 | |
| Founded | April 1, 1974 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | November 1994 |
| Headquarters | Stockton-on-Tees |
| Locale | Cleveland, England |
| Service area | Middlesbrough Langbaurgh-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees |
| Service type | Bus and coach |
| Alliance | Hartlepool Borough Transport |
Cleveland Transit was a municipal bus operator based in the former county of Cleveland in northern England, operating from 1974 until its purchase by the Stagecoach Group in 1994.
The non-metropolitan county of Cleveland was formed by the Local Government Act 1972, incorporating the County Borough of Teesside districts of Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Langbaurgh-on-Tees as its non-metropolitan districts, with Middlesbrough becoming Cleveland's county town. Upon Cleveland's inauguration as a county in April 1974, the six-year-old Teesside Municipal Transport's operations were brought together with bus operators in the other three boroughs, with the exception of Hartlepool Borough Transport, and a joint council committee named Cleveland Transit was formed. [1] [2]
The municipally-owned company operated bus and coach services across the new county for the next twelve years, adopting a green and primrose livery for its fleet. [1] Cleveland Transit standardised on a fleet of Northern Counties-bodied Leyland Fleetlines, which were rebodied in the 1980s, [3] Bristol VRs and Dennis Dominator double-decker buses and Leyland Leopard single-decks in this period, [2] also experimentally operating a Rolls Royce-engined Leyland Fleetline converted to run on liquid petroleum gas, the first LPG-powered double-decker in the United Kingdom, in the mid-1970s. [4]
Deregulation in 1986 saw Cleveland Transit take on a new green, white and yellow corporate identity and be reincorporated as an 'arm's length' company by Cleveland County Council. [5] After a protracted period of negotiation between Cleveland Transit staff and the councils involved in the joint committee, [6] during which the company became engaged in a bus war with rival Trimdon Motor Services in Stockton-on-Tees, [7] [8] the company was purchased by its employees in 1991 in an employee share ownership plan, with the company adopting the slogan 'Employee Owners Working for You'. [9]
Originally founded in September 1991 and responsible for contracted school services and bookable day trips, [10] Cleveland Transit reorganised its coaching arm Cleveland Coaches in 1992, turning it into a National Express contractor which also offered coach holidays to various destinations. [11] Cleveland Transit purchased Kingston upon Hull City Transport (KHCT), a former municipal bus operator located in the non-metropolitan county of Humberside that was losing £100,000 a month, from the city council for over £2 million in December 1993. Employees at KHCT retained 49% ownership of the company and the livery of KHCT was changed to one similar to Cleveland Transit. [12] [13]
In November 1994, Cleveland Transit and KHCT were both purchased by Stagecoach Holdings for £8.3 million. [14] The Cleveland Transit identity was originally retained by Stagecoach for a short period, with new Northern Counties Palatine bodied Volvo Olympians being delivered with 'Part of the Stagecoach Group' slogans on the Cleveland Transit logos, [15] [16] however full Stagecoach identity began to be adopted for the Cleveland Transit fleet from 1995 onwards. [17] The operations of Cleveland Transit are today part of Stagecoach North East.
The Leyland B15 Titan is a rear-engined double-decker bus manufactured by Leyland between 1977 and 1984, primarily for London Transport.
The Dennis Dominator was Dennis's first rear-engined double-decker bus chassis, it was launched in 1977.
Stagecoach in Hull is a bus operator providing services in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach East Midlands, a subdivision of the Stagecoach Group.
Stagecoach North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which operates bus, coach, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom.
The Leyland Olympian is a 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus chassis that was manufactured by Leyland between 1980 and 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production.
Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.
Leyland Bus was a British bus manufacturer based in Farington, Lancashire. It emerged from the Rover Group, formerly known as British Leyland, as a management buyout of the group's bus business. Leyland Bus was subsequently acquired by Volvo Buses in 1988, with the Leyland name eventually dropped by Volvo in 1993.
South East London & Kent Bus Company Limited, trading as Stagecoach London, is a bus company operating in central and south London and some parts of north-west Kent. The Selkent brand is a subsidiary of Stagecoach London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The Selkent brand is not publicly used since 2010 as all buses are branded as Stagecoach, but it exists as a legal entity.
Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes is a subdivision of Stagecoach East Midlands that operates buses in and around North East Lincolnshire, England, serving a population of over 150,000. It runs town services in its main hubs of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, as well as services to Immingham and nearby villages.
The Dennis Lance was a single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Dennis between 1991 and 2000, replacing the Dennis Falcon. Its low floor variant, the Dennis Lance SLF was built between 1993 and 1996. Between 1995 and 1998, Dennis also built its double-deck variant, the Dennis Arrow, as the replacement of the Dennis Dominator.
The Leyland Lynx was a step-entrance integral single-deck bus manufactured by Leyland in Workington, England between 1986 and 1992. After the takeover by Volvo, it was succeeded by the Volvo B10B.
The Optare Vecta was a step-entrance single-deck bus body manufactured by Optare between 1991 and 1997 on the MAN 11.190 chassis.
South Yorkshire Transport (SYT) was a bus operator that provided services around South Yorkshire and outlying areas. The company was formed as an 'arms-length' successor of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) in 1986, which was broken up as a result of the deregulation of bus services. South Yorkshire Transport operated buses in and around Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield with some services extending to Chesterfield, Leeds and Barnsley.
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983.
The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England.
GM Buses was a major bus operator serving the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester in North West England. The company was formed in February 1986 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive prior to deregulation on 26 October. 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 the FirstGroup and Stagecoach respectively.
Stagecoach East is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the East of England, operating in the counties of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered and registered in Cambridge.
Busways Travel Services was a bus operator formed in 1986 which operated local and regional bus services in Tyne and Wear, England. The company was purchased by the Stagecoach Group in July 1994.
Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in North West England based in Preston.
Kingston upon Hull City Transport (KHCT) was a formerly municipally-owned bus operator providing services in the city of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1899 as part of the Hull Corporation's Transport Department (often shortened to Hull Corporation Transport), KHCT was owned and operated by Kingston upon Hull City Council until bus deregulation in October 1986. Following purchase by the Stagecoach Group in 1994, the company today trades as Stagecoach in Hull.
Media related to Cleveland Transit (bus company) at Wikimedia Commons
