IDENTITY PARADE

Alder Valley was the made-up name for one of the National Bus Company’s less successful merged regional companies. Its identity survived in parts of Hampshire and Surrey until 1992 and the MHD Partnership imagines how it could look today if it was revived to embrace current environmental values ALDER & WISER

lder Valley was a made-up name, separately during 1987, but they were back in of electric vehicles created in January 1972 when the common ownership in December 1988, with run by electricity National Bus Company combined new owner Q Drive. generated from A Thames Valley Traction — in state Alder Valley South traded as Alder Valley renewable sources. ownership since 1948 — with the Aldershot and gave itself a two-tone green and yellow The bus interiors & District Traction Company, owned by BET livery. Q Drive sold the Guildford and Woking would be made until 1967. operations to Drawlane in November 1990, from recycled The full name was the Thames Valley & which merged them with its former London or reclaimed Aldershot Omnibus Company, but it always Country business. Q Drive sold the rest of materials, a traded as Alder Valley even though, as far as Alder Valley in October 1992 to Stagecoach, ‘planet and we can tell, there is no geographical feature which applied corporate stripes and ran it as passenger promise’ by that name. Aldershot was probably named part of Stagecoach South. introduced as well after alder trees in that part of Hampshire. So how might it look today if it had as being a carbon To outsiders’ eyes, Aldershot & District was a remained intact and independent? That neutral company. good operation running handsome vehicles in was this month’s challenge for The MHD ‘If the company’s a distinctive two-tone green and cream livery. Partnership, and account director Mike positioning The Tilling red and cream buses of Thames Fletcher explains how it responded. was going to be Valley seemed to inhabit a less happy ship, ‘These rebranding exercises often take its green credentials, the branding had to which passed its troubles on to Alder Valley. inspiration from the area served by the former follow suit. The A and V were worked into Before corporate poppy red took its place, operator, but in the case of Alder Valley it was a double leaf shape, with a soft graduating NBC bestowed a miserable dark red and the earthy natural tone of the name itself that green working well with the flat colour of the cream livery on its new creation, which got the creative juices going,’ he says. logotype. The typeface was chosen as it has a lasted until NBC split it in two again in ‘Buses, in general, get a bad rap for being natural organic feel. January 1986, as Alder Valley North and diesel-guzzling polluters, so our plan was to ‘For the livery, we wanted an organic valley Alder Valley South. After a year, Alder Valley introduce a breath of fresh air (pun intended) scene with a hint of urban landscape. So North renamed itself The Berks Bucks Bus and challenge the rest of the industry to catch to achieve this the imagery was illustrated Company, or The Beeline. NBC sold them up. Alder Valley would have its entire fleet by hand and transferred to the computer to create a slightly distressed look with texture. Both the logo and some of the design features were overlaid on a recycled paper texture to give a printed effect. This is particularly prominent on the timetable cover, which would be printed on a 100% recycled, uncoated stock. Naturally. ‘For the route branding, we chose to name the services after trees. Each one could then be identified by the tree’s leaf and colour,’ he adds. ‘So Alder Valley develops a 21st century green ethos and offers those who abandon their cars even more satisfaction in knowing they are helping the environment.’ ■

■ To see all of the other rebranding projects by The MHD Partnership, visit www. Preserved Alder Valley Leyland National 251 (NPJ 472R) at a running day in Reading in summer 2015. MARK LYONS mhdpartnership.co.uk.

56 www.busesmag.com February 2017