Alder Valley was the made-up name for one of the National Bus Company’s less successful merged regional companies. Its identity survived in parts of Hampshire and Surrey until 1992 and the MHD Partnership imagines how it could look today if it was revived to embrace current environmental values
IDENTITY PARADE
Alder Valley was a made-up name, created in January 1972 when the National Bus Company combined Thames Valley Traction — in state ownership since 1948 — with the Aldershot & District Traction Company, owned by BET until 1967.
The full name was the Thames Valley & Aldershot Omnibus Company, but it always traded as Alder Valley even though, as far as we can tell, there is no geographical feature by that name. Aldershot was probably named after alder trees in that part of Hampshire.
To outsiders’ eyes, Aldershot & District was a good operation running handsome vehicles in a distinctive two-tone green and cream livery. The Tilling red and cream buses of Thames Valley seemed to inhabit a less happy ship, which passed its troubles on to Alder Valley.
Before corporate poppy red took its place, NBC bestowed a miserable dark red and cream livery on its new creation, which lasted until NBC split…
