40 years of Bus Business – June 1986

Thursday 4th June 2026 Not only does 2026 mark the 40th anniversary of bus deregulation (introduced on 26th October 1986) but this very day 40 years ago, 4th June 1986, saw the birth of Bus Business – a “fortnightly management newspaper for the bus industry, its observers and suppliers”. The all new Issue 1 was widely distributed on a complimentary basis to encourage new readers to take out an annual subscription for £28 and there’s no doubt huge numbers responded positively to this much welcome initiative. Produced by the long standing veteran of transport publications, managing editor Peter Stonham, the newspaper was a complete break from the previous tradition of weekly or monthly colour magazine feature style reporting. Here was a black and white newspaper style publication containing all the fast paced news impacting the industry during that frenzied period in the late 1980s, and particularly 1986, with not only the uncertainties of deregulation and which company was competing…