Orson Godfrey’s ‘Low-ish Floor Running Day’ sets out to break away from the traditional running day format, reports Maxson Goh
Running days are a favourite among enthusiasts, but one individual believes there’s room to improve on the traditional format. Enter Orson Godfrey and his annual ‘Low-ish Floor Running Day,’ dedicated to celebrating low-floor buses.
Unsurprisingly, the focus on a newer generation of buses tends to draw a much younger audience compared to typical running days featuring older vehicles. Adding to its uniqueness, the event lacks a central hub for selling programmes or collecting entry fees. Instead, buses operate between Godstone Green and East Grinstead, with timetables and allocations shared freely on Facebook for anyone to access. Orson shared: “I have been in the bus preservation scene since I was 17, and I always felt annoyed by two things at events I attended – the lack of interest for low-floor and rear-engined buses like Olympians, and the unnecessary complicatedness of most running days. Usually, you have to get a bus one hour to somewhere where you do not want to go, get off and either get back on the exact same bus for another hour, or spend the next hour waiting for another one. By that point you’ve wasted half the day and only ‘red penned’ one bus.
“The Low-ish Floor Running Day was made to combat both those issues. By focusing on mainly low-floor vehicles with a couple of rear engine high-floor examples thrown in for good measure, you attract a really good crowd of people. You get those younger people who only remember things like B7TLs and Tridents, you get slightly older ones who remember Olympians when they were a child but also remember B7TLs and Tridents when they were brand new. Finally, you get people who remember all of them.
“The complications of route recreating are dealt with too, as our routes are completely fictitious and are short, connected and varied. We have two routes that start and finish in the same place and meet in the middle. Therefore, you can ride a bus for 10 to 20 minutes, get off and either wait until something comes along that takes your fancy or get on a different one minutes later. Most of the time we aim for a five to eight minute frequency on our route 22 which mainly follows the main road and a steady 20 minute frequency on the route 25 which is designed for single deckers due to a low bridge and small villages. It also goes without saying, without the support of all the owners, operators and charities who attend we wouldn’t be on the map at all.”
London-based bus enthusiast Hollis Chan is a huge fan of the event. He added: “I have attended the Low-ish Floor Running Day event twice, and what makes it unique compared to other bus events is the focus on ‘modern’ vehicles from my childhood. Unlike most events that primarily feature classic Routemasters, this one showcases buses that us younger enthusiasts can relate to, making it a more nostalgic and engaging experience for those who grew up with these vehicles.” The next instalment of the Low-ish Floor Running Day takes place on 13 July, with buses in regular service between 1000 and 1700hrs. Feeder services are also provided from Crawley, Purley, Oxted, Redhill and Westerham. More details can be found on the event’s Facebook page or by emailing [email protected].
