40 Years of Buses in Newcastle upon Tyne

Forty years ago, Newcastle's streets were busy with the Corporation's buses and trolleybuses together with a host of other operators' vehicles. The Corporation's famous blue bus livery was but a fading memory and the distinctive yellow colour was seen alongside those carried by the buses of the territorial companies - Tilling and BET - and various small companies.

United Automobile, Northern General, Tynemouth, Tyneside, Sunderland District, Gateshead, Venture Transport, OK Motor Services and several smaller independents were part of the every-day scene which is relived in the pages of this book.

When the Tyneside Passenger Transport Executive was set up it assumed responsibility for the operation of the Corporation's fleet whilst Northern and its subsidiaries had joined United as part of the National Bus Company. Now even NBC and PTE Buses are names from the past for Deregulation and later Privatisation of the bus industry brought the break-up of NBC and the transfer of PTE Buses to Busways Travel Services, a company owned by Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority. Busways was soon privatised and subsequently sold to the giant Stagecoach Group.

Eric Hutchinson is well placed to write this book. He worked in the bus industry in his native north east England for 33 years, starting as a management trainee with Venture Transport and working his way to become Chairman and Managing Director of Busways Travel Services Ltd, including leading the buyout from Tyne and Wear PTA in 1989.