Travelling by bus to school when too young to drive an auto, brings back memories.
Either waiting at a bus stop or running to catch and climbing aboard threw an open door was the norm. A double-decker where on the way to school, kids enjoyed vibrant conversation around myriad topics. A touch of sarcasm, lots of laughter, and quite a lot of noise, but mostly friendly.
Very exciting when good-looking schoolgirls of a similar age joined the discussion, but of course from an intelligent point of view! This was a great time!
Winter Snow
During term-time in mid-winter, everything carried on as normal. The buses ran, and teachers at school. Jumping off a bus could be ‘interesting’!
Some youngsters cycled to school, and some fell off into the snow! Soft landing! Nothing would stop kids from attending school. At least in those days.
Bus travel during school days’ was always good fun, meeting friends and when not chatting ‘for England’ enjoying the scenery from the top deck.
Apart from travelling with parents, buses were the norm. There was even an ‘express’ bus service to London which boasted a toilet located in a corner at the back of the bus.
This was at a time when the first UK motorway, the M1 (freeway) opened. No speed limit, no central safety barrier!! Great fun!
Conductors
Every conductor had a unique character; many with a good sense of humor. These were the days when a conductor accepted cash and handed out a ticket. An ancient machine created a ticket and a money bag for cash. In those days it was a ‘penny-child’s’.
One conductor had a bag hanging down to his knees as if it held a gun! It was normal for conductors to call out the location of each bus stop. Some shouting! Strict instructions such as ‘smoking only on the upper deck’.
Drivers just got in with the job of driving!
Many, many years later when travel by bus was considered normal around cities, it would be hard to imagine back in the early to mid-sixties that buses would have air-conditioning, automatic gearboxes, and hydraulic entrance/exit platforms to facilitate ease of boarding for wheelchairs and prams.
This is not to say that driving an auto is every kid’s dream. If you were lucky, a parent, typically a dad in those days could be a Jaguar, Armstrong Sidley, Humber Super Snipe, or other classic auto.
Motor scooters with multiple lights fixed to lots of chrome baggage were the norm. Travelling in groups as Harley Davidson riders do. Great sight.
Trendy ‘Mods’ drove scooters and ‘Rockers’ drove motorbikes. Younger ones sadly not Harleys’!
