GM Buses

Preserved GM Buses in September 2011
Parent	Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
Founded	1986
Ceased operation	1994
Service area	Greater Manchester
Service type	Bus operator

GM Buses^[1] was the main bus company serving the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester in North West England. The company was formed in 1986 by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. 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 FirstGroup and Stagecoach respectively.

History

Northern Counties Palatine bodied Scania N113DRB in Kirkby in June 2013

Leyland National at Stockport bus station in October 1986

Birkenhead & District liveried Northern Counties bodied Daimler Fleetline in October 2009

Northern Counties bodied MCW Metrobus in March 2010

See here for a timeline overview of transport 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:

• Ashton-under-Lyne
• Bolton
• Bury
• Leigh
• Manchester
• Oldham
• Rochdale
• Salford
• Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley & Dukinfield (Operated by the SHMD Joint Board)
• Stockport
• Wigan

The new central organisation was named SELNEC, the South East Lancashire North East Cheshire Passenger Transport Executive. The SELNEC catchment area would eventually become Greater Manchester. SELNEC introduced a standard livery of orange and white with the company split into three zones, Northern, Central and Southern.

In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 changed the administrative areas, and the county of Greater Manchester was created. As a result, SELNEC was renamed to Greater Manchester Transport. In 1981,^[2] a new livery was adopted of orange, brown and white. Also in the same year, Lancashire United Transport, based in Atherton, was absorbed into Greater Manchester Transport.

In 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 Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE). The bus operation would be named Greater Manchester Buses or GM Buses as it is commonly known. Deregulation also saw competition introduced on several routes run by GM Buses.

The competing companies included Bee Line Buzz Company, which ran several services along routes across the Greater Manchester area; Wall's and Finglands Coachways, which introduced several services along the Wilmslow Road corridor; and Bluebird Bus & Coach and Citibus Tours, which launched several routes in the North Manchester area. A lot of the companies that tried to compete with GM Buses failed, with most going out of business and some being taken over by GM Buses. Some companies that did succeed included Bluebird Bus & Coach, who ran several services between Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester, until they were bought out by GM Buses' future incarnation, Stagecoach Manchester,^[3] along with Mayne Coaches, who operated until 2006.^[4]

On 31 December 1993, GM Buses was split,^[2][5] 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 two separate companies, GM Buses North^[6] and GM Buses South.^[7] 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 mainly stay in their respective operating areas.

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/copycat services to Manchester's already hotly contested bus market.

In October 1993, the Merseybus depot in St Helens was rebranded Lancashire Travel and a further series of new/copycat 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 perhaps 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 (Croxteth-Liverpool City Centre) - one of Merseybus's most profitable routes, saw high frequency GM Buses operation from September 1993 perhaps 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. GM Buses North almost besieged by MTL's Lancashire Travel operation began further operations in Liverpool, Kirkby, Formby and Southport and 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 GMPTE "standard" 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 GM Buses North/South were making substantial losses. A controversial gentleman's agreement was therefore signed between the three companies in June 1995, which saw MTL pull out of much of Greater Manchester - with the exception of services linking St Helens with Leigh and Wigan, and GM Buses North/South completely withdrawing from Merseyside including the long established GM Buses North routes 34 (Liverpool-St Helens-Leigh-Manchester) and 320 (Liverpool-St Helens-Wigan) which had existed for decades and had origins with the Lancashire United operation.

In the first quarter of 1996, both GM Buses companies were sold. GM Buses North was purchased by FirstBus and rebranded as Greater Manchester Firstbus with a red livery. By 1997, it would be rebranded again as First Manchester and the corporate FirstGroup livery adopted. GM Buses South was purchased by Stagecoach and rebranded as Stagecoach Manchester.

In 2005, the GM Buses name was revived by UK North for use on its Manchester operations.

