Maidstone & District Motor Services

Maidstone & District Motor Services

Leyland Olympian in October 1988
Parent	Arriva
Founded	1911
Ceased operation	1998
Headquarters	Maidstone
Service area	East Sussex Kent
Service type	Bus operator

Maidstone & District Motor Services was a bus company based in Maidstone, Kent. The company operated bus and coach services in Mid and West Kent and East Sussex from 1911 until 1998. The company's surviving operations were absorbed into Arriva Southern Counties.

In 1908 a hired Darracq-Serpollet steam bus made a trial run from London to Maidstone. A public service commenced a week later between Maidstone and Chatham. In July, a further service was introduced between north Maidstone and the Athletic Ground via Maidstone West railway station. The venture was not entirely successful, but an increase in fares was not enough to prevent the vehicles being re-possessed. In 1910, the undertaking was purchased by Walter Flexman French, who named the company the Maidstone, Chatham, Gravesend & District Motor Omnibus Service. It was registered as Maidstone & District Motor Services Limited in March 1911.

British Electric Traction acquired part of M&D in 1913. A year later, new routes were introduced from Maidstone to Ashford, Faversham, Hastings, Sevenoaks and Tenterden, and between Chatham and Faversham. By 1917. fourteen services were in operation using letters for identification. A later expansion of services resulted in letters being replaced by numbers.

Tilling Group acquired an interest in the company in 1921, while Maidstone & District became a public company in 1922. M&D opened the first bus station in England, sited in Palace Avenue, Maidstone in 1922. In 1929, M&D acquired the Chatham & District Traction Company, but retained the Chatham & District fleetname as a separate operation until 1955.