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Alder Valley was a bus operator in
South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...
.


National Bus Company era

Alder Valley was formed when National Bus Company (NBC) subsidiaries Aldershot & District Traction (A&D) and
Thames Valley Traction Thames Valley Traction Company Limited was a major bus company operating services to and from Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Newbury, High Wycombe and Oxford and surrounding areas for 52 years in the 20th century. For many years it ran the "Re ...
(TV) merged on 1 January 1972. The name Alder Valley was an amalgamation of the former names, but not representing any geographical feature or area. Despite the merger, the company initially maintained two divisions:
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, covering the former TV area, and
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
, covering A&D's area, each of which continued to issue its own timetable booklet. From 1 November 1973 these divisions were renamed North and South. Thames Valley had also managed the South Midland express services between
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
and
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, but these were transferred to City of Oxford Motor Services in 1971. The new company's head office was at the former TV headquarters in Reading, but the Aldershot office was retained as a divisional headquarters,"Aldershot's Buses" by Peter Holmes and in 1981 became the head office, allowing the Reading site to be sold for redevelopment.


Liveries

The buses began to be painted in dark red and cream, with small Tilling-style Alder Valley fleetnames with gold coloured lettering in early 1972. In keeping with the NBC policy, however, poppy red was soon applied (from December 1972), with a white stripe at waist level (single-deckers) or above the lower windows (double-deckers), along with white double-N logo, bold white fleetnames and light grey wheels. The logo later appeared in red and blue on a round-cornered white rectangular background. In the early days of the NBC livery, cream coloured NBC-style fleetnames/logos were applied to those vehicles which retained A&D two-tone green/cream or the early red/cream liveries. Alder Valley coaches were painted white all over with the red and blue "NATIONAL" fleetname and logo, with the Alder Valley fleetname less-prominently. "Dual-purpose" vehicles (i.e. bus-bodied vehicles fitted with coach seats and used mainly on long-distance stage-carriage services but also on express services, private hire, excursions and local stage-carriage services) were painted poppy red below waist level and white above, with red fleetnames and logos. A variation was a white livery with broad red band at waist level. In 1977 (and for some time afterwards) a
Dennis Loline The Dennis Loline was a low-height double-decker bus manufactured by Dennis between 1958 and 1966. History The Dennis Loline was basically a license-built Bristol Lodekka, being primarily supplied to municipal, private sector British Electric ...
carried a silver and red livery in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Later, coaches carried a livery of white with an angular application of black and red horizontal stripes; this was also applied to the company's open-top double-decker based at Aldershot depot (see illustration). Coaches used on the London express services carried Londonlink branding from this point. There were, however, a large number of variations from the above standards.


Fleet

While A&D was a
British Electric Traction British Electric Traction Company Limited, renamed BET plc in 1985, was a large British industrial conglomerate. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Rentokil in 1996, and the merged company is now known as Ren ...
company with a varied fleet including mostly
Dennis Loline The Dennis Loline was a low-height double-decker bus manufactured by Dennis between 1958 and 1966. History The Dennis Loline was basically a license-built Bristol Lodekka, being primarily supplied to municipal, private sector British Electric ...
s and
AEC Reliance The AEC Reliance was a mid-underfloor mounted engined single-decker bus and coach chassis manufactured by AEC between 1953 and 1979. The name had previously been used between 1928 and 1931 for another single-decker bus chassis. History Two ...
s, Thames Valley had a typical
Tilling Group The Tilling Group was one of two Conglomerate (company), conglomerates that controlled almost all of the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between World Wars I and II and until nationalisation in 1948. Tilling, together with the other ...
fleet comprising almost entirely
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
vehicles. Some cross-border swapping of vehicles occurred between the two divisions after the merger. Through NBC days, Alder Valley adopted the
Leyland National The Leyland National is an integrally constructed British step-floor single-decker bus manufactured in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries – the National Bus Com ...
and
Bristol VRT The Bristol VR was a rear-engined double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and ...
as its standard single and double deck buses. In the early/mid-1970s there was a severe shortage of vehicles, resulting in the hiring-in of a varied fleet which included a
Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...
double decker noted on services from Aldershot, including the service 12 to Reading in 1974; a number of elderly City of Oxford AEC Reliances in maroon and green livery, which operated Aldershot local services; and at least two ageing Sheffield United Tours coaches which operated daily on the
Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
to London service. Vehicle shortages (together with poor staff morale and retention) led to poor customer service at this time, with many service cancellations.