References

External links

• Greater Manchester Transport & Beyond Selnec Preservation Society
• Greater Manchester's Museum of Transport
• Media related to GM Buses North at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to GM Buses South at Wikimedia Commons

Transport in Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester Museum of Transport get me there Air City Airport Manchester Manchester Airport Bus Operators Arriva North West Bluebird Bullocks Diamond Bus North West Finglands Coachways First Greater Manchester GM Buses Jim Stones Coaches JPT Magic Bus Manchester Community Transport Maytree Travel Metroshuttle Network Warrington Rosso Stagecoach Manchester Stotts UK North Routes 1 2 3 8 17 18 18 41 42 43 58 111 141 142 143 145 147 184 192 471 X41 X50 Road European route E22 Kingsway M6 M56 M60 M61 M62 M66 M67 M602 A57(M) A627(M) Manchester Inner Ring Road Tram Metrolink History of Metrolink Timeline of Metrolink Greater Manchester Metro Limited T-68 M5000 Cycle Cycling in Manchester National Cycle Route 6 Rail Stations List of open railway stations List of closed railway stations Lines Buxton Caldervale Crewe-Manchester Glossop Hope Valley Liverpool to Manchester Manchester to Preston Manchester to Southport Stafford to Manchester Stockport to Stalybridge Styal Operators British Rail (1948-1997) Regional Railways (1982-1996) Network NorthWest (1989-c.1992) First North Western (1997-2004) Northern Rail (2004-2016) Northern (2016-2025) TIF bid Congestion charging in Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund United City See also: Transport in Manchester

Former bus companies of the United Kingdom National Associated Motorways Blazefield Holdings British Bus British Coachways British Electric Traction Fraser Eagle GRT Group National Bus Company Thomas Tilling England Former bus companies operating in England North West England Birkenhead Transport Blackburn Transport Blue Bus and Coach Services Bluebird Bus and Coach Bu-Val Buses ChesterBus Citibus Tours Crosville Motor Services Finglands Coachways First Chester & The Wirral Glenvale Transport GM Buses Lancashire United Transport JPT Maynes Bus Maytree Travel MTL North Western Road Car Company (1923) North Western Road Car Company (1986) Pennine Blue Red & White Services Ribble Motor Services Speedwellbus Transdev Northern Blue UK North Yelloway Motor Services North East England Black Prince Buses Busways Travel Services Durham Travel Services Geldards Coaches Jolly Bus Leon Motors Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company Northern General Transport Company OK Motor Services Samuel Ledgard South Yorkshire Transport United Automobile Services Venture Transport West Riding Automobile Company West Yorkshire Road Car Yorkshire Rider Yorkshire Terrier Yorkshire Traction Midlands A2Z Travel Barton Transport Birmingham City Transport Birmingham Motor Traction Chase Coaches First Northampton Glossopdale Bus Company Go West Midlands Ludlows North Birmingham Busways People's Express Premiere Travel Probus Management South Notts Bus Company Stevensons of Uttoxeter Travel Merry Hill Travel Your Bus Wesley Coaches Zak's Buses Eastern England Eastern National Omnibus Company MK Metro TWH Bus & Coach South West England Badgerline Bristol Omnibus Company Devon General Greyhound Motors Great Western Railway Hants & Dorset Motor Services Shamrock Buses Southern National Sureline Truronian Western Greyhound Western National South East England Alder Valley Aldershot & District Traction Badger Vectis Boro'line Maidstone Brijan Tours Bygone Buses Cavendish Motor Services Centra City Clipper Countryliner East Kent Road Car Company Invictaway Kent Top Travel Maidstone & District Maidstone Corporation Transport Marchwood Motorways Moss Motor Tours Portsmouth Corporation Transport Shamrock Buses Southampton Citybus Southdown Motor Services Thames Transit Thames Valley Traction Tillingbourne Bus Company Velvet Yellow Bus Services Greater London Bexleybus Birch Brothers Boro'line London Capital Citybus Capital Logistics Connex East Thames Buses First London Grey-Green Harris Bus Imperial Buses London Buslines London Country Bus Services London Country North East London Country North West London Country South East London Country South West London Easylink London Electrobus Company London Forest London Pride Sightseeing London Traveller MTL NSL Buses Thorpes Travel London Travel Surrey Westlink Scotland Former bus companies operating in Scotland Scottish Bus Group Central Scottish Clydeside Scottish Eastern Scottish Highland Scottish Kelvin Central Buses Kelvin Scottish Lowland Scottish Midland Scottish Northern Scottish Western Scottish Other operators Arriva Scotland West A1 Service Dart Buses First Stop Travel Gibson's of Moffat McKindless Munro's of Jedburgh Oban and District Scottish Motor Traction Strathclyde Buses Western SMT Wales Former bus companies operating in Wales Companies Crosville Motor Services Islwyn Borough Transport National Welsh Omnibus Services Padarn Bus Red & White Services Rhondda Transport Company South Wales Transport Western Welsh