Deregulation in 1986 meant that Greater Manchester Transport could no longer remain under direct public ownership.
Therefore it was rebranded as GM Buses and had to compete as a separate, registered company as Greater Manchester Buses Limited. To market GM Buses as a 'brand' and to inform passengers
of the change, Greater Manchester was split into four geographical areas:
East area: Oldham headquarters: City East (Hyde Road), Glossop, Oldham and Tameside
North area: Frederick Road headquarters: City North (Queens Road), Bury and Rochdale
South area: Stockport headquarters: City South (Princess Road), Trafford (Altrincham) and
Stockport
West area: Atherton headquarters: Bolton, Salford (Swinton), Wigan and Atherleigh (Atherton and Leigh).
These areas were marketed independently, vehicles from each
area being branded with the respective area and depot name. The idea was to retain passengers by keeping them informed and GM Buses also tried to point out that it was still the same operator as
GMT.
The GMT livery was kept for reasons of passenger familiarity and the new GM Buses logo with corresponding area colour stripe added between the wheel arches.
Around 1988
a new livery of all over orange with white windscreen surround and headlight surrounds was introduced. A new logo was also introduced, now including a new slogan: 'People on the Move'. Logos were
added to the front and rear upper deck windows and depot identity logos were also introduced containing the words: 'Safe, Reliable, Good Value'.
Around 1991 saw the introduction of a
new livery with a 'whortleberry' stripe being added to the skirting panels and around the windows on both decks. The white windscreen and headlight surrounds returned to orange and a new logo was
introduced, losing the 'People on the Move' slogan.
GMT 8419 in GM Buses livery (2)
