THE SHOWBUS YORKSHIRE & LINCOLNSHIRE BUS IMAGE GALLERY
South Yorkshire PTE
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 As seen above, South Yorkshire abandoned the insipid coffee and caramel livery for something a little bolder as deregulation loomed - and something very brash in the case of the eager Beavers. Sadly very few liveries of government owned bus fleets are attractive or adventurous, this one being no exception. Notwithstanding small fortunes are spent on design consultancies and a rapid rebrand of all that they control. Bland all over red in London, something worse than battleship grey proposed by Nexus, faded blue in Sydney, etc. Two bright spots stand out, the PTV livery in Melbourne, though sad to see so many other liveries giving way to it and Greater Manchester's one time orange, but if you live in Manchester you need something to brighten your day amidst the rain! This is the rear of South Yorkshire Transport 1552 (SHE552S), a 1978 Alexander dual door bodied Leyland Fleetline. |
 Looking a little more dashing is Fastline branded MCW Metrobus 2 1953 (C953LWJ). |
 In 1989 the Mainline brand was introduced with Sheffield Mainline in red and yellow livery, followed by Doncaster Mainline in a silver and red livery with a cream band and Rotherham Mainline in blue and yellow. after three years Mainline became the standard fleetname and livery across the whole fleet. Alexander bodied Atlantean 1689 (CWG689V) sports the Sheffield Mainline scheme, but still has the short lives South Yorkshire's Transport logo on the top eck windows. As part of the privatisation process in November 1993 there was a management buyout with Stagecoach purchasing a 20% stake in the company, however the company was sold in 1995 to First Group. Stagecoach eventually carved its own niche in South Yorkshire via its Chesterfield Corporation and Yorkshire Traction purchases. |
 De-regulation in Sheffield brought several operators to the party. Park Royal bodied AEC Routemaster RM584 (WLT584) is seen in full London livery working for upstart Rotherham & District. South Yorkshire Transport's counter was fleets of high frequency minibuses branded as Little Nippers or - as in this case - Eager Beavers. Like this bus they were mostly Reeve Burgess bodied Dodge S56. |
 Other deregulation activity did not involve old London Buses or minibuses, but brand new Neoplan N416 singledeckers, like E101VWA, seen here alongside a South Yorkshire's Transport Alexander bodied Atlantean. What was old was the company name. SUT, better known as Sheffield United Tours, which was Sheffield's premier coach operator and a BET subsidiary with a distinctive rich red and grey livery. Sadly the livery was not revived. The old Sheffield United disappeared into National Express and National Holidays under the National Bus Company's control. The new SUT became part of ATL Holdings a company in turn whose operations were later split between Drawlane, which became Arriva, and - ironically - National Express. |
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