in the west. A year later, the substantial Winchester operator R Chisnell & Sons (t/a King Alfred) passed to Hants & Dorset, along with an eclectic mix of vehicles, most of which were withdrawn from service as non-standard. Chisnell had operated Winchester city services and a country service to Basingstoke. Hants & Dorset took over the services operated by Western National in Swanage in 1974. Hants & Dorset had a reputation among NBC subsidiaries as somewhat loss-making. While routes in the Poole-Bournemouth, Southampton, Basingstoke and Salisbury areas made reasonable returns, those elsewhere were weaker. The impact of the private car throughout the 1960s and 1970s together with successive withdrawals and fares revisions further weakened what had now become marginal rural services. During the 1980s, Hants & Dorset's financial position was so precarious that it had to be propped up by an inter-company loan from fellow NBC subsidiary Amalgamated Passenger Transport Ltd in order to remain solvent. Provincial NBC acquired the Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Co (trading as Provincial) in 1970. It passed under the head office control of Hants & Dorset but Provincial remained a separate entity, in part under its own control, owing to the terms of a 1929 Act under which it was established. Provincial retained a green livery. Market analysis In the late 1970s and early 1980s, in order to match supply and demand without undue cross subsidy, Hants & Dorset like other NBC subsidiaries embarked on a number of market analysis projects. These helped identify viable networks where the local authorities concerned, which by now not only had the power to subsidise bus services but were actually facing resultant financial constraints, could subsidise additional mileage. MAP, as it was known, emerged from the Midland Red company in 1977 and was applied throughout Hants & Dorset's territory, culminating in redrafted timetables and an attempt at fostering local support through the use of sub-brands identifiable to specific, local markets. These were: South Wessex (Poole, Bournemouth and Lymington) Wiltsway (Salisbury and surrounding areas) Winton Line (Winchester) Venture (Basingstoke) South Hants (Southampton) New Provincial or Provincial Joint Services (Hants & Dorset Fareham and Gosport & Fareham operations) Depots At its height, Hants & Dorset operated from garages at Andover, Basingstoke, Blandford Forum, Bournemouth, Eastleigh, Fareham, Lymington, Pewsey, Poole, Ringwood, Salisbury, Southampton, Swanage and Winchester. End of the road In the early- to mid-1980s, the National Bus Company, with an eye