Some buses still feel too new to be museum pieces, says Maxson Goh
I never thought I’d see the day when an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 would be called an ‘old bus.’ Yet here we are, with a few Enviro400s already old enough to enter preservation, even as many newer ones continue to earn their keep in regular service. Having been born in the ‘90s, seeing buses I grew up with like the Volvo B10M and Leyland Olympian preserved in museum collections doesn’t strike me as unusual as they were the ‘old’ buses of my childhood.
But here’s the thing… it’s one thing to look at a preserved bus and think ‘that’s the bus I rode to school on!’ but another experience entirely to see a newly preserved bus and realise ‘wait a minute… that’s the bus I excitedly camped out to photograph after school when it was brand new.’
I know for those with the benefit of life experience and perspective, this is just yet another chapter of a well-worn cycle. But for me, it’s the first time I’m experiencing this, and it feels… profoundly strange. So please, bear with me as I process this new reality and reflect on a few bus models that straddle this divide – still faithfully serving passengers daily on one hand while being cherished by preservationists on the other.
