Bus Documentaries

[RogerOut]

Hi all, found this fascinating documentary about a London Bus garage from 1992. It was from the BBC tv series ‘Inside Story’.
Shortly after filming, London buses were privatised.

Anyone know of any other bus documentaries?

 

[Flange Squeal]

This YouTube playlist has links to various episodes from the more modern day 'Double Decker Driving School' documentary series, that followed trainee London bus drivers through the process.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSwk7yN5COcaVSnfFK1zmO6a2gPgpKPeM

This is a 25 minute documentary from 1987 primarily about competition in Southampton between City Bus and new kid on the block Solent Blue Line, which finally ended just this year when was was by now First closed their Southampton depot and what is now Bluestar moved in (quite literally!):

A number of years back there was a documentary called On The Yorkshire Buses, which was a typical Channel 5 style light entertainment style documentary following the drivers of East Yorkshire Motor Services, pre-Go Ahead Group takeover. I'm not sure if it'll be found on On Demand, but the trailer is on YouTube:

 

[Geordie driver]

Tyne and Wear PTE documentary based on ME! See how long this lasts....

 

[Fleetmaster]

Inside the Factory XL shows an ADL Enviro being built.

I swear there was a recent one about learning to drive a bus, some London operator?

The BFI Archives has tons of stuff about things like the Routemaster being tested on the Chiswick skid pan and how Aldenham Works operated.

 

[Fleetmaster]

Did someone not do something about the wartime use of the London B-Type? Something like Tony Robinson on Yesterday perhaps.

 

[Flange Squeal]

I swear there was a recent one about learning to drive a bus, some London operator?

Might possibly be Double Decker Driving School, linked to in my earlier post above?

Also on YouTube and London themed is a modern day documentary about the staff at Stockwell bus garage:

 

[RogerOut]

Go- Ahead London did a documentary in the mid 2000s. I remember watching some of the repeats on sky some years later.
Can’t remember what it was called though.

Also , TFL did a documentary in 2014. I think it was called The Routemaster or something similar. I recognised some of the staff because some of it featured Stagecoach London. I wish I could find the series again.
Although it was about TFL, quite a bit of it featured the buses.

 

[Citistar]

I don't think it was part of the EYMS "On The Yorkshire Buses" series, but i remember quite an in depth look at the shenanigans going on at the sea front in Scarborough between EYMS and Shoreline Suncruisers. Possibly a BBC local show which i may have archived away somewhere.

 

[Eyersey468]

I don't think it was part of the EYMS "On The Yorkshire Buses" series, but i remember quite an in depth look at the shenanigans going on at the sea front in Scarborough between EYMS and Shoreline Suncruisers. Possibly a BBC local show which i may have archived away somewhere.

That was part of the On The Yorkshire Buses series. As an aside there was a lot of ill feeling at the outer depots about that series as it gave the impression the only depots were at Hull and Scarborough, the outer depots barely got mentioned

 

[Fleetmaster]

Might possibly be Double Decker Driving School, linked to in my earlier post above?

Yup, that was it, sorry, didn't catch that.

.Also , TFL did a documentary in 2014. I think it was called The Routemaster or something similar. I recognised some of the staff because some of it featured Stagecoach London. I wish I could find the series again.
Although it was about TFL, quite a bit of it featured the buses.

I dimly recall an engine shown from underneath, the bus on the jacks, drivers lamenting, engineers bemoaning lack of spare parts, bright eyed apprentices. Had to be Bow and the 15H. About the time of Crossrail build docs? TfL's extravagant period. Promises promises. Dumped without fanfare, in the hopes nobody noticed. Their speciality.

 

[RogerOut]

According to another forum, one of the bus engineers on the 2014 documentary , was also on the Inside Story- Seeing Red documentary, the one I originally posted about from 1992.
When everyone, including engineers were worried about the future of London buses in the event of privatisation.
Yet over 20 years later he was still in the job. I wish I could find that particular programme.

 

[driver9000]

Big Red Bus from 2005 followed London General trainees and also looked at other bus related topics including bus spotting and the events of 7/7 as the series was being filmed on that day. There's a few episodes on YouTube.

 

[Citistar]

There was a programme in the Our Lives strand on BBC Northern Ireland called "Bus Wars" which concerned the competitive world of open top bus tours of Belfast. The BBC listing for the programme is here. Not sure if it's online anywhere.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A few years ago, BBC aired "All aboard! The Country Bus" which showed almost two hours of footage of the number 830 rural bus service tootling around a fair portion of the Yorkshire Dales area, starting from Richmond and finishing in Ingleton.

More info here...

BBC Four - All Aboard! The Country Bus

A bus journey in real time through the iconic landscape of the Yorkshire Dales.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[LUYMun]

There is a very good documentary on YouTube called "Fares Please!" recalling former staffs' memories of London Transport.