Bus operator Stagecoach has completed a takeover of rival company Preston Bus.

The takeover, worth up to £6.4 million, could potentially see UCLan students who commute to Preston facing changes to the bus service.

Shareholders of Preston Bus were given until January 22 to decide whether to accept the bid from Stagecoach where they voted unanimously in favour of the offer which makes Stagecoach the sole bus operator in Preston.

This has sparked fears amongst residents about potential negative changes to the services in the city.

However Stagecoach’s Commercial Manager James Mellor said changes will be minimal.

“At the moment things are continuing as normal,” he said. “However from Sunday February 1 we are introducing a new fare structure. Currently our fares are cheaper than Preston Bus. The new fares will bring down existing Preston Bus fares and be a slight increase to our own so they meet in the middle.”

Mr Mellor also said the ticket variations that Preston Bus has offered in the past such as the weekly, monthly and three month Rambler tickets will continue to be available.

This is backed up on the Preston Bus website which has stated that all variations of their Rambler tickets will continue to be available.

Stagecoach has said they will also introduce more ticket options such as an annual pass available from their website.

Stagecoach has announced that they will keep all of Preston Bus’s drivers for at least two years, meaning radical service cuts are unlikely.

“Presently Stagecoach run for longer than Preston Bus do,” explained Mr Mellor. “During the week Preston Bus’s last bus is at 11pm and we run until midnight. We will be aiming to run late night and early morning services as well as a 24 hour services at weekends.

“From March 22 there will be a slight rationalisation of services,” Mr Mellor continued. “Where Preston Bus and Stagecoach both operate over the same routes there will be just one bus instead of two which will mean there will be no more shadowing of services. However the frequency will still be the same meaning waiting times of no longer than five to ten minutes and every estate in Preston will have a bus service.”

The takeover of Preston Bus comes after two years of local ‘bus wars’ which have seen Stagecoach and its local rival compete fiercely for passengers on many routes across the city.

In 2007 Stagecoach applied to run cheaper and more frequent services from the city centre to Farringdon Park via New Hall Lane, one of Preston Bus’s more lucrative routes. This prompted local councillors to call for a boycott of Stagecoach services, something which angered the national operator.

The two companies also resorted to filming each other to try and outmanoeuvre the other as they gathered evidence for any future enquiry about the ‘bus wars’.

The rivalry between the Stagecoach and Preston Bus became so intense that both companies had to accept a code of practice enforced by the North West Traffic Commissioner, after a public enquiry.