South Notts Bus Company

The South Notts Bus Company Ltd was a British bus operator based in Gotham, Nottinghamshire. It commenced service in 1926 and became a limited company in 1929. Its major service operations were between Nottingham and Loughborough via East Leake, and, since the 1950s, between Nottingham and the Clifton Estate.

The company was sold to Nottingham City Transport in 1991.

History and fleet

Christopher Thomas Dabell used a 20-seat Guy BB to operate the first South Notts service, between Gotham and Nottingham, in March 1926. Barton already provided a bus service on this route but Mr. Dabell gained enough local customers to make his service successful. In 1929, an agreement was made with Barton which involved Barton acquiring a 50% share of South Notts whilst withdrawing from the South Notts route. The South Notts service was extended to Loughborough, and this continued to be the company's main route until its takeover. (Indeed Nottingham City Transport continue to use the South Notts fleetname on this route.)

Single-deck buses, mainly Guys, joined the fleet until 1932, when Leylands started to arrive, followed by Gilfords, Bedfords and Dennises. The first double-decker did not arrive until 1951, when an ex-Hants and Dorset Leyland was acquired. This proved useful on services to the new Clifton Estate, which were provided jointly with Nottingham City Transport and West Bridgford UDC. More followed, with the fleet size increasing rapidly to meet the new demand, and it was not long...
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