Jonathan Taylor reports on some unusual olde-worlde bus services in the South West
This is the time of year to look forwards and consider what the future holds. But I’m enjoying a little look backwards, prompted in part by what’s been going on in the public transport sector over the past few years.
The sector has been struggling to recover from the Government’s devastating, lockdown-based, money-printing handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. This caused subsequent high inflation and consequential difficult pay talks for businesses still operating at well below pre-pandemic levels. The rail unions have employed strike-based negotiating tactics nationwide, frightening many travellers away from using the rail network for years to come. There has been some strike action within the bus industry too, but overall, the industry is recovering well.
The coach industry, sadly, has taken a real battering, with many good operators not managing to survive long enough for the eventual upturn in business which seems to be finally happening.
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Recently, as I was thinking these thoughts, wandering through the centre of Cirencester, looking for Christmas presents and cards, there was a loud high pitched hoot which made other pedestrians stop and look round. Looking up, I could see steam rising above the rooftops from whatever it was, out of sight. “It sounds like, but can’t be, a fabulous steam train”, I thought. ‘Beeching’ cuts closed the station in Cirencester on 6 April 1964, nearly 123 years after it had opened on 31 May 1841.
Like everyone else on the street, I stopped and waited. The hooting was coming my way. Then, round the corner came Cirencester’s new town centre traction engine ‘bus service’ at 2mph. For such a slow service, it was attracting a lot of passengers, all packed into a carriage being towed behind the engine.
I’m not sure if the driver needed a PCV licence, and the vehicle had no mirrors, no cameras, no seatbelts, no windscreen, no WiFi service, no timetable and apparently no fares. It was proving a huge hit.
It took me back to summer days when an even earlier ‘bus’ service was operating. A group of enthusiasts called ‘Stage Coaches through the Cotswolds’ run an occasional fund-raising service from Burford to Badminton using fully restored 18th/19th century coaches. They use several coach and horse teams for the 65-mile journey and make their way from stop (aka ‘idyllic pub’) to stop. Each stop lasts for a pint or two (of zero-alcohol drinks of course) and while the horses take on water, the drivers and passengers relieve the admiring crowds of their loose change.
All proceeds go to Prostate Cancer UK and Breast Cancer UK. Again, this old style bus service was extremely popular. Bus stops have never seemed so attractive. Nobody minded the open air seats and the ride quality was truly historic. The words ‘health and safety’ were not heard and everyone survived.
Looking forwards again, this election year is going to be one of change. I think that prediction is a safe bet. Welcome to 2024.
