Kirjahaku

Richard Stubbings’ interest in buses was sparked at an early age, watching the Bristol K-types and FLFs of Western National trundling back and forth outside his childhood garden. This book, the first of three making up a nostalgic tour of his native West Country, comprises previously unpublished photographs from his collection showing Bristol and Somerset from the early 1970s to the present day. It charts the changes in vehicles from the author’s childhood to the current scene, even revisiting many of the same locations.

In 1974 Richard Stubbing left Somerset and moved to the Guildford area, where he lived for forty-three years. Here, he was able to take in the wider vehicles choices of former BET companies such as Southdown, plus London-types, municipal operators and independent providers. This book, comprises previously unpublished photographs from his collection, and offers a nostalgic tour of the South East from the mid-1970s to the present day. It charts the changes in vehicles, from those of the author’s childhood to the current scene – even revisiting many of the same locations.

In this series, Richard Stubbings traces the changing, ever-evolving nature of bus scenes around south-west and south-east England. This book, comprising previously unpublished photographs, offers a nostalgic tour of Wiltshire and Dorset, from the early 1970s to the present day. It charts the changes in vehicles, from those of the author’s childhood to the current scene – even revisiting many of the same locations.

In this series, Richard Stubbings traces the changing, ever-evolving nature of bus scenes around south-west and south-east England. This book, comprising previously unpublished photographs, offers a nostalgic tour of Devon and Cornwall, from the early 1970s to the present day. It charts the changes in vehicles, from those of the author’s childhood to the current scene – even revisiting many of the same locations.

In this series, Richard Stubbings traces the changing, ever-evolving nature of bus scenes around South West and South East England. This book, comprising previously unpublished photographs, offers a nostalgic tour of Hampshire and West Sussex, from the early 1970s to the present day. It charts the changes in vehicles, from those of the author’s childhood to the current scene – even revisiting many of the same locations.

A fascinating illustrated overview of the evolution of the bus scene within the areas of Kent and East Sussex.

After the upheavals of the 1980s, with the break-up of the National Bus Company, the 1990s saw further changes. The former NBC companies were now private companies, technically ‘independents’, but because of their lineage are outside the scope of this book. The 1990s saw the emergence of the larger groupings that began to swallow up some of the traditional independent operators: A1 Service in Scotland went to Stagecoach and OK Motor Services in County Durham went to the Go-Ahead Group, while other companies disappeared altogether. The 1990s also saw the rise of the midibus, especially the ubiquitous Dennis Dart. These began to filter slowly through into the independent fleets, especially towards the end of the 1990s when new vehicles gave greater accessibility to wheelchair users and those with impaired mobility. Here, in the second in the series, this selection of previously unpublished photos illustrates the changes in independent buses in the 1990s.

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 allowed previously under competition legislation. Increasingly through the 2000s local authorities and county councils are taking responsibility for funding local bus services. The vehicles in use are changing as more and more operators invest in accessible buses. By the beginning of 2008, towards the end of the period covered by this book, 58 per cent of the UK bus fleet is low-floor. Again, we see the demise of some well-known operators, the takeover of some by the big bus groups, and, on the plus side, the rise in importance of others. Illustrated with previously unpublished images, this volume portrays the vehicles in use with independent companies through the first decade of the twenty-first century.