- OK Motor Services
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OK Travel Logo
OK Travel was a bus and coach operator in County Durham, North East England. First established in 1912 as OK Motor Service, the company was bought by the Go-Ahead Group in the 1990s. Following rationalisation and rebranding, the OK livery disappeared from the roads as services were integrated with Go North East.
Contents
History
OK Motor Services 17, an AEC Regent V, in Bishop Auckland in 1974OK Motor Service was founded in Evenwood, County Durham, by Wade Emmerson in 1912. The first route was from Evenwood to Bishop Auckland.
The original name was the Gaunless Valley Motor Services with the name OK coming from a consortium of operators who started to run from the area to the Great North Exhibition in Newcastle in the late 20's. The name OK was used and means just exactly what it says, the service was 'OK'.
The first garage was in Evenwood, with an office being opened within Bishop Auckland Town Hall during the early 1930's. The site of the main garage was acquired and developed during the 1930's in North Bondgate, Bishop Auckland DL14 7PG.
Further depot were opened at Heaton in Newcastle and two further depots were acquired with the business of F Lockey and Sons. This was their depot at St Helens Auckland, which became a central workshop for OK, and a smaller depot at Shotton Colliery.
During the early 1980's, the company replaced OK Motor Services name with OK Travel and introduced a simplified version of the eye catching livery of Dark Red, Light Red and Cream.
After deregulation, OK acquired two further depots, one at Gateshead to replace the Heaton depot. A brand new depot was built at Peterlee, which replaced the depot at Shotton Colliery.
OK Travel operated widely throughout the area with the majority of its services being in south Tyne & Wear and Durham. By 1994 it had 212 vehicles with an average age of about 11 years, and had bought 47 new vehicles in the preceding year.[1]
Go-Ahead takeover
Go-Ahead Group had already made approaches to Wade Emmerson Snr, who ran the business, but was that the shareholders had no interest in selling it. However, Go-Ahead was told that if the business did become available for sale, they would be given first refusal.
Wade Emmerson senior died unexpectedly in August 1994.[2] Wade Emmerson Jnr, OK's majority shareholder, was approached by Go-Ahead, which expressed its continued interest in acquiring the business. He was also approached by other operators including Northumbria Motor Services Ltd, the British Bus subsidiary in the North-East, but decided to enter detailed negotiations only with Go-Ahead. In March 1995, Go-Ahead acquired OK Motor Services Ltd and the related OK Motor Services (Travel) Limited and OK Travel (Inclusive Tours) Limited companies for £5.4 million.[3]
Many of OK's staff, including its general manager, Charles Marshall, became employees of Go-Ahead following the acquisition. OK initially became one of Go-Ahead's locally managed subsidiaries with Marshall remaining in charge. Following the acquisition, Go-Ahead took steps to streamline the management of its north-east bus businesses and, as part of that reorganization, several of its earlier acquisitions were transferred to OK.[1] However, the local identities were soon abandoned, and the OK name disappeared.
The garage at Bishop Auckland was demolished, with a few services transferred to Go Ahead's depot at Chester-le-Street, with the more local services transferring at Arriva at Bishop Auckland.
Former depots
- Bondgate, Bishop Auckland, County Durham - 'Bishop Auckland' (Go North East Closed by Go North East and flagship services transferred to Chester-le-Street)
- Peterlee County Durham
- Heaton, Newcastle - OK Motor Services (Tyneside) Ltd in 1976
- Shotton Colliery County Durham Formally owned by F Lockey and Sons. This depot closed in 1989 when the new depot was opened at Hunter Road, Peterlee
- Team Valley Trading Estate - Gateshead, County Durham
In 1991 the former service depot Of Leyland Truck and Bus In the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, was obtained.
See also
References
- ^ a b Brown, Stewart J (November 1995). Buses in Britain 2: The Mid-Nineties. Capital Transport. ISBN 1854141813.
- ^ Communigate | North East | OK MOTOR SERVICES
- ^ Competition Commission Report - The Go-Ahead Group Plc and OK Motor Services Limited
- Holding, David (2007). A History of OK Motor Services. Bus Enthusiast Publishing. ISBN 9780946265398.
External links
Categories:- Former bus operators in England
- Transport in Tyne and Wear
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