STEPHEN MORRIS revisits the seismic events of 40 years ago that accompanied the deregulation of British coach services — and other major changes in legislation, with additional information from ALAN MILLAR
Just over 40 years ago a major revolution began. On 6 October 1980, Britain’s coach services were deregulated. Three days later, a new start business began a scheduled service with a handful of vehicles; today it is the country’s biggest bus operator.
That revolution began with a whimper rather than a bang. The date may be engraved on the minds of anyone with a historical interest in public transport, along with the much bigger bang of bus deregulation on 26 October 1986, but few beyond that are aware of its significance.
This was not just about coaches, but the start of political and economic change. Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives had won the general election on 4 May 1979, favouring the free market and private enterprise. Norman Fowler, her first transport minister (this was not yet a cabinet post), brought the Transport Act 1980 into law, paving the way for widespread deregulation and the dismantling of many nationalised industries.
Coaching was a comparatively small industry with a disproporti…
