PCT standardised on the double-deck Leyland Atlantean for new purchases, retaining much older vehicles for open-top services. In 1971 the company took the unusual step of purchasing twelve Atlanteans with single-deck bodywork. Passenger numbers declined in the following decades, and services were reduced. PCT began private hire operation in 1980, and purchased its first coach in 1986. In October 1986, to coincide with bus deregulation and the privatisation of National Bus Company (NBC), Portsmouth Corporation Transport was reformed as Portsmouth City Transport, a limited company wholly owned by the city council. Deregulation and changes of operator (1986–1991) In 1987, a new operator began competing with Portsmouth City Transport. Trading as Red Admiral, it was jointly owned by newly privatised Southampton Citybus and the rapidly expanding Badgerline group. Badgerline sold its share in the venture to Southampton Citybus after less than a year. In June 1988, Portsmouth City Transport was privatised. It was sold to a joint venture consisting of its employees and Southampton Citybus. The company was rebranded as Portsmouth Citybus and Red Admiral became a subsidiary of the company, operating largely with minibuses. While the main operation continued to use a variant of the red and ivory livery introduced in 1986, Red Admiral vehicles were painted into a red and black colour scheme. However, Citybus still faced strong competition from Southdown and People's Provincial, two former NBC subsidiaries which were now independent, and its finances were never entirely secure during its year of operation in this form. In October 1989, the Stagecoach Group bought Portsmouth Citybus. The group already owned Southdown, which it had bought earlier in the same year, and merged the Portsmouth-area operations of that company with its new acquisition to form Southdown Portsmouth, operating from the former council depot in Eastney. Southdown's depot in Hilsea was closed and its operations transferred to Eastney. As part of the purchase, Stagecoach agreed that two routes operated by its Hampshire Bus subsidiary in Southampton would be given up to Southampton Citybus. Vehicles began to be repainted into Stagecoach's corporate livery of white with red, blue and orange stripes. An inquiry by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) into Stagecoach's acquisition of Portsmouth Citybus concluded in July 1990 that the takeover was against the public interest but had not caused any adverse effects, and that Stagecoach should not be made to sell the operation. Both Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire