Formed in 1969, four years later in 1972 the state-owned National Bus Company introduced a corporate livery and identity for all its subsidiary companies and continued as such until the early 1980s, except within the Tyne & Wear and West Yorkshire PTEs where other liveries were used. As a consequence of its Market Analysis Project, several local fleet names made an appearance. After it was announced that the NBC subsidiaries would be sold to the private sector in 1986–88, a number of them began to adopt new liveries in preparation for new ownership.

This book explores these transitions through a range of photographs with detailed captions, showcasing the numerous changes that took place in the early to mid-1980s.