1-2-FU (BBC documentary)
Documentary about the early days of punk culture in London features an open-top bus ride around some of punk's landmarks aboard Ensign Bus 333 (EGP33J), a former London Transport DMS-class Daimler Fleetline/Park Royal. (thanks Ian Hardie)2 Point 4 Children (BBC comedy series)
Episode 1.2 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Bill (Belinda Lang) brings the shopping home aboard former London Transport MD98 (OUC98R), a Scania Metropolitan BR111DH/MCW, displaying '237 Shepherds Bush'. The depot code displayed is the fictional WP.
Episode 2.1: I'm Going Slightly Mad
Bill travels by bus to the Social Security office - again it's a Scania Metropolitan, and again her exit is less than dignified, but we only see interiors clearly:
Second half of a double episode devoted to Rona's (Julia Hills) wedding. Due to circumstances beyond her control she travels to her wedding on a London Transport Metropolitan - interiors only again, so no ID this time:
4 x 4 (BBC documentary series)
A May 2002 edition of this set of four short reports by different reporters included a piece on the high cost of homes in the south east of England, and the difficulties in recruiting essential workers. Footage of Reading included an interview with the driver of Reading Transport Optare Delta 519 (N519YTF). A brief sequence at Reading's garage also included several other vehicles including a Metrobus; this was followed by an aerial shot of the garage.The following week's programme looked at 'Britain in a Jam' and discussed traffic congestion. "A report about congestion charging, which concentrated on London, had many buses in the background. Those identifiable were Arriva London North M1321 (C321BUV) and DBS14 (R213CKO), plus First London (CentreWest in old money!)TN805 (T805LLC). The latter was a little blurred, so that ID might be wrong. A later report on how kids get to school included several scenes using Yorkshire Rider S003 (YS51 JVH), one of their three Blue Bird school buses." (thanks Graeme Selway)
24 (Fox political thriller series)
Day 1 Episode: 12am to 1amReportedly has an unidentified Houston Metro bus carrying a 'Palmer for President' billboard.
Day 1 Episode: 12pm to 1pm
Appearance by a bus fleet number 3000 with 'Special' on the destination indicator. Rick boards at 12.57pm.
Day 2 Episode: 10am to 11am
Kim Bauer catches a bus across town to CTU headquarters. Only the interior of the bus is seen.
The 2005 season features features Regional Transit Service, California, Flxible Metros 2558 and 2847, both ex-LACMTA - albums of photographs from shooting can be viewed on the Regional Transit Service website.
The '50s and '60s in Living Colour (Testimony Films/ITV documentary series)
Documentary takes its footage from feature films and newsreel of the period.Part 1: All Shook Up
Includes a glimpse of a London Transport RT and other RT-family vehicles, also footage from an unnamed movie showing a group of teenagers running for and catching a London Transport RT or RTL possibly blinded for route 3, and some footage of buses in London at night. Also a clip from the 1962 movie 'Some People' has a scene featuring a Photo-Me booth apparently at a bus station; a green half-cab bus is seen reflected in the mirror on the side of the booth! The film was shot in Bristol.
Part 2: Home Sweet Home
Has a brief clip of a Sunderland Corporation exposed radiator Daimler CVG5/Roe (which is repeated in part 3). Later, there is a brief clip showing a blue Guy Arab (Alexanders) while the conductor winds up the destination 'Glenrothes' - this is from a promotional film 'New Day' shot by Films of Scotland to promote the new town of Glenrothes. Chris Hough comments: "The old pre split Alexander company bought large numbers of austerity double deck Guy Arabs in the early fifties when London Transport sold them off as non standard. They were spread over the system with large concentrations in Fife and Perthshire. Many of them survived the splitting of the company and lasted into the mid sixties. Even in the period before the splitting of the company some of the Arabs were in a red livery for Perth town services (red was the old municipal colour) or for the David Lawson subsidiary which ran in the Glasgow area."
Part 3: The Open Road
Much of interest here as this hour concentrates on transport, although some of the commentary on the rise of the private motor car is hopelessly rose-tinted:
A Glasgow tram is seen on route 9, also several red/cream (Sunderland?) trams, and tram conductors and conductresses.
