Southern National
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Preserved Bristol VRT in Bristol in May 2011
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| Founded | 1929 |
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| Ceased operation | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Exeter |
| Service area | South West England |
| Service type | Bus operator |
Southern National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 until 1969, and again from 1983 until 1999.
Southern National Omnibus Company started in 1929 as a joint venture between the Southern Railway and the National Omnibus & Transport Company. The National company had originated in 1909 as the National Steam Car Company, started to run steam bus services in London. The London services ceased in 1919, when the company was renamed National Omnibus & Transport Company. The company expanded outside London, into Essex (1913), Bedfordshire (1919), Gloucestershire (1919), Somerset (1920), Dorset (1921), and Devon & Cornwall (1927).
Southern National was formed to improve co-ordination of road and rail passenger services in the operating area of the Southern Railway. The railway had very little involvement in bus services, but the National Omnibus transferred its operations in the operating area to the new company. The result was an operating territory split into two areas: Dorset (based at Weymouth) and north Devon and north Cornwall (based at Barnstaple). The two areas were separated by the operating territories of Devon General and Western National.
In 1931 a controlling interest in the National Omnibus was acquired by the Tilling Group. From then on Southern National was run as a Tilling company, although the railway retained its shares until 1948. Western National and Southern National shared a common management, based in Exeter. At the end of 1934, Western National and Southern National bought Royal Blue Coach Services.
On 1 January 1948, the Southern Railway was nationalised, and shortly after, the Tilling Group sold its bus interests to the government. Southern National therefore became a state-owned company, under the control of the British Transport Commission. On 1 January 1963, Southern National was included in the transfer of the British Transport Commission's transport assets to the state-owned Transport Holding Company, which in turn passed to the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC) on 1 January 1969.
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