Deregulation in the West Midlands - The Competitors 1986-1996

Following the positive response to West Midlands Travel – the first ten years by the same author, this book covers the other operators that contributed to the West Midlands bus scene in that time period. It is also a fitting way to celebrate 40 years since deregulation was implemented. Around 60 operators feature, from former NBC companies to one-man bands, some more successful than others and each with its own take on colour schemes (or lack of). While many may have operated the ubiquitous Leyland National, some took on much rarer types so an ACE, a CVE, two Quests and a number of Willowbrook rebodies feature alongside the products of Leyland, Dennis, Bedford and more in an era when the vast majority of the buses in the West Midlands were UK built. Towards the end of the time period, full-size Mercedes-Benz products were joining fleets, alongside its wide range of mini- and midi-buses. Over 190 images feature in the books’ 64 pages, the vast majority of them not being previously published.