City of Oxford Motor Services
1879 The City of Oxford and District Tramways Co Limited was formed
1881 Services started.
Because of opposition to overhead electric wires for tramways in Oxford, the National Electric Construction Co took over the system in 1907. As a condition of their tender, the company was to investigate the provision of an electric tram system without the need for unsightly overhead wiring but Oxford never did get electric trams
1913 William Morris as a city taxpayer, was infuriated by the lack of modern trams, started his own bus service competing against the trams. In response, the tramway company began its own motorbus services three weeks later, and so Morris withdrew in early 1914, selling his buses to the tramway company which then converted all its routes to motorbus operation.
Considerable expansion of the city and the bus services took place in the 1920s
1930 the Great Western Railway bought a 49% share of the company
1931 The National Electric Construction Co (owner of the remaining 51%) was taken over by British Electric Traction Co.
BET thus became owner of City of Oxford Motor Services
1969 Taken into the National Bus Co
After 1986, deregulation enabled a new operator, Thames Transit, to challenge the incumbent operator. The Oxford business was split into two units: one covering the city of Oxford and its immediate areas (which adopted the name: Oxford Bus Company) and a new company (South Midland) which took over the remaining services to Abingdon, Bicester, Witney and Wantage.
On privatisation, Oxford Bus Co and South Midland were bought by their respective management teams.
South Midland was soon resold to Thames Transit, which amalgamated this with its own competitive services in Oxford.
1994 Oxford Bus was sold to The Go-Ahead Group
1997 Thames Transit was sold to Stagecoach Holdings.