For the past few weeks, I've been posting a daily BusFact on Twitter in the run-up to my journey. Tomorrow I don my little rucksack and set off for the Highlands, so today's will be the last one. In all honesty it's been a pretty tough task coming up with new ideas each day. I hope I haven't been too dull or made too many errors. For posterity's sake, here's the full digested version. Corrections welcome :)
- BusFact #1 : Jim Newton MBE is one of the oldest bus drivers in the UK. He is 79 years old and has driven for 58 years. http://is.gd/owBc
- BusFact #2 : The longest production bus in the world is the Caio Topbus, at nearly 27m long. It runs in São Paulo, Brazil. http://is.gd/oFZk
- BusFact #3 : The oldest surviving single deck motorbus in the country dates from 1913 and used to operate in Barnsley - http://is.gd/oQVd
- BusFact #4 : Despite other strong claims, the 192 in Manchester is the busiest route in the UK with 9m passengers annually http://is.gd/p2mh
- BusFact #5 : Replacement of bendy buses in London will require 24% more mileage http://is.gd/pd4W and cost £3m per year http://is.gd/pd5y
- Thanks to a suggestion from @technicalfault for today's BusFact. If there's a fact you'd like to see here, drop me a tweet.
- BusFact #6 : Although double deck buses are mainly found in the ex-British Empire, Berlin also has a long tradition http://is.gd/poMd
- BusFact #7 : The longest bus route in England is either the X53 Poole - Exeter (4h30) or X5 Oxford - Cambridge (115 miles) http://is.gd/pv8G
- irregular Manchester - Keswick is 120 miles says that website? – @technicalfault
- It ran last year during the summer, but there's been no announcement whether it will run in 2009 yet - http://is.gd/pvka (PDF)
- X8 operates again this year http://is.gd/qPQZ but only from Chorley - about 90 miles, 2h40 - a mere baby in comparison! :)
- irregular Manchester - Keswick is 120 miles says that website? – @technicalfault
- BusFact #8 : Scheduled UK bus services that use ferries: 81 on Torpoint Ferry http://is.gd/pD5F / 50 on Sandbanks Ferry http://is.gd/pD5R
- (Where did BusFact #9 go? I think Twitter was having problems that day and it has become stuck down the back of the e-sofa...)
- BusFact #10 : Buses have been found buried at the South Pole http://is.gd/q2cE and flying over Paris http://is.gd/q2cL
- Yes, my earlier tweet was in aid of #AprilFools - all my own ideas for hoaxes seemed to involve buses for household pets http://is.gd/q2Z0
- BusFact #11 : There are working examples of steam buses in the Lake District http://is.gd/qfth and Whitby http://is.gd/qftF
- Today's fact inspired by my colleague Mark @Kaonix - any facts you want finding out? Tweet me and I'll try and get you an answer!
- BusFact #12 : First "nearly 9000"; Arriva "more than 7000"; Stagecoach "around 7000"; Go-Ahead "3449 at 06/08";National Express "over 2300"
- BusFact #13 : Birmingham's Outer Circle bus route is pretty unique for a UK city - if you discount Leicester, that is -> http://is.gd/qGCc
- Thanks to @bounder for today's BusFact suggestion.
- BusFact #14 : There are only eight "A" variations in Gtr Mcr - 3A 17A 23A 28A 37A 42A 51A + 62A. Most route numbers are 3 digits long.
- you can add 81A from end of the month :) – @conn1231
- Good spot - an 81A from the end of the month! There don't appear to be any "B", "C", "D" or "E" variations at all.
- Of course, a route number being three digits long doesn't prevent West Midlands from adding an "A" variation - witness the 966A or the 900E.
- The standard West Midlands bus came with a four-track route number blind, making such oddities as the 966A possible http://is.gd/qPwb
- Preston used to have two-track route number blinds - see the way in which the 1 and 2 are squished onto the same blind http://is.gd/qPxM
- London buses have all the route details on one big blind - but what happens when a new route number is introduced? http://is.gd/qPzd
- you can add 81A from end of the month :) – @conn1231
- BusFact #15 : buses in the movies: On The Buses; Speed; Summer Holiday; High Society; Agent Cody Banks 2; Spiceworld -> http://is.gd/qYiW
- BusFact #16 : The highest bus route in England is probably the 517 from Windermere over the Kirkstone Pass. Any advance on 1489 feet?
- The highest route in Scotland is probably the 502/503 via the Cairnwell Pass (2199 feet) south west of Balmoral.
- For our friends in Wales: 1367 feet is the height you reach over the Horseshoe Pass north of Llangollen - a Sundays only leisure route.
- Worldwide, how about Leh to Manali in India? 17470 feet at Taglang La pass http://is.gd/rbtu yet still suffers from jams http://is.gd/rbuv
- BusFact #17 : Despite recent Royal Mail cutbacks, postbuses still run in rural areas carrying people as well as the mail http://is.gd/rlEf
- very few post buses. most are being withdrawn this year i think. some of the routes on the website are out of date – @travelling_wolf
- Yes, I found references to further withdrawals whilst researching buses over Applecross Pass yesterday. Shame.
- very few post buses. most are being withdrawn this year i think. some of the routes on the website are out of date – @travelling_wolf
- BusFact #18 : Happy birthday Halton Transport - 100 years old today. Check out their Family Fun Day in Widnes tomorrow http://is.gd/ryai
- BusFact #19 : There are only 13 traditional municipal bus companies left in the UK, down from 47 at deregulation in 1986.
- BusFact #20 : You're stood waiting for a BusFact for ages, and then two show up at once... http://is.gd/rTEV
- The double decker is a standard unit of measurement for comparison purposes e.g. Sainsbury cereal packaging = 750 tonnes = 101 dd buses
- (My lone attempt at a mobile BusFact – this should be #21!)
- BusFact #22 : Hybrid buses, with a small diesel engine generating electricty, could cut CO2 emissions by 38% http://is.gd/saiq
- BusFact #23 : 1971 big screen outing of ITV sitcom "On the Buses" was bigger hit than Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever" http://is.gd/sk2G
- BusFact #24 : London General was the largest bus operator in London from 1855 to 1933 - initially with horse-drawn buses http://is.gd/swzG
- BusFact #25 : The iconic Greyhound coach services in the USA are today owned by Aberdeen's very own FirstGroup.
- Greyhound is owned by a European company??? – @The_Bus_Blog
- Yes, FirstGroup acquired it when they bought Laidlaw. Stagecoach is another Scottish company - they own Coach USA! :)
- Wow! Didn't know that! Are the businesses profitable for them? – @The_Bus_Blog
- Yes, they do make a profit but perhaps not as big as the UK stock market would like: http://is.gd/sLhP & http://is.gd/sLkf
- Wow! Didn't know that! Are the businesses profitable for them? – @The_Bus_Blog
- Yes, FirstGroup acquired it when they bought Laidlaw. Stagecoach is another Scottish company - they own Coach USA! :)
- Greyhound is owned by a European company??? – @The_Bus_Blog
- BusFact #26 : Uses for old buses: driver training , tow truck, play bus, mobile library, roadside cafe, filming canteen, party bus. Yee-haw!
Party...!
Image credits: Brainless Angel and Tasa_M on Flickr
1 comment:
Bowers 58 Macclesfield-Buxton passes the Cat and Fiddle pub at an altitude of 515m (1690ft) year round, (except when the road is blocked by snow). There's a request stop outside the pub which could be the highest bus stop in england.
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