A 1960s event at Manchester’s Museum of Transport prompts STEPHEN MORRIS to consider just how much change occurred affecting bus travel and bus design in that decade half a century ago
It is easy from a 21st century perspective to think of the 1980s as the decade that changed the bus world. But in some respects the change that took place between 1960 and 1969 was even more monumental as the industry got to grips with declining use and increasing traffic congestion.
The 1960s began much as previous decades with buses being the norm for most people’s travel needs, and buses in solid, traditional liveries running frequent services with a driver and conductor. If it was a doubledecker, the motive power was usually where it had been since horsebus days, at the front, and the open entrance was at the back.
By 1969, car use had become dominant and people were abandoning buses in droves. Conductors were disappearing in favour of more efficient, if much slower, one-person operation, facilitated by putting the engine at the back and the door at the front. State ownership had been extended, bus services needed subsidy to keep going and in the biggest conurbations local municipalities’ fleets had been swept away …
