The scenery of North Wales is well known for its breathtaking views and historic landmarks, with towns and villages having their own unique history and modern-day function. One thing that links them all, quite literally in many instances, is the bus, the ever-vital lifeline for communities enabling people to travel to the shops or to medical appointments, to school or college, or to work. The bus can provide journeys that rail cannot and does so here with a stunning backdrop of castles, la...

Since deregulation Merseyside has seen its fair share of independent bus operators come and go. In recent years Arriva and Stagecoach have been the dominant operators with the greater market share but look closely and there are plenty of buses running round in different liveries, mainly on tendered work. These independent operators play their own important part within the Merseyside bus network. Simon Ackers presents a profile of the independent operators in recent operation, with a short ...

Merseyside is an area with a colourful bus history. Even with the municipal colours long gone and the post-deregulation mix of operators replaced with the dominance of Arriva and Stagecoach, the ten years between 2010 and 2020 are not without their variety. The Merseyside bus network is made up of a mixture of commercial and part or fully tendered routes, which lends itself to an array of vehicle types and operators, some of which no longer trade. In this book Simon Ackers charts the chang...

Stagecoach came to Merseyside in 2005 when they purchased the independent operations of Glenvale Transport, acquiring Gillmoss depot and an aging second-hand fleet of buses. Very quickly the Stagecoach livery became an established sight, particularly in north Liverpool and Knowsley, and expansion came in 2012 with the acquisition of Rock Ferry depot on the Wirral and Chester depot. This, along with their Preston depot, cemented Stagecoach’s foothold in the region as they invested in and de...

Arriva Merseyside was created in 2000, when Arriva purchased MTL Trust Holdings, becoming and remaining the largest operator in the Liverpool City region and providing approximately 70 per cent of the bus services in the area. The acquisition moved Arriva North West from depots situated in just Bootle and Runcorn to include Birkenhead, Gillmoss, Green Lane, Huyton, Southport, Speke and St Helens.In this book Simon Ackers looks at the changing profile of the Arriva Merseyside fleet....