Kent's Transport Heritage

Kent's Transport Heritage
Author: James Preston
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2017-09-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445669927

James Preston explores the transport heritage of Kent.

Dundee's Trams and Buses

Dundee's Trams and Buses
Author: Walter Burt
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2014-06-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445634724

This fascinating selection of photographs gives an insight into Dundee's Trams and Buses.

Buses: Another Life

Buses: Another Life
Author: Malcolm Batten
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2021-07-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1398107379

With previously unseen photographs, this book documents buses and coaches after the end of their usual service life.

B.E.T Group Bus Fleets

B.E.T Group Bus Fleets
Author: Jim Blake
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2016-10-19
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1473857260

This book looks at the wonderful variety of buses and coaches operated by British Electric Traction group fleets in the 1960s, featuring previously unpublished photographs from Jim Blake's extensive archives. Not only did these fleets, which served most of England and Wales, have a splendid variety of British-built buses and coaches with chassis manufactured by the likes of AEC, Crossley, Daimler, Dennis, Guy and Leyland – with bodywork by such firms as Park Royal, Weymann, Metro-Cammell, East Lancs, Northern Counties, Roe, Duple, Plaxton, Willowbrook and Leyland again – but they also had an array of distinctive liveries. Many dated back to the early part of the century when the operators first started bus operation. The smart maroon and cream of East Kent, the dark green and cream of Maidstone & District or the light green and cream of Southdown, for example, were supplemented by ornate fleet-names, often in gold lettering. These three fleets were just a few of those that served seaside towns, and will remind readers of holidays they spent in the 1950s and '60s. Sadly, the years covered by this book are the final years of the BET group, which was taken over by the nationalised Transport Holding Company in late 1967, as a prelude to the creation of the National Bus Company, under which the distinctive liveries of the BET group fleets, and even some of the operators themselves, would disappear. The 1960s also saw the demise of many traditional types of bus that these fleets operated, owing to the introduction of rear-engined double-deckers, such as the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline, as well as the spread of one-man operation. Many of the photographs featured in this book show the older types in their final days – pure nostalgia for the transport enthusiast!

Buses in the Border Towns of London Country 1969-2019 (South of the Thames)

Buses in the Border Towns of London Country 1969-2019 (South of the Thames)
Author: Malcolm Batten
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2024-03-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1399096222

London Transport was created in 1933 with monopoly powers. Not only did it have exclusive rights to run bus (and tram and trolleybus) services in the Greater London area, it also ran services in a Country Area all around London. Green Line express services linked the country towns to London and in most cases across to other country towns the other side of the metropolis. This country area extended north as far as Hitchin, east to Brentwood, south to Crawley and west to Windsor. But what of the towns at the edge of the country area? Here the green London Transport buses would meet the bus companies whose operations extended across the rest of the counties of Berkshire, Surrey, Kent etc. In some cases the town was at a node where more than one company worked in. Elsewhere, such as at Guildford there were local independent operators who had a share in the town services. It would all change from 1970 when the London Transport Country Area was transferred to the National Bus Company to form a new company named London Country Bus Services. This would later be split into four separate companies. Deregulation in 1985 and privatisation in the 1990s led to further changes in the names and ownership of bus companies. Consolidation since then has seen the emergence of national bus groups – Stagecoach, First Group, Arriva and Go-Ahead replacing the old names and liveries. But retrenchment by these companies has given an opportunity for new independent companies to fill the gaps. This book takes the form of an anti-clockwise tour around the perimeter of the London Country area, south of the Thames featuring a number of key towns starting at Slough and Windsor and ending at Gravesend, illustrating some of the many changes to bus companies that have occurred.

South East England Buses in the 1990s

South East England Buses in the 1990s
Author: David Moth
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2018-09-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1445679582

A fascinating look at the bus scene of the 1990s in Kent, East and West Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Border Towns Buses of London Country Transport (North of the Thames) 1969-2019

Border Towns Buses of London Country Transport (North of the Thames) 1969-2019
Author: Malcolm Batten
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2024-04-30
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1399096125

London Transport was created in 1933 with monopoly powers. Not only did it have exclusive rights to run bus (and tram and trolleybus) services in the Greater London area, it also ran services in a Country Area all around London. Green Line express services linked the country towns to London and in most cases across to other country towns the other side of the metropolis. This country area extended north as far as Hitchin, east to Brentwood, south to Crawley and west to Windsor. But what of the towns at the edge of the country area? Here the green London Transport buses would meet the bus companies whose operations extended across the rest of the counties of Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire etc. In some cases the town was at a node where more than one company worked in. At Luton there was a municipal fleet. Elsewhere, such as at Aylesbury there were local independent operators who had a share in the town services. It would all change from 1970 when the London Transport Country Area was transferred to the National Bus Company to form a new company named London Country Bus Services. This would later be split into four separate companies. Deregulation in 1985 and privatization in the 1990s led to further changes in the names and ownership of bus companies. Consolidation since then has seen the emergence of national bus groups – Stagecoach, First Group, Arriva and Go-Ahead replacing the old names and liveries. But retrenchment by these companies has given an opportunity for new independent companies to fill the gaps. This book takes the form of an anti-clockwise tour around the perimeter of the London Country area, north of the Thames featuring a number of key towns starting at Tilbury and ending at High Wycombe, illustrating some of the many changes to bus companies that have occurred.

Bus Services Across the UK

Bus Services Across the UK
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2006-10-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0215030923

Buses are a key local service, but usage has been in decline since the 1950s. The Transport Act 1985 introduced deregulation, but that has failed to reverse that decline. The report examines the particular problems local authorities face in developing and implementing effective bus strategies. It is clear to the Committee that, for many areas, including all major metropolitan areas outside London, the current regime is not working. The Committee recommends more flexibility, and is particularly attracted by Quality Contracts. These would replace open competition with a licensed regime. Operators bid for exclusive rights to run bus services on a route or group of routes, on the basis of a local authority service specification. Independent Traffic Commissioners are another development that the Committee welcomes, and would like to see them have a higher profile and more resources and powers, especially to enforce Quality Contracts and penalise operators who do not meet their obligations. Others areas covered in the report are: securing socially necessary services outside the PTAs; congestion and bus priority; concessionary fares; and the image of the bus.

Yesterday's Buses

Yesterday's Buses
Author: Cliff Marsh
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2020-04-26
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1526701189

AEC, Bristol, Crossley, Daimler, Dennis, Leyland and others were all manufacturers of passenger vehicle chassis which could be seen throughout the country in the years following the end of World War Two. They produced a wide range of double deck and single deck buses and coaches, bodied by a considerable number of body builders. With the exception of Dennis, all those chassis makers have now disappeared, along with nearly all the body builders. In addition, most operators of this variety of vehicles are no longer in existence, being primarily absorbed into larger operations. This book can only give a small indication of the major role Steve and his Quantock Heritage fleet have played in preserving not only part of the engineering history of this country, but its effect also on social history. In practical terms he has displayed this by enabling the general public to see, enjoy, and also use vehicles of a bygone era.