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For information about the company as a Stagecoach subsidiary, see Stagecoach North West.

Cumberland Motor Services
Red half-cab double-decker bus, painted with two cream bands between both decks and with a white-on-black destination display reading '30' to 'Whitehaven', parked in a bus depot
Preserved Eastern Coach Works bodied Bristol Lodekka in Morecambe in May 2009
FoundedOctober 1912; 112 years ago (1912-10)
Defunct1996; 28 years ago (1996)
HeadquartersWhitehaven, Cumberland, England
LocaleCumberland
Parts of Lancashire
Service typeBus and coach
Depots7 (July 1987)
Fleet230 (July 1987)

Cumberland Motor Services was a former bus operator running services in the county of Cumberland, as well as parts of Lancashire. Founded in 1921, the operator today is a part of the Stagecoach Group and, after a demerger from Stagecoach North West, trades as Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire.

History

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In October 1912, the Whitehaven Motor Service Company began operating a bus service between the town of Whitehaven and Cleator Moor using a fleet of Arrol-Johnston motorbuses purchased second-hand. After the company expanded to operate services from Whitehaven to Carlisle, Cockermouth, Egremont, Keswick and Maryport, the company was renamed to Cumberland Motor Services on 1 June 1921 after British Electric Traction (BET) subsidiary British Automobile Traction acquired a 50% shareholding in the company.[1][2]

On 19 March 1926, Cumberland Motor Services opened the Workington bus station, the first purpose-built covered bus station in the United Kingdom.[3]

Cumberland Motor Services was among the THC operators that passed into the ownership of the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC) on 1 January 1969 following the passage of the Transport Act 1968.[4]

Yeowart's controversy

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The passage of the Transport Act 1980 allowed for the deregulation of coach services across the United Kingdom and also allowed local authorities to deregulate their bus services on a trial basis. In August 1981, Secretary of State for Transport Norman Fowler permitted Whitehaven independent coach operator John Yeowart, trading as Yeowart's, a licence to begin operating a town bus service in direct competition with Cumberland Motor Services.[5]

In retaliation, Cumberland engaged in an early 'bus war' with Yeowart's by drafting in additional buses to Whitehaven to compete on the service,[6] fitting them with yellow destination blinds and 'Havenlink' fleetnames to distinguish them from regular Cumberland services.[7] Cumbria County Council made an appeal to the Divisional Court the following October, claiming Fowler had acted unlawfully by issuing Yeowart's licence to operate,[8] forcing Yeowart's to delay the addition of Sunday and additional Friday services to their Whitehaven town service.[9]

In June 1982, the Divisional Court ruled that Yeowart's competing services could remain in operation,[10] however this decision was reversed by the Court of Appeal in January 1983, resulting in Yeowart's town services being suspended with immediate effect.[11] A second attempt by Yeowart's to operate competitive bus services in Whitehaven was rejected by the Northern Traffic Commissioners in May 1983, with John Yeowart being condemned for having 'very little respect for the law' after having knowingly operated unauthorised bus services in Whitehaven before Yeowart's January 1983 service ban.[12]

Stagecoach ownership

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Preserved CMS Carlislebus Alexander bodied Leyland Olympian in Morecambe in May 2023

Prior to the deregulation of bus services and ensuing break-up of the National Bus Company in 1986 following the passage of the Transport Act 1985, Cumberland's operating area expanded further into North Cumbria with the transfer of fellow NBC subsidiary Ribble Motor Services' Penrith and Carlisle depots to Cumberland.[13] Around this time, Cumberland began a process of rebranding to CMS Cumberland, with the acquired Ribble operation in Carlisle using the brand name CMS Carlislebus.

In July 1987, Cumberland was purchased from the National Bus Company by Stagecoach Holdings, being Stagecoach's third acquisition of a former NBC subsidiary.[14] Shortly after the purchase, the CMS Carlislebus operation began employing AEC Routemasters acquired second-hand on competitive bus corridors in and around Carlisle.[15] CMS Cumberland's fleet livery was retained by Stagecoach until 1988, when the group's 'stripes' livery scheme began to be applied across the fleet.[2]

Between 1987 and 1989, Cumberland purchased many of its previous competitors based across the county, taking on operators such as Yeowart's, Kirkpatricks of Bingham, the bus services of Brownriggs of Egremont. Stephensons of Maryport and Alan Palmer of Carlisle.[16][17] Also during 1989, Cumberland gained the remainder of the Cumbrian operations of Ribble Motor Services, by then also a Stagecoach subsidiary, through the transfer of Ribble's Kendal, Barrow-in-Furness and Ulverston depots, giving Cumberland complete control of Stagecoach operations across Cumbria.[18]

In July 1990, Cumberland launched a Lake District open-top bus service, running every 20 minutes between Ambleside, Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere using a fleet of four Bristol VRs acquired from Stagecoach Southdown.[19]

Cumberland began experiencing financial difficulties during the early 1990s, resulting in wages being cut, older Leyland Nationals being replaced by Alexander bodied Mercedes-Benz 811D minibuses, and the last of the Carlislebus Routemasters being withdrawn by the end of 1992.[20]

Fleet

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As of the July 1987 purchase by Stagecoach Holdings, Cumberland Motor Services operated a fleet of 230 buses based at seven depots in north and west Cumbria.[14]

Cumberland Motor Services was the first bus operator to take delivery of the Leyland National integral single-deck bus in March 1972. The National was a pre-production example manufactured locally at British Leyland's Workington bus factory and soon became the standard full-size single-deck bus of the National Bus Company.[21]

Under Stagecoach ownership, Cumberland took delivery of two of the three 96-seat Alexander bodied Leyland Olympian tri-axle 'Megadekka' buses ordered by the group in 1990, which were used primarily on school services.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "All aboard: when 15 bus firms offered a ticket to ride in Cumbria". The Mail. Kendal. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Cumberland in the pink". Buses. No. 758. Stamford: Key Publishing. 19 April 2018. p. 56. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Plaque marks bus station's history". Times and Star. Carlisle. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  4. ^ "National Bus Company". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 3 January 1969. p. 27. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  5. ^ Millar, Alan (22 August 1981). "End of monopoly game". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. p. 15. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Too many buses?". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 30 January 1982. p. 13. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  7. ^ Townley, P. A. (21 November 1981). "We aren't yellow says bus boss". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. p. 17. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Cumbria to appeal". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 31 October 1981. p. 12. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Licence delay". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 9 January 1982. p. 15. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Yeowart can stay". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 5 June 1982. p. 13. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Yeowarts off road". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 29 January 1983. p. 18. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Yeowarts turned down". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 7 May 1983. p. 24. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  13. ^ "NBC carve-up is settled". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 22 March 1986. p. 44. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Cumberland, Wessex sold". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 30 July 1987. p. 22. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Conductors back at UC". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 25 February 1988. p. 16. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Cumbrian clincher". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 22 June 1989. p. 18. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Stagecoach buys Palmer". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 21 December 1989. p. 16. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Stagecoach swapshop". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 15 June 1989. p. 19. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Cumberland's going topless in the Lakes". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 26 July 1990. p. 18. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  20. ^ Jarosz, Andrew (18 July 1992). "CMS preparing for wage cuts". Coach & Bus Week. No. 22. Peterborough: Emap. p. 7.
  21. ^ "NBC receives its first Leyland National". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 17 March 1972. p. 30. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  22. ^ Myers, Bill (23 February 2019). "Take a nostalgic journey on the buses". The Mail. Kendal. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
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