OK Motor Services
Encyclopedia
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and coach
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
operator in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, North East England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. First established in 1912 as OK Motor Service, the company was bought by the Go-Ahead Group
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
in the 1990s. Following rationalisation and rebranding, the OK livery disappeared from the roads as services were integrated with Go North East
Go North East
Go North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland...
.
History
OK Motor Service was founded in EvenwoodEvenwood
Evenwood is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the south west of Bishop Auckland. It is in the civil parish of Evenwood and Barony, which has a population of 2,534....
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, by Wade Emmerson in 1912. The first route was from Evenwood
Evenwood
Evenwood is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the south west of Bishop Auckland. It is in the civil parish of Evenwood and Barony, which has a population of 2,534....
to Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
.
The original name was the Gaunless Valley Motor Services with the name OK coming from a consortium of operators who started to run from the area to the Great North Exhibition in Newcastle in the late 20's. The name OK was used and means just exactly what it says, the service was 'OK'.
The first garage was in Evenwood, with an office being opened within Bishop Auckland Town Hall during the early 1930's. The site of the main garage was acquired and developed during the 1930's in North Bondgate, Bishop Auckland DL14 7PG.
Further depot were opened at Heaton in Newcastle and two further depots were acquired with the business of F Lockey and Sons. This was their depot at St Helens Auckland, which became a central workshop for OK, and a smaller depot at Shotton Colliery.
During the early 1980's, the company replaced OK Motor Services name with OK Travel and introduced a simplified version of the eye catching livery of Dark Red, Light Red and Cream.
After deregulation, OK acquired two further depots, one at Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
to replace the Heaton depot. A brand new depot was built at Peterlee
Peterlee
Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners and their families.Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.-Peterlee:...
, which replaced the depot at Shotton Colliery.
OK Travel operated widely throughout the area with the majority of its services being in south Tyne & Wear and Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
. By 1994 it had 212 vehicles with an average age of about 11 years, and had bought 47 new vehicles in the preceding year.
Go-Ahead takeover
Go-Ahead GroupGo-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
had already made approaches to Wade Emmerson Snr, who ran the business, but was that the shareholders had no interest in selling it. However, Go-Ahead was told that if the business did become available for sale, they would be given first refusal.
Wade Emmerson senior died unexpectedly in August 1994. Wade Emmerson Jnr, OK's majority shareholder, was approached by Go-Ahead, which expressed its continued interest in acquiring the business. He was also approached by other operators including Northumbria Motor Services Ltd, the British Bus subsidiary in the North-East, but decided to enter detailed negotiations only with Go-Ahead. In March 1995, Go-Ahead acquired OK Motor Services Ltd and the related OK Motor Services (Travel) Limited and OK Travel (Inclusive Tours) Limited companies for £5.4 million.
Many of OK's staff, including its general manager, Charles Marshall, became employees of Go-Ahead following the acquisition. OK initially became one of Go-Ahead's locally managed subsidiaries with Marshall remaining in charge. Following the acquisition, Go-Ahead took steps to streamline the management of its north-east bus businesses and, as part of that reorganization, several of its earlier acquisitions were transferred to OK. However, the local identities were soon abandoned, and the OK name disappeared.
The garage at Bishop Auckland was demolished, with a few services transferred to Go Ahead's depot at Chester-le-Street, with the more local services transferring at Arriva at Bishop Auckland.
Former depots
- Bondgate, Bishop AucklandBishop AucklandBishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
, County DurhamCounty DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
- 'Bishop Auckland' (Go North EastGo North EastGo North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland...
Closed by Go North East and flagship services transferred to Chester-le-Street) - Peterlee County DurhamCounty DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
- Heaton, NewcastleNewcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
- OK Motor Services (Tyneside) Ltd in 1976 - Shotton Colliery County DurhamCounty DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
Formally owned by F Lockey and Sons. This depot closed in 1989 when the new depot was opened at Hunter Road, Peterlee - Team Valley Trading Estate - GatesheadGatesheadGateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, County DurhamCounty DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
In 1991 the former service depot Of Leyland Truck and Bus In the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, was obtained.