Depots

Depots were maintained in Newbury,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of r ...
,
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
,
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
,
Bracknell Bracknell () is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Re ...
,
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
,
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
,
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
,
Hindhead Hindhead is a village in the Waverley, Surrey, Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England. It is the highest village in the county and its buildings are between and above sea level. The village forms part of the Haslemere parish. Situ ...
and Alton, which eventually became an outstation when Alton depot was closed.


Operation

As well as local services, Alder Valley also ran frequent express coach services from Farnham and Reading into London, and seasonal services to the south coast. With changes in legislation in the early 1980s, the London services were mostly switched to the M3 and M4 motorways and re-branded as ''Londonlink''. These services enjoyed a healthy boom period for a decade or so, with greatly expanded commuter services. However, towards the end of the decade, partly due to increased motorway traffic slowing journeys down, passenger loadings declined sharply, thus the Farnham branch was withdrawn, and the Reading service was passed to the North division.


Decline

At the same time, local services were in decline and the Market Analysis Project (MAP) resulted in severe reductions in mileage, the end of any remaining two-person bus operation, and a reduction in the fleet size. Local fleetnames were applied to buses and publicity, and the Blackwater Valley MAP scheme saw the revival of the Aldershot & District name, while other areas were less fortunate (Forestride, Weyfarer, etc.). These names vanished after a couple of years. In the lead up to
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, Alder Valley was again split on 1 January 1986 into Alder Valley North and Alder Valley South. Initially, North and South were added to the company names. The NBC red livery was maintained initially, although it wasn't long before Alder Valley North experimented with various combinations of red, yellow and grey.


Deregulation and privatisation


Alder Valley North

In the lead-up to
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
in 1986, Alder Valley North was rebranded as The Bee Line with a yellow and grey livery adorned with bees. It was sold to Q Drive in December 1987.Hansard
House of Commons 18 April 1988
Q takes on Alder Valley
''Commercial Motor'' 1 December 1988 page 19
The company was shrinking. It retreated first from High Wycombe, where the operations were sold in October 1990 to the
Oxford Bus Company The City of Oxford Motor Services Limited, trading as Oxford Bus Company, is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History Horse trams and horse buses The City of Oxf ...
Q Drive sells to buy shares
''Commercial Motor'' 4 October 1990 page 18
who ran them as Wycombe Bus, selling them in 2000 to
Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Herts & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Arriva Colchester, Col ...
. In 1992 The Bee Line sold its Reading and Newbury operations to Reading Transport. In 1993 the company expanded when the former London Country North West depot at
Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
was purchased from Luton & District, although this led to the closure of
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
depot. In March 1996, the remaining operations were sold to CentreWest, which was then sold to
FirstBus FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.First Berkshire.


Alder Valley South

Alder Valley South, meanwhile, was sold in December 1987 to the Frontsource Group. It dropped the South from its name and adopted a two-tone green and yellow livery. It was sold in December 1988 to Q Drive, bringing both parts of Alder Valley back under common ownership. Q Drive sold the
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
and
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
operations in November 1990 to the Drawlane Group which eventually became part of Arriva Guildford & West Surrey. On 26 October 1992, the rest of the company was sold to
Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
as Stagecoach in Hants & Surrey. The once impressive Londonlink network also went into terminal decline. The remnant of the network are today's Green Line services 701 and 702 from
Bracknell Bracknell () is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Re ...
to London operated by
Reading Buses Reading Transport Limited, trading as Reading Buses, is an English Municipal bus company, municipal bus operator owned by Reading Borough Council, serving the towns of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, Slough, ...
.


Alder Valley Travel


In 2002, the name was revived when Alder Valley TravelCompanies House extract company no 4549417
Alder Valley (South) Limited
commenced trading. It operated a fleet of vehicles on private hire work, school contracts, stage carriage bus services and rail replacement services, and was based in Alton, with a second depot in Staines. As at February 2008, the company operated four routes on behalf of
Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...
: *84: Bisley to
Camberley Camberley is a town in north-west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. It is in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Tow ...
( Collingwood College) *85: Ash to Collingwood College *690: Winston Churchill School to Brookwood and
Worplesdon Worplesdon is a village NNW of Guildford in Surrey, England and a large dispersed civil parish that includes the settlements of: Worplesdon itself (including its central church area, Perry Hill), Fairlands, Jacobs Well, Rydeshill and Wood S ...
*828: Knaphill to
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
The company ceased trading on 22 May 2009, its vehicles and routes passing to Atbus.


References


External links

*
Aldershot & District Bus Interest Group
{{Defunct British Bus Companies 1972 establishments in England 1992 disestablishments in England Transport companies established in 1972 Transport companies disestablished in 1992 Former bus operators in Berkshire Former bus operators in Hampshire Former bus operators in Surrey National Bus Company (UK)