35 YEARS IN SOUTHAMPTON
As First leaves the southern city, DAVID JENKINS looks at the history of competition there
The closure of First's operations in Southampton brings to an end a battle between two operators that has endured since the early days of deregulation. Ownership may have changed along the way, but the business which has most recently traded as City Reds can trace its origins back to 1879, when the first trams ran in what was still a town at that time.
Subsequently Southampton Tramways Company started running horse buses in 1887, and the operator was bought out by the corporation in 1898. Electric trams started two years later, lasting until 1949, and while a trial motor bus ran briefly in 1901, no more followed until 1919. From 1934, the corporation was also responsible for running the floating bridge ferry linking the city with the suburb of Woolston on the east bank of the River Itchen. Never used by buses in service, it was replaced by a fixed bridge in 1977, which brought about a major revision to the city's bus network, allowing direct through running to the city's south-eastern suburbs.
City status was granted in 1964, and the operator's name was changed accordingly. From 1968 u…
