London Banter - View Single Post - Matthew Wharmby

Peter Frimberly · April 8th 06, 03:39 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On 8 Apr 2006 08:15:10 -0700, wrote:

I guess Matt, like myself, did what he always threatened to do and
terminated his interest in London Buses after December 9 and the final
run of the last mainstream RM in service... He (and I) are not
interested in boring OPO d/d's or bendibuses crammed full of
freeloaders and low-life. In fact my camera has come out once in 2006
for bus matters, but only on 9th January when I was tipped off that
WA's heritage RM's would operate garage journies in service on the 25
during the RMT strike! Thus ends some 30+ years' active interest in LT
buses!!!

But what if in 15 year's time double deck buses of all sorts are
outlawed and there's only single deck mostly-bendy buses around? At
that point, people may regard any double deck bus as being of
importance and may be sad that there are few photos of today's buses
when they were new, because our transport photographers of the day
regarded them as "boring". It's just progress.

The UK is still pretty unique in the world as having double deck buses
of any sort, I've seen DDs in regular service in the odd place (Hong
Kong comes to mind) and you get the odd DD coach in tourist service
around New Zealand, but most overseas visitors to the UK love our
buses, whether current OPO DD or old RM.

By the way there were plenty of low life and freeloaders on RMs too
you know! Loads of times the conductor would not be bothered to come
upstairs or would not remember for sure who he'd sold tickets to; I
always had a travelcard, but it was quite possible to keep one's head
in a book and not have to show it, and therefore quite possible to
avoid paying a cash fare, with all but the sharpest toughest and most
thorough conductors.