Search results for ""author mike street""

The final two decades of the twentieth century saw great changes in the bus and coach industry in Great Britain. In the early 1980s the National Bus Company reorganisation saw the Welsh operations of Crosville become Crosville Wales (and later Arriva Cymru); South Wales Transport be acquired by Badgerline, which became part of First Bus; and National Welsh being split to create new Rhondda Buses and Red & White companies, both of which eventually fell under the Stagecoach banner. The remaining part of National Welsh was the subject of a management buyout that failed spectacularly in 1992. In 1986 the remaining council-owned fleets were forced into being run as ‘arms-length’ companies, albeit at first controlled by their respective councils, with some later selling to larger companies and others closing down. In 2001 only Cardiff Buses, Islwyn Borough Transport (controlled by Caerphilly Borough Council) and Newport Transport remained. Some independent operators expanded and were either acquired by other operators or over-reached themselves and failed. Thus, the picture in 2001 was considerably different to that in 1980. This volume is an attempt to document some of the changes that occurred during those decades.

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Local government has undergone significant changes since the early 1970s. Firstly, in 1974, the county boroughs, urban districts and rural districts were replaced by district or borough councils operating under county councils. At this time local authorities were responsible for the operation of a large number of services within their boundaries including road construction, maintenance and cleansing; refuse collection and disposal; parks and playing fields; as well as education and social services. In the 1980s competitive tendering saw many services either contracted out to private companies or operated by in-house direct labour organisations. From 1996 another reorganisation saw the creation of many unitary authorities responsible for all services in the area – in much the same way that county borough councils operated until 1974. A large variety of vehicles, from pedestrian-operated pavement sweepers to maximum capacity articulated units, were used on these duties. This book looks at some of the vehicles in use by local authorities, from Devon to Scotland, since the 1970s.

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