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| The
march towards driver only buses increased
as operators struggled to keep costs and fares
down. All the Portswood routes were converted
and the Shirley depot was closed. The Shirley
routes now operated from the Portswood depot
which meant travelling to and from the city
centre to start and finish. |
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| Initially the routes included
the 17 and 17A to Millbrook. The 17 was the
only direct link between Shirley and Portswood.
The service ran from the Town Junction via
Bevois Valley and Portswood to Highfield while
the 17A ran via the city centre and Royal
Pier to the Docks. |
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| When the 17 and 17A route
was converted we were left with the just the
7, 7A, 9 and 9A operating between Weston,
Woolston, Docks, City Centre, Shirley and
Lordshill or Aldermoor. |
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In
1981 these routes were also converted
but a number of crews were kept on to
run weekday, daytime journeys. All our
double-deck buses were now Leyland Atlanteans
and ready for driver only operation.
The last rear platform bus was withdrawn
from service at the end of August 1981
but these duties were still crew operated
when I left in 1983.
Seen here in Portswood depot are 162
(EOW 395L), 194 (HTR 558P), 265 (DBK
265W), 177 (PCR 300M), 153 (WOW 543J)
and 179 (PCR 302M). |
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