United Automobile Services
Preserved Bristol L5G in May 2009
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| Founded | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Darlington |
| Service area |
North East England North Yorkshire |
| Service type | Bus operator |
United Automobile Services was a bus operator operating in North Yorkshire and North East England. It provided bus services across England's widest geographical area, stretching from Berwick-upon-Tweed on the Scottish border, south to Filey in East Yorkshire.
United was founded in Lowestoft in 1912, with two routes, one in Suffolk and one over 200 miles away between Bishop Auckland and Durham. During the 1920s, the company expanded into Norfolk and south Lincolnshire, and in Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire. In 1929 control passed to the Tilling Group and the London and North Eastern Railway, and in 1931 the new owners split off the East Anglian operations into a separate company, Eastern Counties Omnibus Company.
United also started East Midland Motor Services. This came about through the desire to expand. One of their managers, W.T. Underwood, was sent to Clowne (near Chesterfield) to set up a bus company in his own name. The Underwoods company later became East Midland.
United was nationalised in 1948, and controlled first by the British Transport Commission, from 1 January 1963 by the Transport Holding Company, and from 1 January 1969 by the National Bus Company.
The company ran vehicles from its head office in Darlington and garages across their area, including Durham, Hartlepool, Whitby and Peterlee amongst others. Most of those vehicles were Bristols with Gardner engines and Eastern Coach Works bodies, the LH and VR being common vehicles. Another vehicle commonly used was the Leyland National. United were one of only three operators (and the only English operator) to buy the Bristol REMH 12-metre (39 ft) coach chassis. These 35 vehicles, which had Plaxton Panorama Elite III 49-seat coach bodywork, were delivered between 1971 and 1975.
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