Preston Bus

Preston Bus is a bus operator running within the city of Preston, England and into the surrounding area. In 2009, it was acquired by the Stagecoach Group and was rebranded Stagecoach in Preston, before they were subsequently ordered to sell the company as a result of competition concerns. As part of the Competition Commission findings into the takeover, Preston Bus was managed separately from the main Stagecoach business, pending possible divestment to a third party company later in the year. On 25 January 2011, it was revealed that Stagecoach had sold Preston Bus to Midlands based company Rotala.. The takeover sees the company moving into North West England operations for the first time.

History

Preston Bus was founded in 1904 as Preston District Travel and operated a number of services in the Preston area until 1993, when the company was bought from the local authority by its employees, and became a limited company.

In 2006, Preston Bus was subject to some high profile competition from national operator Stagecoach Group through their Stagecoach North West subsidiary. Competition escalated into a bus war

The managing director of Preston bus was concerned that Stagecoach could force his company out of business.

Both companies have accused each other of unprofessional behaviour. On 10 June 2008, both...
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