 In 1988, the Merry Hill Minibus company was formed by the former owners of the Merry Hill Centre, Richardson Developments.Originally launched to compete with West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive's Mini Buzz service, at that time the Merry Hill Minibuses were the major form of public transport linking the surrounding areas with the shopping centre, of which approximately half had been opened by the time the service was launched (the first retailers had moved to the centre in 1985 and it was completed in 1989).In the early days, the fleet consisted of Carlyle Works bodied Freight Rover Sherpa vehicles.