Until the 1960s, many of the towns and cities in England, Scotland and Wales had their own municipally owned bus fleets. Most had started out with trams before replacing them with buses and in some cases trolleybuses. Now in the 2020s there are only a handful of such fleets. Mergers into Passenger Transport Executives in major conurbations, and other mergers through local government reforms, reduced their numbers in the 1970s. Later, the effects of deregulation and privatisation in the bus industry, and the requirement to make these municipal companies ‘arms-length’ businesses, has seen many sell up to the main operating groups such as Stagecoach. Fortunately, hundreds of vehicles have been preserved to keep the memories and liveries of these companies alive for future generations.Malcom Batten celebrates preserved municipal buses through a selection of fascinating and rare images.
