Autobus - London Transport (dal 1980): libri di storia illustrati e guide

London's Buses 1979-1994

In 1979, fresh from its general election victory, the Conservative government began formulating plans to deregulate bus services and privatise the companies operating them in England, Scotland and Wales.
London was not to be excluded, so from the outset, London Buses was broken up into several areas and from 1985, a tendering system was introduced which permitted other operators to bid for the routes. Opposition from the Labour group at the Greater London Council had to be dealt with - eventually achieved by abolishing it in 1986.

However, as each subsequent year passed, promises that deregulation was coming were not met. In late 1992, the privatisation timetable was set, and was ultimately completed at the end of 1994. The issue of deregulation never resurfaced.

Copiously illustrated with over 230 photographs, virtually all of which are being published for the first time, this is the story of London Buses over those sixteen tumultuous years. To give greater context to the narrative, annual vehicle acquisition listings show how purchasing policy changed over the period; important route changes, tendering gains and losses and a fleet list for the entire period are also included.

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London's Buses- The Colourful Era 1985-2005

Ask any tourists what colour London's buses are and they will say red - and so they are. However, that has not quite always been the case as from 1985 until around 2005 there were buses in all sorts of colours running around the Greater London area. They did not even necessarily say that they were London buses - some claimed to be Kentish buses, while others had intriguing fleet-names like Armchair, Blue Triangle or Grey-Green.

Even London Buses themselves started running vehicles in the Bexley area in a blue-and-cream livery. How did this situation come about, and why did it end?
This book looks at the period of route tendering and privatisation, the variety of operators who came to work London's bus routes and the range of vehicle types and liveries they brought to the capital.

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London's Low-floor Buses

In 1994, London saw the inauguration of low-floor buses with a fleet of sixty single-decks introduced by London Buses Limited. Swiftly transitioning to newly privatized operators, these vehicles faced limited popularity, and it wasn't until 1996 that Dennis Dart SLF brought additional examples.
The debut of low-floor double-deckers took almost two more years. The early 2000s witnessed an influx of low-floor buses, primarily from DAF and Dennis, with a smaller Volvo contingent. The capital welcomed the second generation of low-floor vehicles in 2006, marked by the Enviro range from Alexander Dennis Limited.

While the Enviro 200 and 400 models gained prominence among London operators, some opted for alternative models.
David Beddall's illustrated book captures this chapter of London's bus history with 180 compelling photographs, offering a captivating tribute to the evolution of low-floor buses in the city.

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London's Plaxton President Buses

Plaxton ha lanciato il modello President nel 1997, ma la produzione è iniziata nel 1999. La prima versione utilizzava il telaio DAF DB250LF, seguita da modelli su Dennis Trident e Volvo B7TL, quest'ultimo il più popolare.
I principali ordini provenivano da First, Go-Ahead London, Metroline, London United e Arriva London, ognuno con la propria preferenza per diversi telai. Nel 2001, Plaxton è stata incorporata in Transbus International, e il President è stato prodotto accanto all'ALX400, che lo ha infine sostituito nel 2005.
Questo libro presenta una straordinaria collezione di fotografie, alcune delle quali inedite, celebrando gli autobus Plaxton President di Londra.

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The London Bendy Bus

Tra il 2002 e il 2006, sei compagnie di autobus londinesi misero in servizio 390 autobus articolati su dodici linee di trasporto pubblico a Londra.

Durante i soli nove anni di servizio, i Mercedes-Benz Citaro G, noti in Europa e nel resto del mondo, si guadagnarono una pessima reputazione a Londra: a seconda delle fonti, prendevano fuoco con estrema facilità, infortunavano i ciclisti, prosciugavano le entrate del sistema a causa della loro propensione all'evasione tariffaria, trasportavano passeggeri già sfiniti in piedi e stipati come bestiame e contribuirono alla scomparsa del Routemaster dal servizio di linea. In breve, veniva spesso definito "l'autobus che odiavamo".

Questo resoconto rappresenta un tentativo, da parte di un detrattore di lunga data degli autobus snodati, di collocare questi veicoli nel loro giusto contesto - non tanto per riabilitarli, quanto per essere il più imparziale possibile nei confronti di un mezzo di trasporto che appariva quanto di più antibritannico si potesse immaginare.

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Today's London Buses

Today's London Buses, covers the London bus scene of the last ten years, including pictures of bus types used in the capital on its major services.
This volume looks at various routes accross London during this period and the variety of vehicles that have been used in that time frame.

Some of the services depicted in this book have changed, or ceased to operate, during the period covered in this book.
The author has set out to cover in broad terms, the colour and variety of London bus operation during this period of great change to bus services, during the last decade.

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