- Open top buses in the United Kingdom
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Open top buses, or open toppers, are used for a variety of reasons in the United Kingdom, mainly for sightseeing and seasonal services. Open top buses are also often exported to other countries, to give the impression of the 'traditional British bus', i.e. a double-decker bus[1].
Contents
History
The first open top buses in the United Kingdom were regular double deck buses, but these were later replaced by buses with enclosed top decks.[clarification needed]
One of the first operators to provide open top buses for its seaside routes was Brighton, Hove and District in 1936.[2] While most operators rebuilt old vehicles for such services, Maidstone & District Motor Services purchased six new Leyland Tiran TD5s with open top bodies built by Weymann in 1939.[3] World War II saw an end to leisure services for a while, for example it was 1949 before open top services resumed at Southend-on-Sea.[4] As new buses became available for regular services more companies introduced new open top services using old buses with their roofs cut off, such as at the Bristol Omnibus Company at Weston-super-Mare in 1950[5] and Devon General at Torquay in 1955.[6]
Longer-established routes were by now using convertible buses. These were buses that had detachable roofs so they could be operated as open top during the summer but as conventional buses at other times. By 1951 Brighton was operating ten permanent open top buses and eight convertibles.[2] At Torquay nine Leyland Atlanteans with convertible Metro-Cammell bodies were placed into service in 1961. These were named after historic seafarers and known as 'Sea Dogs'.[7] Weston-super-Mare received four Bristol FSs with convetible Eastern Coach Works (ECW) bodies in 1961.[5]
The National Bus Company ordered a new generation of convertibles for most of its seaside fleets in 1978. These were Bristol VRTs with ECW bodies. Unlike older buses they did not need a conductor as the driver could collect fares and issue tickets. They were initially allocated to Devon General, Western National, Southdown and Hants & Dorset, although they were later spread across a larger number of operators. Bristol Omnibus kept its older crew-operated buses at Weston-super-Mare until 1982. Various second-hand buses had their roofs removed to replace them in 1982 but two years later six new Leyland Olympians with convertible Charles H. Roe bodywork were purchased as replacements.[7]
It was nearly twenty years before further open top buses came into production in the United Kingdom. In 1998 six Volvo B10Ms bodied by East Lancashire Coachbuilders for a city tour in Paris, France,[8] but new vehicles for British operators soon followed. These included Lothian Buses who received four permanent open top Alexander ALX300 bodies on Dennis Trident chassis in 2000[9] and Yellow Buses in Bournemouth who purchased three Volvo B7TLs with convertible East Lancashire Coachbuilders bodies.[10]
City tours started to become popular during the 1970s. London Transport purchased seven convertible Daimler Fleetlines from Bournemouth in October 1977 which were placed on a London sightseeing tour.[11] While some city tours were operated just a couple of times each day by one vehicle, the more popular cities saw intense competition, especially after bus services were deregulated in 1986. Badgerline at Bath was carrying up to 150,000 passengers each year at Bath[7] but rival tours have been operated by the Bath Bus Company since 1997[12] and Ryan’s Coaches 'City Tour' and Regency Tours offered further competition.[13]
Services
Stage carriage services
Exmoor Explorer passing Dunster Castle
Stage carriage services are operated to a published timetable. The operator's standard ticketing arrnagements apply, including the use of day or season tickets if appropriate. Some of the services listed here also have some of the characteristics of the open top tours listed below, such as circular routes or publicity that describes the route for tourists. They would not normally cary guides or have recorded comentaries.
Some of the routes listed operate all year round, but not necessarily with open top buses. Indeed, some services may have a mixture of open and closed buses, and the regular vehicles may not be available due to unforseen circumstances. Many of the routes, however, only operate for a part of the year, perhaps from Easter or June through to September.
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
County Operator Route Cornwall First Devon & Cornwall 300: Penzance – Newlyn – Land's End – St Just – St Ives – Marazion – Penzance[14] 
Devon First Devon and Cornwall 8: Barnstaple – Braunton - Croyde 
[15]Devon Stagecoach Devon 95: Exmouth – Sandy Bay 
Devon Dart Pleasure Craft 100: Paignton – Totnes[16] 
Devon Devonian Motor Services 500 Coastal Explorer: Paignton – Paignton Zoo – Broadsands[17] 
Dorset Wilts & Dorset 50 Purbeck Breezer: Bournemouth – Poole – Swanage via Sandbanks chain ferry[18] 
East Sussex Brighton and Hove 77: Brighton Pier – Devil's Dyke
78: Brighton Old Steine – Stanmer Park
79: Brighton Old Steine – Ditchling Beacon[19]
East Sussex Bath Bus Company
(City Sightseeing)Eastbourne - Beachey Head[20][21] Isle of Wight Southern Vectis Downs Breezer: Ryde – Wootton railway station – The Downs – Ryde
Needles Breezer: Yarmouth – The Needles
Sandown Bay Breezer: Shanklin – Sandown – Isle of Wight Zoo[22]
North Yorkshire East Yorkshire Motor Services 108: Scarborough - Bowls Centre
109: Scarborough North Bay – Spa[23]
North Yorkshire Shorelineline Suncruisers 109: Scarborough North Bay – South Bay[24] 
Somerset and Devon Quantock Motor Services 300: Minehead – Porlock – Lynmouth[25] 
Somerset Quantock Motor Services 400 Exmoor Explorer: Minehead – Dunster – Timberscombe – Porlock – Minehead[25] 
Somerset First Somerset and Avon 1: Weston-super-Mare – Sand Bay 
Wales First Cymru 1: Swansea City Centre – Limeslade Bay Open top tour operators
A Leyland Atlantean AN68/1R with ECW bodywork, built in 1978 (YNO 77S) for Colchester Borough Transport, later converted to an open top bus for City Sightseeing operation in Colchester.Nearly all major cities in the United Kingdom are served by tour bus services, most using open top buses. Other picturesque rural areas and monuments are also served by open top tours, such as Stonehenge and the New Forest.
