DORCHESTER
The county town of Dorset was served over the years by many independent bus operators
Immortalised by Thomas Hardy as Casterbridge, the county town of Dorset has been for many years the centre of a vigorous radial network of bus routes. Falling between the spheres of influence of two of the 'network' companies (Hants & Dorset and Southern National) this was fertile ground for the independent bus operator. Thus many of the routes around Dorchester were formerly operated by an enterprising range of smallish operators, many with their origins dating back to the early carriers. Their number was to decrease following the 1939-45 war as a larger independent company, Bere Regis and District Motor Services, began to meld a comprehensive interurban network of services from earlier village-to-town market and shopping services. The Council Yard in Trinity Street was the focus of many of the services, and it was especially busy on Wednesday and Saturday market days. As the years went by towards the 21st century there was further contraction in the numbers of operating companies, until today most services are in the hands of First Southern National based in Weymouth and Yeovil and / or Wilts & Dorset based in Poole (as successor to the old Hants & Dorset company). The following eight listings serve to illustrate the developments and changes of the independent operators over the years, from 1930 to 2001.
List of independent operators serving Dorchester in 1930
Many of the villages in the list were served by two operators at this time - but vehicles were very small and typically might have less than 20 seats.