in early 1994 independent busways had explored the possibility of entering into the darlington market, as a possible option for expansion. this was shelved as bids from major groups for the busways company were considered. busways were sold to stagecoach group in july 1994. after a meeting with stagecoach executives, the decision was made to enter darlington, either through a bid for dtc, or as a new operator. accordingly, busways as a subsidiary company set up "stagecoach darlington", and registered a small network in darlington in september 1994, due to start in december, as a result of concerns over availability of drivers. exclusive bids for dtc by stagecoach had been previously declined.