King Alfred Motor Services was a small independent based in the Winchester area. It was owned by the Chisnell family but due to staff shortages and rising costs they had to hand over their licences to the Traffic Commissioners in 1973. Hants and Dorset part of the National Bus Company took over the vehicles as they operated in the Winchester area. In 2005 the name of King Alfred Motor Services Ltd was registered once again for coach hire, they also have a heritage fleet including an open top Bridgemaster and the compulsory Routemaster. There is a charitable trust Friends of King Alfred Buses which was started in 1985 to restore a couple of King Alfred Motor Services buses. They have a very well known and attended Running Day during the New Year period the 2012 running day by the way is on Sunday 1st January. Friends of King Alfred Buses have a website on which there is a very good page giving a full history of King Alfred Motor Services to view it click this link.

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26/11/11 – 09:16

Didn’t realise that KA had used Ultimates.
Their conductors on the 1 January event are usually kitted out with Setrights (some originally from KA, some elsewhere) – although I think the ticket rolls are recent, as they have FOKAB’s web address on the back!

Jon

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26/11/11 – 15:00

According to BBF 3 South Central 1963 they used both Setright and Ultimate. Not quite sure why, according to FoKA website routes they did not go in for long distance runs which would need the Setright speed, I think the longest run was Winchester to Basingstoke.

Peter