnglish int...