Bristol Omnibus Company

Bristol Omnibus Company

Preserved Bristol KSW6B in May 2011
Founded	1887
Ceased operation	1987
Headquarters	Lawrence Hill
Service area	Bristol Gloucestershire Somerset Wiltshire
Service type	Bus operator

The Bristol Omnibus Company was the dominant bus operator in Bristol, and was one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. It ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties.

The Bristol Omnibus Company traces its origins to 1875, when George White formed the Bristol Tramways Company and began a horse drawn service in Bristol from Upper Mauldlin Street to Blackboy Hill. In 1887 the Bristol Tramways Company merged with the Bristol Cab Company to form the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company.

In 1887, the company began a horse-bus service to Clifton, and later started several more horse-bus services to complement the tramways. In 1892, the Imperial Tramways Company moved its headquarters from London to Bristol. George White and the senior management team of Bristol Tramways also ran Imperial Tramways, though they remained separate companies.

In 1895, the company began to operate electric trams, and in 1906 introduced motor buses on the route between the Centre and Clifton. Rapid expansion of its bus services followed, in both Bristol and the surrounding country areas. The company opened branches in Bath in 1909,Weston-super-Mare in 1910,Cheltenham in 1912 and Gloucester in 1913. In 1912 the company also bought the Clifton Rocks Railway, which closed in 1934. After World War I more branches were opened in Swindon (1921),Wells (1922) and Coleford (1924).