A line of Sunderland Corporation Daimler CVG5/Roe, are seen at the depot; 200 (EBR200, built 1954) is seen leaving. There is also footage shot from above. Sunderland 145, another CVG5/Roe (exposed radiator, built 1953) is seen.
A housewife is seen running for a London Country Area AEC Regent III RT - there are outside and inside shots. This clip is taken from the British Transport Films 'All Our Mighty Heart'.
Back to Sunderland, and footage of 205 (EBR205) on route 15 to Telford Road, then back again to the RT.
A switch to rural Scotland, and extended footage inside and out of a blue Alexander Bedford OWB/Duple, possibly W30 (WGxxxx), going about its business, including acting as a post bus.
At this point there is also footage of the blue Pulman railway train, and long distance lorry drivers stopping at a transport cafe.
We then see London Transport conductors in training, and the interior of a London Transport garage: RTs, RTLs and an RM are seen, and an RTL is pulling out. Routemaster RM403 (WLT403) is seen leaving the garage on route 48.
We see an RT family bus on service 38A, then RTL778 (KYY748) on route 2A from Stockwell garage, and RT2309 (KGU33*) on route 13. Footage of busy London streets includes several roofbox RTs, also RTL831 (KYY801) on route 13. A London Transport canteen. RM403 is seen again in the garage alongside an RTL.
An RT on 88 and an RTL on 24 are seen side by side at a junction, then a roofbox RT on service 25, the rear of an RT family vehicle on service 3, a closeup of RTL1001 (KYY644) on service 137, then some general footage, lastly a Glasgow Corporation AEC Regent V.
55 Degrees North (BBC police serial)
An episode screened on 19 June 2005 features Holy Island. "One of the characters was seen questioning a bus driver who was driving the bus from Berwick to Holy Island. The vehicle shown was a Travelsure of Seahouses Mercedes minibus in all over blue with an advert for the Alnmouth-Alnwick service which meets trains on the East Coast main line. The vehicle was possibly P785BJU which was running the service in June when I visited the island." (thanks Chris Hough)The 60 70 80 Show (BBC magazine show)
Allan Haynes notes: "BBC series aimed at retired people presented by my old friend Roy Hudd. This film shot in 1976, on the Community Bus at Sharrington, near Holt in Norfolk....a Ford Transit 12-seater in Eastern Counties colours. The trick is - if you want to run an affordable community bus - you don't pay the drivers ! All were volunteers from the villages around, including the vicar and the school teacher."Allan adds: " the Sharrington Community Bus was a Ford Transit/Deansgate B12F, fleet number MB998. They seem to have been issuing fleet numbers backwards from 1000, a bit like Maidstone and District before the war. Originally registered HEX683N in November 1975 but subsequently changed to KCL416N as the number had been duplicated. This was reported in 'Buses' Magazine for July 1976, so was this thing going around for six months with the wrong number on it?" When the bus was 'demobbed' from Norfolk County Council service, 'Buses' reported it in 1978 as nearly worn out, having done 80,000 miles. Allan observes "I think Eastern Counties may have been exaggerating a bit at the expense of the Council! The Community Bus still survives today but as a Dial-a-Ride. Norfolk County Council is now a PSV operator in its own right so does not need the assistance of Eastern Counties (now First Bus) to provide a vehicle. The whole notion of using volunteer drivers from the community itself has been lost"
500 Bus Stops (BBC comedy series)
A pub singer (John Shuttleworth, played by Graham Fellowes) loses his car, and tours the Pennines in search of the perfect audience using service buses. Filmed in Derbyshire and Sheffield; "utilised various local bus operators, including an Alexander Volvo B10M of Stagecoach East Midland. There was also a scene filmed on top of what appeared to be an Alexander bodied Leyland Atlantean - I suspect that this was TIW 2654 owned by Andrews of Tideswell but cannot be sure.." (thanks Phil Groocock) any more information? . (thanks Ewood Eddie)999 (BBC documentary series)
Nick Blurton recalls a programme using a coach from Skills of Nottingham:"In one episode there was a story about a small baby taken seriously ill while on a coach in Spain (I think). It was actually shot in the UK, and the coach used was either 84 or 85 (K84/K885 JNU). These were Jonkcheere bodied Mercedes-Benz coaches. Most of the footage was taken inside the vehicle, and in one shot a bearded passenger passes a bottle of water to the baby. The passenger was Nigel Skill."
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