ChesterBus[1] was an English municipal bus company operating services in the city of Chester and across the county of Cheshire. It was owned by the Chester City Council.
 | |
 | |
| Parent | Chester City Council |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1930 |
| Ceased operation | June 2007 |
| Headquarters | Chester |
| Service area | Cheshire |
| Service type | Bus operator |
| Depots | 1 |
| Fleet | 84 (June 2007) |
History
editChester City Transport commenced operating bus services in Chester in 1930.[2] It was operated as part of Chester City Council. To comply with the Transport Act 1985, the bus operation was transferred to a separate company in 1986.[1] It continued to trade as Chester City Transport until rebranded as ChesterBus in April 2005.
In July 2006, Chester City Council placed the business up for sale.[3]
In October 2006, Arriva North West & Wales registered a network of services to commence in January 2007, which duplicated a number of ChesterBus's routes.[4][5] On 11 October 2006, Chester City Council commenced an action in the High Court against Arriva, claiming that the registrations were anti-competitive under the Competition Act 1998, and asking for an injunction requiring Arriva to de-register them.[6][7] In December, the registrations were cancelled[8] though revised registrations for the 1/1A and 15 were made in January 2007.
The claim centred on the allegation that Arriva were abusing a dominant position, but in a judgement dated 15 June 2007, it was held that Arriva had not been demonstrated to hold a dominant position, and the claim was therefore dismissed.[9]
On 19 June 2007, ChesterBus was sold to First Chester & The Wirral with 84 buses.[10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ a b Companies House extract company no 2004962 Chester City Transport Limited
- ^ A Decade of Municipal Bus Operation in an historic city Commercial Motor 20 April 1940 pages 236/237
- ^ Chester Bus sale attracts potential buyers Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 30 August 2006
- ^ Arriva plans Chester assault Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 25 September 2006
- ^ Notices & Proceedings Traffic Commissioner for the North Western Traffic Area 6 October 2006
- ^ Chester council takes Arriva to court Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 14 October 2006
- ^ Chester cries foul as bus firm muscles in on existing routes Local Government Chronicle 18 October 2006
- ^ Notices & Proceedings Traffic Commissioner for the North Western Traffic Area 15 December 2006
- ^ Chester City Council & Anor vs Arriva plc & Ors Judgement Royal Courts of Justice 15 June 2007
- ^ FirstGroup agree purchase of Chester City Transport First Chester & Wirral 19 June 2007
- ^ FirstGroup agree purchase of Chester City Transport Archived 3 August 2014 at archive.today FirstGroup 19 June 2007
- ^ First trumps Arriva with Chester Bus purchase Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 20 June 2007