MK Metro
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Caetano Nimbus bodied Dennis Dart
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| Parent | Arriva |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2 May 1997 |
| Ceased operation | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Milton Keynes |
| Service area |
Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire Northamptonshire |
| Service type | Bus operator |
| Fleet | 120 (February 2006) |
| Operator | Arriva Shires & Essex |
| Chief executive | Nigel Snow |
| Website | www.arrivabus.co.uk/mkstar |
MK Metro was a bus company operating in Milton Keynes from 1997 until 2010.
In 1997, Stagecoach was ordered by the Office of Fair Trading to divest of its operations in Milton Keynes and Huntingdon. This followed an investigation in 1996 into its acquisition of Cambus Holdings which was deemed to have led to an unacceptable monopoly of bus operations in Cambridgeshire, Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford and Mid Bedfordshire.
The assets of Milton Keynes Citybus were purchased on 2 May 1997 by bus entrepreneur Julian Peddle, using a new company Premier Buses Limited both to operate in Huntingdon (under the Premier Buses brand name) and also as a holding company with which to purchase MK Metro. The operation was rebranded as MK Metro with a bright yellow and blue livery introduced.
In February 2006, the business was purchased by Arriva and integrated into its Arriva Shires & Essex subsidiary. The MK Metro brand was retained with a new logo introduced in 2007.
On 25 April 2010, the Arriva brand and livery were introduced. Milton Keynes services began to operate under the sub brand of MK Star, and the change of name coincided with a number of controversial service changes.
The fleet ranged from mainly Dennis Darts (high floor and low floor, with a variety of bodywork), to Mercedes-Benz minibuses and Optare Solos. Double-deck Optare Spectras, and Wright Solar bodied Scania L94UBs were also operated.
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