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| The company started
in 1916 as Bournemouth & District Motor Services
Ltd and became Hants & Dorset Motor Services
Ltd in 1920. The British Automobile Traction Company,
the Tilling Group and the Southern Railway became
joint owners of the company. |
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| In 1942 the BAT
and Tilling shares in bus companies were split so
that Hants & Dorset became a Tilling company
with partial railway ownership. When the railways
were nationalised in 1948, Southern's shares passed
to the government. |
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| In 1949, Tilling
sold its bus company shares, making Hants &
Dorset a state owned company. Neighbouring operators
taken over at this time included Southern National,
Southern Vectis and Wilts & Dorset. |
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| In 1962 the management
of Wilts & Dorset passed to Hants & Dorset.
Any Wilts & Dorset timetables and amendment
leaflets from this period are included here. The
National Bus Company was set up in 1969. |
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| In 1971, the Hants
& Dorset and Wilts & Dorset operations were
combined under the Hants & Dorset name. From
1973, timetables were issued separately for the
Basingstoke, Bournemouth & Poole, Salisbury
and Southampton areas. |
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| From 1980, timetable
books were replaced by leaflets for local groups
of routes with area operations branded as Antonbus
(Andover), South Hants (Southampton), South Wessex
(Bournemouth & Poole), Venturebus (Basingstoke),
Wiltsway (Salisbury) and Wintonline (Winchester). |
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| On the 1st of April
1983, Hants & Dorset's bus operations were divided
into Hampshire Bus, Provincial and Wilts & Dorset. |
| For the period
from the splitting of Hants & Dorset in April
1983 until privatisation, see After
Hants & Dorset. |
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