Kirkstall Road Bus Depot (formerly LCT Trams)

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Sat 31 May, 2008 11:10 am

Phill_d wrote: Really?? As early as that?? Blimey I'm surprised. I can remember this so well. I must have only been 3 at the time then.. What type of bus were normally on that service do you know? I remember the radiator grill covers they had in winter and the Jam doughnut bell push I think only a general but not rigid allocation to the routes Phill in the back loader days. Crossleys were on there in their "heyday - that's one way of putting it", and very commonly AEC Regent Mark 3s and 5s, and probably the large 70 seat Daimlers (handsome and very refined) towards the end of crew operation.

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Sat 31 May, 2008 10:21 pm

I spent 24 years working for LCT, Metro and Yorkshire Rider, driving out of Middleton and then Torre Road after it closed in 1986, then to Cherry Row and finally Kirkstall. I was never a bus freak by any means, although we had a few who would quote the chassis number if you asked them. I just started on there as a job.My main memories are of cold, noisy and uncomfortable cabs on the back loaders, and even the newer buses which came never really improved there were never any heaters that worked properly, or comfortable seats for drivers on any type of bus we ever had.So after 24 years enough was enough of cold winters and back and leg pains, enough of profit making Scots who couldn’t give a toss about the staff, who wants to be a bus driver? For me all the Poles and Eastern Europeans can have it.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Sat 31 May, 2008 10:58 pm

I remember the Metro livery. Cream and emerald green, but does anyone know if there were any experimental liveries? I'd swear that in the early days of Metro I saw a bus in Bradford with the same design livery, but instead of emeral green - blue - the same blue as Bradford City Transport.

riclam · Post by **riclam** » Sun 01 Jun, 2008 10:16 pm

Trojan wrote: I remember the Metro livery. Cream and emerald green, but does anyone know if there were any experimental liveries? I'd swear that in the early days of Metro I saw a bus in Bradford with the same design livery, but instead of emeral green - blue - the same blue as Bradford City Transport. they did, green for leeds, blue for bradford, orange for halifax and red for huddersfield! pity the verona green livery was chosen!

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Thu 05 Jun, 2008 9:02 pm

It might sound daft, but that is one thing that hacks me off now there are only three or so major bus companies across the country. You used to go to different places on their travels and their buses all had different (and in some cases downright odd) liveries and buses.Now you've got First, Arriva or Stagecoach, running the same buses in the same colours and that is pretty much your lot.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Thu 05 Jun, 2008 9:42 pm

Plus ca change as the French say. The object of bus privatisation in 1986 was to break up the municipal and National Bus Co duopoly. All it succeeded in doing was in creating a privatised version. I believe that the owners of Stagecoach are multimillionaires and that they started out as bus drivers - good luck to 'em, but I hardly think that what's happened is really beneficial for the rest of us - after all they (First - Stagecoach - Arriva) don't just run the buses - they run the sodding trains too! If they hit hard times no doubt some future government will nationalise them and pay the owners out millions like they did with the loss making railways in 1947.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Thu 05 Jun, 2008 9:49 pm

Don't get me started on that subject - when you read in the paper that First have made hundreds of millions of £'s in profit (for example) and then won't run services outside the peak it makes my blood boil.The subsidies that are paid to these private companies which go as profits to shareholders should be providing a world class service for passengers.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Thu 05 Jun, 2008 10:28 pm

raveydavey wrote: The subsidies that are paid to these private companies which go as profits to shareholders should be providing a world class service for passengers. Surely that was the point of privatisation of both buses and trains - public subsidy poured into nationalised industry = "bad" public subsidy poured into privately owned industry = "good"

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Fri 06 Jun, 2008 1:05 am

I appreciate that everyone has a personal view of whether privatisation of the transport industries is good or bad - my own view from working within the bus industry and from being a frequent rail traveller is vehemently that it is completely wrong. Prior to "D" Day in 1986 the Government had in place , ON PAPER, very impressive rules and safeguards to ensure that new private operators behaved responsibly and legally and that maintenance would be strictly supervised. I could write a book about how, from day one, the Law was openly and extensively flouted nationwide and still is !! From 1987 to 2001 I worked in the Pontefract/Selby/Barnsley/Wakefield area and witnessed some real horror cases of unroadworthy heaps quite openly and arrogantly and persistently flouting every rule in the book, and operating unregistered journeys with no tickets issued and poaching passengers from more responsible established operators. The countless millions of pounds that have been wasted in trying to put a stop to all this with wastful duplication of adequate services is appalling. Certain massive examples such as the "Glasgow bus wars" and "Battles on the streets of Manchester" have prodded the Traffic Commisioners into appearing to take some action - but in most cases with little or no lasting effect.On the railways, the contracting out of infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance to private profiteers has led to considerable deterioration and frightening lack of expertise, as borne out by too many high profile incidents, accidents and Court cases.A sad state of affairs indeed - competition and unsubstantiated marketing has its place in selling groceries, three piece suites etc etc i agree, but vital public services should be nationally run by experts who can be called to answer when not delivering the service and safety that they should.