The day it all changed

摘要

It became known in the bus world as D-Day. The Sunday 25 years ago -26 October 1986-when local bus services outside London were deregulated, bringing an abrupt end to 55 years of the order and stability of road service licensing. The date coincided with school half-term holidays in much of England and Wales, when the unexpected consequences of massive change might be felt less acutely than on a normal week when workplaces and schools would be full. It was the key product of the Transport Act 1985, legislation that typified the policies of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government elected six years earlier with a determination to cut back state provision, reduce regulation and use competition to drive down costs and subsidies. Legislation that also began the process of privatising most publicly owned bus operators.