The British Bus (4) : PTEs and OMOs

As we said in part three of this history of the British bus the industry had been pretty much completely nationalised by the end of the 1960s. The Transport Act of 1968 created five Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) in the provinces. These PTEs, such as WMPTE in the West Midlands, which took over bus operations from their relevant local authorities. WMPTE for example took over bus operations in Birmingham, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton [1]. The PTEs were also responsible for local rail networks and there was an attempt at transport integration with bus-rail tickets and the like.

Bus operations remained in public hands until the 1980s and deregulation. All bus services outside of London and Northern Ireland were taken out of public hands under the Transport Act of 1985. The National Bus Company was split up into smaller units and local authorities and PTEs had to dispose of their bus fleets to private companies (though some remained under the control of local authorities). London followed suit in 1989.

History tends to repeat itself, as with the early days of the horse and motor bus the early says of deregulation saw many new smaller bus companies start up and then gradually concentrate into a smaller number of larger groups like Stagecoach and National Express. To take an example of how the bus industry has changed since the 1960s in Birmingham buses went from Birmingham City Transport to WMPTE operation before being privatised into West Midlands Travel, later Travel West Midlands when it was taken over by National Express and is now National Express West Midlands [2].

Pretty much all buses now are rear engined. The pioneer of this type being the Leyland Atlantean which appeared in 1958 and remained in production until 1986. Other major types of rear engined bus in the pre-regulation era included the Daimler Fleetline, Metro-Cammell Metrobus and Leyland Titan. Thousands were built to form the mainstay of municipal and PTE fleets before being transferred to private ownership.

With the engine at the back this left the front free for a flat front and gave ample space for the driver to also sell tickets. One Man Operation (OMO) as it became known was a major cost saver in the bus industry throughout the 1970s as conductors were no longer required. In London the conductor remained in place longer after the job was virtually extinct elsewhere, not only because the capital remained a last bastion of the half-cab (Routemaster) but rear engined buses often remained crew operated. Some reverting back to crew operation from OMO due to problems with the fare collection machines used [3].

Greater use was also made of single-decker and minibuses in the late pre-regulation and early post-regulation eras. Greater competition for a time did seem like deregulation would be a good thing with a greater variety of services trying to match demand. However the consolidation of the industry and reductions in subsidy has left many areas with inadequate services. Buses have suffered from an image problem for a long time compared to other forms of public transport like light rail which are considered "sexier". Time will tell if this will ever change.

Metrobus of Travel West Midlands, the private successor to the WMPTE bus service

London Northern Leyland Titan

Chase bus Leyland National

West Riding Leyland Lynx

Three Metrobuses in Travel WM, Travel Coventry and WMPTE liveries

[1] Malcolm Keeley, Birmingham Buses Route by Route 1925-1975 (Ian Allan, 2012) p. 11
[2] Andrew Cole, West Midlands PTE and it's Successors (Amberley, 2017) p. 4
[3] Matthew Wharmby & R.C. Riley, London Transport 1970-1984 (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 42

The British Bus (3) : Heyday of the half-cab

As we saw in part 2 of this history of the British bus the changeover from horse to the internal combustion engine was rapid. In the 1930s the bus industry consolidated with many smaller companies swallowed up by a handful of major operators, in London and other cities municipal fleets held sway.

Following the Second World War nationalisation of transport services, which had started in the 1930s with the virtual nationalisation of London transport, was pursued in earnest to try and arrest a gradual decline in public transport in the face of growing car ownership [1]. Large bus companies like Tilling and Scottish Motor Transport were taken over by the British Transport Commission. By the late 1960s nearly all of the bus industry was publicly owned though not without opposition, Midland Red for example tried to fight nationalisation but was overruled by it's parent company [2]. This could not stop the decline in ridership however, in London for example bus passengers fell nearly fifty percent between 1951 and 1967 (mostly switching to the tube not cars).

The post-war period was the heyday of the "halfcab" bus, these had the engine at the front with the driver's cab only extended half-way across the bonnet thus facilitating easier access to the engine. The passenger entrance was usually at the rear with a conductor needed to take fares - though some half-cabs did have doors at the front. The classic halfcab buses included the Leyland Titan, Guy Arab and AEC Regent III, the latter forming the basis of the London RT just one of a series of classic London half-cab buses which were built in the thousands (seven thousand RTs alone [3]). It was in London where the half-cab remained supreme far longer than elsewhere in the country which switched to rear engined buses in the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed the ultimate example of the London half-cab bus, the Routemaster, remained in service in the capital into the early 2000s.

However elsewhere in the country the half-cab bus was being withdrawn in the late 1960s and 1970s, also time for an attempt at greater integration between the various forms of public transport. It was the time of the Passenger Transport Executive.

