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I worked as a bus conductor
from October 1967 until June 1983. Like
many people at the time, I had come to the
job looking for something temporary and
got hooked. It was a job that is now hard
to describe. In part this is because, except
in London, conductors have become extinct
but it is also because the times have changed
so much.
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Being a bus conductor,
or a driver for that matter, was unlike
most other occupations. Although there were
rules and regulations to observe, with an
army of inspectors ready to catch you if
you did not, you spent most of your time
working unsupervised. There was always the
prospect of something out of the ordinary
happening and if today it failed to do so
there were plenty of passengers to liven
up the journey.
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Most of the companies
and corporations which used to operate our
buses have now vanished or been absorbed
into a few nationwide groups. The variety
of once familiar liveries and vehicle designs
is now the domain of enthusiasts who preserve
and display this part of our heritage. Maybe
at some point in the future today's buses
will be remembered with the same kind of
nostalgia but, like vintage cars or steam
engines, there is something distinctive
about the kind of bus that needed two people
to run it.
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This is the story of my
small and, for most of the time at least,
enjoyable part in this history. Starting
with the Hants and Dorset company in Winchester
and ending with the City Transport Department
in Southampton, I travelled all over southern
Hampshire in my work and made trips around
Europe during my time off. The journey from
teenager to mature (?) thirty-something
begins and ends with a crisis. But what
to make of the bit in between?
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I do not pretend that
these pages contain a definitive history
but rather give a flavour of the job and
the times. Some of the information about
operators, routes and locations is from
(a possibly defective) memory and is hard
to verify after all these years. Where possible,
links have been supplied to other sites
which may prove helpful.
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It has not been
possible to include everything that happened over
the sixteen years in this short history. All the
stories are true but, to respect people's privacy,
some of the details have been left out. |
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I had a great time
working on the buses, a job I could happily still
be doing today if that had been possible. Writing
this account of my adventures and misadventures
has given me the chance to relive some of the best
bits. I hope you too will find the journey interesting. |
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The first chapter
describes how I came to apply for the job, one that
I had never considered before. After that, the journey
begins as I learn the ropes and use the job to move
away and to travel more widely. |
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