Transportation 86

Following the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, it did not take long for many distinctive local liveries to disappear. Only a small number of operators remained under the c……続きを見る

Bus garages, or depots if that is your preferred nomenclature, come in all shapes and sizes and have their origins in the tram depots that were established by the various tramway companies of the pr……続きを見る

From 1914 until 1969, when it was absorbed into WMPTE, Birmingham City Transport had various periods when they hired buses for evaluation. These demonstrators were tried out for a variety of reasons……続きを見る

In the days before privatisation, many bus companies adapted old buses for a variety of specialist uses as service vehicles. Using the skills and ingenuity of their workshops, buses might become, am……続きを見る

The larger bus operators, whether municipal or company owned, have traditionally trained their own new drivers. Normally older vehicles from the fleet were retained and adapted for training, adorned……続きを見る

What happens to old buses at the end of their career, when they are replaced by newer vehicles? Some inevitably go to scrap, especially if they have been cannibalised for spares. Some see further se……続きを見る

Following the 1920s, bus transport experienced several decades of strong growth with an explosion of new operators and bus types. Charabanc trips were popular and many people chose the bus as their ……続きを見る

Between the two world wars there was a golden era of industrial design when the benefits of streamlining were realised, allowing for reduced wind resistance, faster transportation and a more efficie……続きを見る

The transport scene in Northampton was dominated for many decades by Corporation-owned Northampton Transport. In August 1993 privatisation took place and the largely standardised fleet of red and cr……続きを見る

Two large bus companies once ruled this rural part of the United Kingdom. Midland Red had the territory around Shrewsbury and Eastern Shropshire, while Crosville operated from Oswestry to Aberystwyt……続きを見る

For centuries tourists and other travellers have been travelling north to the Highlands of Scotland. This book follows the main thoroughfares north, using vintage and contemporary images to illustra……続きを見る

The AEC Regal IVs and Regent IIIs, or to give them their class prefix letters RFs and RTs, are among the most revered buses to have served London over the years. The RFs were maids of all work and w……続きを見る

In 1959 there were twenty-seven Corporation Transport systems in the Red Rose County. These were significantly reduced in 1969 with the creation of the Passenger Transport Executives in Manchester a……続きを見る

It seems impossible to think that a company who imported their first passenger vehicle into Britain in 1972 would, less than twenty years later, take over what was once Britain’s largest passenger a……続きを見る

‘You see them everywhere’ was the slogan adopted by Bedford when advertising its commercial vehicles in the 1930s and it held true for many decades. The company set out to produce reliable vehicles ……続きを見る

Bus builder Optare was formed by some of its employees in 1984 after the closure of old-established coachbuilder Chas H. Roe at Crossgates, Leeds. After establishing itself as a ‘new company’ and in……続きを見る

Britain’s biggest county, Yorkshire, was particularly affected by the period of deregulation. Many independents have fallen by the wayside over the years but others have come to take their places. T……続きを見る

Roaring through the millennium into the twenty-first century we find the Transport Act 2000 that allows for increased cooperation between local authorities and operators, something that had not been……続きを見る

In 1961 the maximum length of single-deckers was increased to 36 feet. Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works designed their first rear-engined single-decker to take advantage of this n……続きを見る

Dublin Bus was formed back in February 1987 when services were split out of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and has, in time, become a modern and forward-thinking bus operator. During July 2018, plans w……続きを見る

Although to many enthusiasts, municipal vehicles never extended beyond the trams, trolleybuses and buses that were required to provide the basic public service, behind them were a range of vehicles ……続きを見る

Between 1982 and 2015, Showbus, Britain’s largest bus rally, was, with the exception of 2013, held at two sites. The first was the stately home of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, but in 1993 the rally……続きを見る

Steam power led the transport revolution in England throughout the nineteenth century, but was crippled on the road network by punitive legislation. As the century turned, the laws were altered in s……続きを見る

Southdown Motor Services was a well-known and respected bus and coach operator formed in 1915 and based in the south of England. Its vehicles were predominately Leyland in the early days, with Brist……続きを見る

Around the early 2000s, there was a concern among transport enthusiasts that variety in terms of vehicle type and livery in the passenger transport industry in and around the South Wales Valleys wou……続きを見る

Throughout their existence from 1904 until 1981, the Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company were an idiosyncratic operator whose area of operations ranged from the Welsh Marches and Shropshire i……続きを見る

The North of England has long been an area of immense interest to bus enthusiasts. In Urban Buses in Northern England , Peter Tucker presents a fine selection of photographs representing the area’s ……続きを見る

On 1 April 1974, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive was created by merging the municipal bus fleets of Bradford City Transport, Halifax Corporation with Calderdale Joint Omnibus Commit……続きを見る

Blazefield commenced operations in 1991, having bought the final shares in the former AJS Holdings group. From the beginning it was clear that Blazefield had a strong approach to passengers and the ……続きを見る

The history of Ballymena-based Wrightbus dates back to 1946, when the company began producing lorries, vans and mobile libraries largely for Ulster customers. After becoming firmly established, the ……続きを見る