Former Birmingham City Transport buses, a Guy Arab on the far right

St Helens Corporation Leyland Titan PD2/47

Leyland PDR 1

RML Routemaster

Leyland Tiger FEC and Routemaster RCL

[1] Philip Bagwell & Peter Lyth, Transport in Britain 1750-2000 (Hambledon, 2002) p. 118
[2] Malcolm Keeley, Birmingham Buses Route by Route 1925-1967 (Ian Allan, 2012) p. 11
[3] Kevin McCormack, Twenty-five Years of London Transport 1949-1974 (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 49

The British Bus (2) : Rise of the motorbus

As we saw in part 1 of this history of the British Bus the first buses in the early nineteenth century were horse drawn, being a development of the earlier stagecoach. From 1861 until 1896 government legislation virtually banned the use of self-powered road vehicles but the law was changed in 1896 and within months experimental motor bus services were operating. The first such bus in London ran between Kennington and Oxford Circus in 1899, in 1902 the London Road Car Company began to motorise it's fleet [3]. The changeover in London was dramatic, motorbuses went from just four in 1900 to two thousand, seven hundred and sixty one in 1915 when the final horse buses were withdrawn.

In 1910 London General introduced the B Class which was the first of a long line of standard London motor buses. London General was an early driver of the new transport technology, in 1925 they introduced a double decker with a covered top deck (though the first large scale introduction was in Birmingham, see below) and in 1927 a bus with pneumatic tyres - something the authorities were reluctant to allow for some time due to fears of tyres exploding and harming pedestrians.

As with the horse buses in the mid-nineteenth century, the motorbus market was highly competitive and cut throat in the 1920s. Many bus companies were started up by returning servicemen though as the decade wore on these smaller companies began to be swallowed up by a small number of larger firms such as Tilling and National. In the larger cities municipally owned fleets dominated, such as the fleet in Liverpool which started operation in 1911 [4]. In Birmingham buses were operated by Birmingham Corporation Tramways, which later changed it's name to Birmingham City Transport, from 1913. They introduced the AEC 504 in 1924 the first bus with a covered top deck [5]. This was the beginning of the classic British double decker, a type which still dominates bus fleets to this day.

The 1930 Road Traffic Act bought new regulation to the motor bus market which saw the elimination of many smaller companies. Outside of London and the other cities with their municipal owned networks Tilling and BET dominated the market. In 1933 London bus services were nationalised in all but name with the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board. More nationalisation was to come.

Preserved B Type bus B340 at London Transport Museum

Leyland LB at Tottenham Court Road, public domain image [1]

Milnes-Daimler bus in London, public domain image [2]

Preserved LNWR Charabanc coach at London Transport Museum

[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/stockholmtransportmuseum_commons/6081778421/
[2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/27877941045/
[3] Philip Bagwell & Peter Lyth, Transport in Britain 1750-2000 (Hambledon, 2002) p. 116
[4] Martin Jenkins & Charles Roberts, Merseyside Transport Recalled (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 4
[5] Malcom Keeley, Birmingham Buses Route by Route 1924-1975 (Ian Allan, 2012) p. 7

The British Bus (1) : Heyday of the horsebus

This new series will examine the story of buses in Britain up until deregulation in the 1980s.

Before the bus there was the stagecoach and the first services we could call "buses" were of a similar vein. The difference between a stagecoach and a bus is generally that the latter does not require booking in advance and people can alight throughout the journey, though in the earliest days the technology was the same. The first such service began in Manchester in 1824 thanks to John Greenwood. Omnibus services (as they became known) spread to the other major cities and beyond including the first service in London operated by George Shillibeer in 1829 [2] between Marylebone and the Bank of England.

These buses were horse drawn although there were experiments with steam traction as early as 1830. Government legislation virtually banned the development of motor buses until 1896. This ensured that until the turn of the twentieth century the horse bus reigned supreme. By 1900 there were over three and half thousand horse buses in London alone.

The early days of omnibuses were somewhat wild. Fierce competition led to buses racing each other to compete for passengers. Licences were introduced for drivers and conductors in 1838 in London following complaints by passengers [3]. Initially horse buses were single decker though roof seats began to be introduced in the 1840s as people were climbing onto the roofs of buses anyway so operators thought they should try and get some money out of it!

Experiments with motorised buses began in 1897 with experimental services employing petrol engine buses. Horse buses remained in service for a number of years but their days were numbered. Services ended in London in 1914 as the horses were unfortunately needed for a sadder purpose: the First World War. Outside of the capital horse buses remained in some areas until the early 1930s.

London Omnibus (National Archives [1])

London General Omnibus Company 'garden seat' type horse bus, circa 1881 preserved at LTM Acton

Shillibeer bus preserved at London Transport Museum

[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/5078696798/
[2] Horse buses in London http://content.tfl.gov.uk/research-guide-no-14-horse-buses-in-london.pdf
[3] Philip Bagwell & Peter Lyth, Transport in Britain 1750-2000 (Hambledon, 2002) p. 106