Leeds City Transport Bus Routes

[nightrider]

Does anybody remember the following bus routes :404 Seacroft Monkswood Gate to Seacroft Town Centre88 Cross Gates to Colton133 Kirkstall to Old Farnley180 University to Oakwood402 Shoppers Service (via King Street)Be interested if anyone did and any memories of driving or riding on these routes !

[String o' beads]

Flippin' eck. We'll have to have a spin off Tyneside forum soon.

[raveydavey]

I remember the 88 - Black Prince (?) extended it all the way to Bradford at one point (possibly the longest bus journey in the area given the twisting, turning route it took?), although Worst soon cut that down when they bought them out. I also remember a period under Yorkshire Rider when the 15/16 service between Seacroft and Leeds was added to with the 13, 14, 17 and 18, all of which took different routes once they were west of the city centre. The 14 went to Bradford if memory serves correctly.The 17 had gone to Limweood Approach and was replaced for a few months by the 18, until a decision was taken to withdraw that service and change the 18 to what is basically the current service to Garforth.Unfortunately these changes were poorly publicised and the 'new' 18 departed just one stop along from where the old one had stopped at the Bond Street Shopping Centre, which was often chaos at rush hour anyway. As a result lots of people simply boarded what they thought was the bus home to Harehills, Gipton and Seacroft, only to be driven straight up York Road! I remember this as my dad was one of those caught out and had to walk home from Cross Gates!

[nightrider]

The 88 route to which Ravydavy refers is I think the extension of what was the old Amberley Travel route. The 88 I am talking about just ran from outside the Arndale Shopping Centre in Crossgates to Colton when it was just a village.It was an early shoppers service and ran three times a day at infrequent intervals with then majority of the journeys only running when schools were open. The service appeared in the timetable but didn't show the arrival time at the destination. The journey time was only ten minutes and I never really saw the point of the service, especially as it was operated with double deckers. Mention of it is made in Jim Sopers excellent book and the service was still operating at the time of the takeover with WYPTE. It didn't last long after that but this certainly is a route that few can remember.

[Terrym]

Hi,Service 133 ran from Cow Close School to Amen Corner.Introduced 21st Sept 1959 without a route number 133 in 1963.Service 404 was renumbered from service 75 (Seacroft T.C - Monkswood Gate) November 1973 to bring it in line with the numbering of other shoppers services.Service 402. started on the 15th March 1971 and ran between Leeds Bus Station and The Leeds Playhouse.One journey only was operated leaving the B/S at 19.05.The service departed the Playhouse after the performance finished.A flat fare of 3p was charged.The service was introduced for a experimental 3 month period but lasted longer and was scrapped on 18th March 1972Service 88 Colton to Cross Gates started on 28th June 1971Two journeys were operated daily using double deck buses.The service number 88 had been used in the past on a experimental shoppers service in Horsforth. This service was withdrawn 12th February 1971Hope some of this info is of useCheers

[Trojan]

Speaking of shoppers' services. Does anyone remember when the centre of Leeds was first pedestrianised in about 1973, LCT experimented with a battery powered bus that came from SELNEC (forerunners of GM Metro) and Chloride?

[nightrider]

The 133 Service was my old school bus route and I used to catch it at Cockshott Lane. When I first started at Cow Close in 1970 the usual buses were the Leyland Atlanteans 331-340 (you could tell 340 miles away as it had a different front end). There used to be a conductor on there called Charlie Whitelock who used to have a transistor radio and I think his driver was called Albert. Im sure the bus came off the 24-27 routes in the morning but in the afternoon it must have come straight out of ther depot as the buses were always nice and clean.Also remember Winston and Mel Harris (two brothers) as drivers, really nice blokes.I do remember the battery powered bus. In fact there were one or two other demonstrators that went on that route. One of them seemed to spend more time on the Car Park Service No.403 but I never caught one. I think they are included in a book called Buses in Leeds by Robert (Bob) F Mack who I used to work with at the Building Society.

[Loiner1960]

Someone else remembers the electric buses on the Shopper Hopper routes! They were orange things which would creep up behind you as you walked down Albion Place. It became so bad that it had a speaker fitted and played music! I will look it up as it seems a forgotten electric vehicle long before the green lobby wanted them.

[raveydavey]

I can only just remember LCT running the buses (pre-Metro) and can't remember the electric buses at all.I do remember a "Shoppers service" running round the city centre in what looked like single deckers that had been halved in length, probably in the late 70's. These were presumably the forerunners of things like the Optare Solo that operates on the Free Bus now, but they looked quite odd at the time.I don't think they lasted too long either?

[Uno Hoo]

I thought I know Leeds pretty well, but where is Amen Corner?