What got you into buses?

[Sh4318]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I couldn't find the thread. What got you into buses and/or trains?
For me, I was diagnosed with autism when I was young, and took a liking to Metrobuses, which ran on all my local routes at the time, I used to sit at the front in the upper saloon, hold onto the handle bars and pretend I was driving the bus and ever since then I've just been interested in buses. As I grew up I started to collect timetables and analyse them to death - frequencies, length of journeys, PVR etc.

My interest in trains started when I first caught a Class 150 Sprinter and took a liking to them, when the majority of them left the West Midlands, I took a liking to the 153s, and it just went on from there, like with the buses, I memorise timetables, diagram patterns, amount of carriages, unusual frequency patterns etc.

[Gareth]

For me as a very, very young child I lived on Washwood Heath road just down the road from the bus garage. My mum would point out all the buses as they passed my house and I used to spend hours just sitting watching them. Mum even says my first word was bus. I went to school locally in Ward End, and later Hodge Hill, so I would go past the garage every day. And of course there was MCW too. Always lots of brand new buses in various colours to be seen around the area.

[Trident 4609]

Same Shaun :) Was diagnosed with Asperger's when i was 5 and according to my mom , I have liked them since 18 months old. Think it may have been to my mom and dad used to use the bus alot when i was young :) My mom just iformed me that 'bus' was one of my first words! ;)

Over the past few years i have gradually buit my knoweledge up to what it is now

[Stu]

I'm not really 'in' to buses as much as some of the folk here, but any interest I have gained has been as a result of 'necessity' rather than any 'desire' really.

As a very small child, I should have been traumatised by buses for life, after an unfortunate heavy braking incident saw me fall forward off the middle rear seat into the gangway, however any early wariness of buses soon passed as I got older.

Growing up as an older child in Oldbury, we were quite blessed for local bus routes, however we preferred to save our money and walked instead to places like Oldbury town centre, West Bromwich and Smethwick. Entering my teens, me my brother and our friends would spend school holiday days buying the old scratch-off 'DayTripper' tickets, and preferred to travel around on the local trains.

It was only really when I started college in Rowley Regis that I'd start frequently catching buses by myself; I used to have to get either the 'old' 128 or 129 from Rood End, and they'd often be full Metrobuses. So when the 88 got extended to Blackheath (and then later Dudley), I took full advantage, and started catching that instead, and walking up to the college from Blackheath town centre, as the bus was less crowded (though I would occasionally jump on a 140, 241 or even 128 or 129 if the weather was bad and I was running late).

When I first started working, my job was a short 5 minute walk from my house. However later in my career, as I never passed my driving test, I started working further afield, so a bus pass became a necessity in order to save money. When I was working in Great Bridge, I was catching 4 buses a day to get to/from work (447 or 448 to West Brom, then either the 401 or 402 to Great Bridge - the 74 was quicker but was always full - and maybe the 449 home instead, depending what turned up first!).

Then I started working in Halesowen, and I had many options to get there, but my choice route was the 88 to Blackheath followed by a trip on the 241. Oddly I'd often get the 120 to the Hagley Road and then change onto the 9.

I cancelled my pass when I lost that job, and started working on Demuth Way in Oldbury, as it was a half hour walk, or an occasional short journey on the 120 if the weather was bad. But the pass returned when I started work near Gravelly Hill in Erdington. Back to 4 buses a day and a trip via the city centre! Soon after I moved to Bearwood, and my options into the city increased from just the 88 and 120, however I discovered that the 82 could (at peak times) often be quicker than the Hagley Road services, so I chose to use that instead. And this period also saw me introduced to the bendi-buses on the 67, the novelty of which soon wear off when you wait ages for one on the Tyburn Road and then have to find somewhere to stand!

After that I started a new job near Solihull, and moved to my present location in Acocks Green. Journey planner said 'simple!'; a trip on the 37 followed by another on the 6 and then a short walk to work. Suddenly there was a whole new network of buses to try out; ditching the often crowded 37, I found the 30 instead which could take me to Blossomfield Road, where I could get the 6, 76 or 166 (then S9). And when I wasn't working, I fully discovered the joys of the Outer Circle 11, as well as a previously seemingly-uncommon prospect of a service (the 37) that ran every 10 minutes on a Sunday for trips to Birmingham or Solihull! And I wasn't completely isolated from my family; a trip to my parents for Sunday lunch takes less than an hour - catch the 1 to Broad Street then get the 120 a few minutes later.

Any further enthusiasm for buses has been gained by finding Tony's original Fotopic website, and then later on this new website with its forum, and as well as chatting on the 'old' NX Facebook page, which then led to the creation of my own Facebook page.

I'm no bus nerd; I don't have a car, so buses are my means of transport; whether I'm heading to work, or visiting friends and family. I don't feel at all restricted by not having a car, not while there is a bus service that can take me where I need to go! I don't take photos of buses, or collect fleetnumbers; I just enjoy travelling on buses, sharing information about them, and helping others with their queries.

[Bob]

I got diagnosed with aspergers as a kid and liked buses from about 2 upwards.  I ran away from my mum when I was 3 & a half on a 301 from cannock bus station.  ( there was an open air market next to it at the time and she was buying me a cowboy gun which id got no interest in lol I just wanted to go on the bus! She happened to let go of my hand for a split second and I was off through the crowd naturally by the time the police got me iff the bus in great Wyrley she would of been hysterical). I think it was a vrt or a fleetline itd be late 1983 so walsall still had a few fleetlines as well as a load of vrts. Wonder what it is with aspergers and buses?

[Sh4318]

Wonder what it is with aspergers and buses?

