[5] In 1895, the company began to operate electric trams, and in 1906 introduced motor buses on the route between the Centre and Clifton.

After World War II, the new Attlee government took steps to nationalise much of the country's transport industry.

As a result, in 1948 the Tilling Group sold its bus interests to the government, and Bristol Tramways became a state-owned company, under the control of the British Transport Commission.

Two other companies, Red & White and Western National, both also now state-owned, ran buses in the Stroud area of Gloucestershire, and those operations were transferred to Bristol Tramways in 1950.

On 1 January 1955, the bus manufacturing operation was separated into another company, Bristol Commercial Vehicles Limited.

[28][29] In 1963, the company attracted national attention when its operation of a colour bar, denying employment to non-white bus crews resulted in a 60-day boycott, led by youth worker Paul Stephenson.

[30] After a bitter campaign the company finally climbed down and started to employ black and Asian crews in September of that year.

[31][32] The 1960s and 1970s were years of declining bus usage, and the company struggled to make profits in the face of rising costs and falling revenues.

[37] In April 1985, Bristol Country Bus was rebranded as Badgerline and in 1986 its assets were transferred to a separate legal entity[38] and privatised in September 1986 in a management buyout.

[42][43] In April 1988, Midland Red West was itself sold to Badgerline, returning the two parts of the former company to common ownership.

[45][46][47] The Bristol Omnibus name had fallen out of operational use for some time, as FirstBus rolled out its corporate identity to its subsidiaries.

[2] Under that name it is now the First company operating in Bristol, Bath, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and West Wiltshire, but it remains the same legal entity incorporated on 1 October 1887.