Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

[knutstransport]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(23/01/2026 12:08)moreton407 Wrote:  It will be strange for everyone for a while, different operators (some new to the area), new buses, new routes etc. Just as it was strange back it the 80's at deregulations which created Merseybus, Liverline, Liverbus and Fareway etc etc etc, and when Arriva replaced MTL, when First took over Crosville and when Stagecoach took over Gillmoss and Rock Ferry. It will be strange for everyone, but we will get used to it as we have done in the past. Let's just hope that the future is a bright one!

I recall what people found strange is when Arriva North West's legal lettering was changed to Aintree. That meant buses across the North West were running around with an Aintree address on them, when people had been used to them displaying more local addresses. Pre-internet you'd use the phone number on the buses/timetables if you wanted to contact the operator.

Another strange one was when First took over Chester City Transport and made it a subsidiary of First Manchester.