Tour buses often charge a premium fare and carry either a tour guide or offer a recorded commentary. They are usually circular routes and generally offer a 'hop-on hop-off' ticket that allows multiple journies during a specified period.
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Companies operating such tours include:
- The Original Tour (Arriva)
- City Sightseeing - many tours operated by independent franchisees
- Lothian Buses
- The Big Bus Company
- Ensignbus
- London Pride Sightseeing
- Guide Friday
- Bluestar (New Forest Tour)
- Transdev York (under the name York City Sightseeing)
- York Pullman
Private hire
An open top victory parade for Heart of Midlothian F.C.Open top buses are also often used in the UK for victory parades for sport teams, such as the Premier League champions, the England cricket team's victory in the Ashes.
Open top buses also see regular use as temporary viewing platforms at events such as the Epsom Derby or for promotional reasons[26]. Private hire is sometimes employed for occasions such as weddings[27], using the large number of preserved vehicles in the UK.
See also
- Tourism in the United Kingdom
- Routemaster
- MCW Metroliner
- Open top buses in Torbay
- Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare
References
- ^ Image of a traditional London bus converted to open top for export to Canada
- ^ a b Kraemer-Johnson, Glyn (2007). "Beside the seaside". Classic Bus (91): 24–31.
- ^ Dryhurst, Michael (November 2000). "What were the UK's last permanent new open-toppers?". Buses (Ian Allan) 52 (548): 30. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ Lidstone, John G. (August 1979). "Passengers Must Remain Seated". Buses (Ian Allan) 30 (293): 329–333. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ a b Curtis, Martin S (August 1982). "The cream of the fleet". Buses (Ian Allan) 34 (329): 342–346.
- ^ Morris, Colin (2006). Glory Days: Devon General. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 0-7110-3128-3.
- ^ a b c Curtis, Martin S. (1998). "Some Open-toppers I Have Known". In Brown, Stewart J.. Buses Yearbook. Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 97–104. ISBN 0-7110-2527-4.
- ^ "East Lancs builds open toppers". Buses (Ian Allan) 50 (516): 6. March 1998. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ "Plaxton and Alexander merge to form TransBus International". Buses (Ian Allan) 52 (546): 6. September 2000. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ Morris, Stephen (July 2002). "Yellow Buses: Just an old fashioned girl?". Buses (Ian Allan) 54 (568): 34–36. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ Watts, G.W. (December 1977). "London Transport Vehicle News". Buses (Ian Allan) 28 (273): 518.
- ^ Lidstone, John G. (August 1997). "Fleet News". Buses (Ian Allan) 49 (409): 40. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ Blackman, Terry S. (March 1998). "Open-top Variety in Bath". Buses (Ian Allan) 50 (516): 32–33. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ "Cornwall Explorer Service 300 Open Top Summer Service 22 April - 1 October 2011". First Devon and Cornwall. http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/devon_cornwall/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=93. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ^ "New summer open top service between Barnstaple, Saunton & Croyde from 22 April 2011". First Devon and Cornwall. http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/devon_cornwall/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=94. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ^ "Buses". Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company. http://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/buses. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ "Service 500 – Coastal Explorer Time Table and Fares". Devonian. http://www.devonianmotorservices.co.uk/page6/page6.html. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ "Our buses". Wilts and Dorset. http://www.wdbus.co.uk/about-us/our-buses/. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ "Breeze up to the Downs!". Brighton & Hove. 2011. http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1000976. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "RATP buys Bath Bus Company". Buses (Ian Allan) 63 (673): 7. April 2011. ISSN 0007-6392.
- ^ "Eastbourne". City Sightseeng. 2011. http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tour-Eastbourne. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
- ^ "Tours Overview". Open Top Tours. Southern Vectis. http://www.islandbuses.info/ottours.shtml. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
- ^ [54Open%20Top%20leaflet.pdf "Open Top Bus Services 108 & 109"] (PDF). East Yorkshire Motor Services. 2011. http://www.eyms.co.uk/documents/pdfupload/[54]Open%20Top%20leaflet.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ "Route 109". Shoreline Suncruisers. http://www.shorelinesuncruisers.co.uk/seafront.php. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ a b "Scheduled services". Quantock Motor Services. http://www.quantockmotorservices.co.uk/scheduled-services/. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ A Sun newspaper liveried open top bus in Blackpool for the Women's Beach Volleyball Championships
- ^ A Western Greyhound open topper on hire for a wedding
External links
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