It’s been all change on the buses since the beginning
We are all familiar with seeing Arriva and Nu-Venture buses darting around the town today, but it wasn’t always thus.
Maidstone’s public transport system has had a long and complicated history starting with the formation of Maidstone Corporation Transport in 1904, when trams were the order of the day.
Two of the more significant changes occurred this month in 1986 with the deregulation of local bus services leading to the creation of a new company Boro’line and a management buy-out of the Maidstone and District Bus Company.
The early Maidstone Corporation bus company had been the main provider in the town centre for many decades. It introduced its first ones in 1924 and trams were replaced by trolley buses between 1928 and 1930. The last of these didn’t disappear until 1967.
While the corporation provided services within the town, Maidstone and District emerged as the main supplier on rural routes although there were several other smaller private operators. In the 1974 local government re-organisation, Maidstone Corporation became Maidstone Borough and a similar change of name followed for its bus company.
A change of policy saw oneman operated single deckers replace double-deckers. The Stoneborough Bus Centre was opened (now the Mall) and routes were expanded. The 1985 Transport Act required the borough council to lose direct control of its buses, so an armslength council-owned company was set up – Maidstone Transport (Holdings) Ltd, trading as Boro’line, with a new yellow and blue livery.
The formal launch of Boro’line saw the appearance of “Blakey” – the inspector from TV comedy On the Buses – tour the town on an opentop bus accompanied by a brass band. The new company began a period of expansion, opening a London operation as well. Meanwhile, Maidstone and District, which had been incorporated in 1911, had become part of the National Bus Company in 1969, though still operating under its own colours.
In 1985, a new political approach required the national bus company to be broken up and sold to private operators and in November 1986, M&D’s managers formed a new company Einkorn and made a successful bid. The change to Boro’line was not a success. By 1989 it was losing £1.25m a year. The London operation was sold to Kentish Bus in 1992. Two days later Boro’line went into administration and ceased operation in May 1992.
Maidstone and District picked up many of their routes and bought its depot in Armstrong Road and much of its vehicle stock. M&D survived not much longer, its owners selling out to British Bus in April 1995, which kept the M&D branding. That company was acquired by the Cowie Group in 1996, renamed the Arriva Group, which then imposed a corporate livery.