The Omnibus Society: North Western Traffic Area road service licence files

Following the deregulation of bus services in October 1986, the North Western Traffic Area Office decided to dispose of their files containing road service licence applications

and grants. The files would have dated back originally to 1931, following implementation of the 1930 Road Traffic Act, but they had been extensively 'weeded' over the years and by 1986 generally dated from the late 1950s and 1960s. Files relating to defunct operators had already been destroyed.

The Traffic Area Office obtained approval from the Lord Chancellor's office for the files to be donated to The Omnibus Society. The Public Record Office, now The National

Archive, approved the presentation of the records to the Society on 19 January 1990 under Section 3(6) of the Public Records Act and this is noted in their record RAL 13 Part 2. The collection, while remaining the property of the Society, was deposited on indefinite loan at the Greater Manchester County Record Office on 10 July 1990.

The files, as the property of The Omnibus Society, have ceased to be public records and Crown copyright ceases to apply. However, although the Society as the recipient body of the records is not a public authority as defined by the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the County Record Office makes them available under comparable terms and conditions.

The County Record Office have agreed that if at any future time the Society wishes to take possession of the files and lodge them in their own archive it would be free to do so.

General enquiries regarding the collection should be addressed to The Omnibus Society at its registered office, 100 Sandwell Street, Walsall WS1 3EB.

Enquiries relating to access should be made to archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk.