London Country South West
Encyclopedia
London Country South West was a former bus operator which existed between 1986 and 1997. It was formed from a part of London Country Bus Services
. The company was privatised in 1988 and sold to Drawlane, who adopted the trading name London & Country. One section of London Country South West continues to operate today as Arriva Guildford & West Surrey.
, London Country North West
, London Country South East
and London Country South West divisions. The South West division contained 415 buses.
South West was sold in February 1988 to the Drawlane Group. The London Country South West name and livery were replaced by the London & Country name and adopted a modern two-tone green and red livery.
In 1986 London & Country went into LRT route tendering in a significant way under Drawlane, winning several contracts using secondhand Atlanteans from Greater Glasgow
, GM Buses
and Busways
, where bus deregulation
was making the major fleets dispose of large numbers of surplus vehicles. In 1989 London & Country was faced with having to update its double-decker fleet if it were to win further contracts and have hope of renewing its existing ones.
The first new buses to be delivered to the company, a batch of thirteen Volvo Citybuses with 88-seater East Lancs bodies, entered service at Addlestone
garage in September 1989, displacing ageing secondhand Leyland Atlanteans.
In December 1992 Drawlane renamed itself British Bus. More London tendered routes were taken over and London & Country acquired the Guildford
area operations of Alder Valley when that concern was split up. These operations were rebranded Guildford & West Surrey. The coach operations of London & Country were split off as Speedlink Airport Services, and later sold to National Express Group
.
Depots at the time were Cranleigh
, Crawley
, Croydon
, Dunton Green
, Guildford
, Hounslow
, Leatherhead
, Merstham
, Slyford, Walworth
, Warnham
and Woking
.
In June 1996 British Bus was sold to the Cowie Group, which rebranded itself Arriva
in November 1997. Under British Bus, Croydon, Dunton Green and Walworth garages were separated off into a new Londonlinks company. Under Arriva, they were transferred back. Then, Arriva transferred them into the new Arriva London South
company.
Crawly was sold to Metrobus in 2001, as was Warnham in 2009. Other surviving garages at Guildford and Cranleigh now make up Arriva Guildford & West Surrey. All other garages have been closed.
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...
. The company was privatised in 1988 and sold to Drawlane, who adopted the trading name London & Country. One section of London Country South West continues to operate today as Arriva Guildford & West Surrey.
History
Preparation for privatisation in 1986 saw London Country Bus Services split into four smaller companies, named as London Country North EastLondon Country North East
London Country North East was a bus operator in South East England and London. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986 and operated a fleet of around 350 buses from six garages, with its headquarters located in Hatfield....
, London Country North West
London Country North West
London Country North West was a bus operator in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England. It was formed in 1986 when London Country Bus Services was broken up, and acquired by Luton & District in 1990.-History:...
, London Country South East
London Country South East
London Country South East was a bus operator in South-East England. It was formed in 1986 from the break-up of London Country Bus Services, and was known as Kentish Bus for most of its existence...
and London Country South West divisions. The South West division contained 415 buses.
South West was sold in February 1988 to the Drawlane Group. The London Country South West name and livery were replaced by the London & Country name and adopted a modern two-tone green and red livery.
In 1986 London & Country went into LRT route tendering in a significant way under Drawlane, winning several contracts using secondhand Atlanteans from Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...
, GM Buses
GM Buses
GM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
and Busways
Busways Travel Services Ltd.
Busways Travel Services Limited was a large bus operator in the 1990s in the north east of England. In July 1995 Busways was acquired by Stagecoach Group.-PTE divestment:...
, where bus deregulation
Bus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
was making the major fleets dispose of large numbers of surplus vehicles. In 1989 London & Country was faced with having to update its double-decker fleet if it were to win further contracts and have hope of renewing its existing ones.
The first new buses to be delivered to the company, a batch of thirteen Volvo Citybuses with 88-seater East Lancs bodies, entered service at Addlestone
Addlestone
Addlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
garage in September 1989, displacing ageing secondhand Leyland Atlanteans.
In December 1992 Drawlane renamed itself British Bus. More London tendered routes were taken over and London & Country acquired the Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
area operations of Alder Valley when that concern was split up. These operations were rebranded Guildford & West Surrey. The coach operations of London & Country were split off as Speedlink Airport Services, and later sold to National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
.
Depots at the time were Cranleigh
Cranleigh
Cranleigh is a large village, self-proclaimed the largest in England, and is situated 8 miles south east of Godalming in Surrey. It lies to the east of the A281 which links Guildford with Horsham; neighbouring villages include: Ewhurst, Alfold and Hascombe....
, Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Dunton Green
Dunton Green
Dunton Green is a small village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, lying in the valley of the River Darent, three miles north of Sevenoaks. The original ecclesiastical parish of Dunton Green was part of Otford parish...
, Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
, Leatherhead
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...
, Merstham
Merstham
Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England, in the London commuter belt. It is just north of Redhill, near the intersection of the M25 and M23 motorways, on the edge of the North Downs and on the North Downs Way.-History:...
, Slyford, Walworth
Walworth, London
Walworth is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Southwark. Walworth probably derives its name from the Old English "Wealhworth" which meant Welsh farm. It is located south east of Charing Cross and near to Camberwell and Elephant and Castle.The major streets in Walworth are the Old...
, Warnham
Warnham
Warnham is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The village is some three kilometres north west of central Horsham to the west of the A24 road...
and Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
.
In June 1996 British Bus was sold to the Cowie Group, which rebranded itself Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
in November 1997. Under British Bus, Croydon, Dunton Green and Walworth garages were separated off into a new Londonlinks company. Under Arriva, they were transferred back. Then, Arriva transferred them into the new Arriva London South
Arriva London
Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green...
company.
Crawly was sold to Metrobus in 2001, as was Warnham in 2009. Other surviving garages at Guildford and Cranleigh now make up Arriva Guildford & West Surrey. All other garages have been closed.