I use buses as a coping mechanism, I'm not sure why but riding on a bus calms me down, especially Tridents

[Stuharris 6360]

The earliest of memories i have would be going to Birmingham on a Saturday afternoon on a D9 on the 130. These visits were curtailed in 1974 when one afternoon, we were just leaving Birmingham and there was a huge bang, the Birmingham Pub bombs had just gone off. We were on Broad Street at the time but i still remember to the day the whole bus shaking.

Saturday afternoons would then be spent in Stourbridge which i enjoyed because i would make an excuse so we could go into Stourbridge bus garage to see what buses were in there.

Since then, i have always been fascinated by buses, when we moved house to Pedmore, we only had one bus an hour (S47) until the July 1977 changes which meant buses passing the end of the road regularly and many of them were D9s which had been taken off the 130 presumably to give these old buses an easire life (although having to climb Brook Holloway on the 298 can hardly be described as an easier life). Mom & Dad would buy me a travelcard to be used during the summer holidays and i would always make much use of it.

It was a sad day when Stourbridge bus garage closed, and services at first transferred to Harts Hill before it to closed. This lead to interesting times with Stourbridge services being run by Quinton & West Bromwich garages.

These days i don't get out & about as much as i would like, but i still enjoy the hobby that started all those years ago.

[Bob]

Wonder what it is with aspergers and buses?

I use buses as a coping mechanism, I'm not sure why but riding on a bus calms me down, especially Tridents

I think I do that as well. Its more of a disability than what people think it is :)

[Nathan4775]

What first got me into buses was the first B1OL branded 33 that I travelled on with my mom, an ever since had a real liking for buses, same with trains but just got bored at New Street one day an took a liking too them too but prefer buses over trains

[nitromatt1]

I have been fascinated with roads and the rules of the road since I was tiny (used to spend ages scrutinising the highway code!) and also trains (used to absolutely love riding the Severn Vally Railway), but my obsession with buses did not really start till 2009, when I started at high school and started using the school service 733 (Thandi Coaches) to get to/from school.

The 733 was operated by Volvo Citybus PUI 9313 (ex. First G300 OGE). I used to wonder sitting in my top right seat upstairs why this bus struggled up the Hagley Hill so badly and why the other buses overtook it.

Later on in that school year I decided to switch to the 732 to get to school due to bullying on the 733, went the same way but the 732 was quieter and I made friends with the daily driver. 732 had PUI 9310 which was ex. First G543 RDS. This was my favourite Citybus and it was the sound of its engine which started my love of buses. It was also much faster and suddenly it was my bus doing the uphill overtaking!

At the start of my second year the 732 changed its line of route meaning it no longer served my road, so wanting to avoid the 733, I decided to take the 736 each day, which took a less direct route to school (all the more fun!). However Thandi's 1993 Optare Spectras had entered service and the 736 was allocated them each day, so I had a Spectra almost every day for my second year, although I do recall an Olympian turning up once or twice along with the occasional Citybus (and a coach even turned up once!). One frosty morning in the 2010/11 winter the Spectra conked out in Halesowen and my old Citybus PUI 9310 turned up to rescue us, with a very fast driver (who coincidentally now works at Green Bus), which made my day!

Some time in my second year Thandi changed name to Evergreen, and for some reason the '7' at the start of all the route numbers changed to '6', meaning my route became the 636. Unfortunately, this then clashed with the NX 636 in Halesowen, leading to OAP's attempting to flag a Spectra down!

In early summer of 2011 I received word that Thandi/Evergreen had lost the Hagley service contracts to a mysterious company called "The Green Bus", which I was gutted about, as it meant I was going to lose the Citybuses which I loved. So on the last day of service I hopped on the 692 instead in order to ride the one Citybus I hadn't actually rode yet.

Right from my third year upto today I have been catching the HC2 to and from school every day. The HC2 goes the least direct route from my stop to school, which is why I like it. In my third year we were allocated without fail every day either 105, 106, 313 or 989. At first I did not like the Metrobuses as they felt very slow and the Citybuses/Olympians on the other services cruised past; however, they grew on me and soon I loved them, mostly due to their sound!

Fourth year, main allocation started off as 105, then the perfect mixture 313 and 989, then pretty much anything at the garage, minus the two Citybuses which had been sold, to my disappointment.

Fifth and final year, well this is where I am today! I am currently getting quite literally every type at the garage, we had the open top Olympian yesterday (obviously with its top on) and the Lance last week.

A further point to add is that I had NEVER been on a public service bus until October last year, although I had for years stood and watched them, and noticed the numbers/routes whilst in the car. One day I needed to go to the hairdresser's, and my mum said she wouldn't take me in the car any more, so I asked for some money for a daysaver and caught the 9 from home to the hairdresser's and back. I think my first bus ever was 4817, with 4823 on the way back. After that I decided to go for a ride into Birmingham, and from there my love of riding buses for fun began.

[Trident 4609]

Wonder what it is with aspergers and buses?

I use buses as a coping mechanism, I'm not sure why but riding on a bus calms me down, especially Tridents

Same here! :)

[the trainbasher]

I remember being younger and you know the toy cars that were like really small, my parents got me a bus and I used to play with the bus and not the cars.

My late father was a Merry Hill Minibuses (Then Travel Merry Hill, then TWM MH) driver and I used to spend whatever time when I was at Primary school on the buses with him. I remember the days of Leylanx Nationals, Lynxes, MCW Metrobuses, (Optare and MCW) Metroriders, Plaxton Beavers and ALX100 bodied Merc O405Ns and B6s amongst other things. He had to retire back in 2002 but still kept in touch with some of the guys at PE.

[Bob]

Lol I had the matchbox leyland titan london bus and a model of a strathclyde metrobus.  There use to be a amazin models shop in the pallasades years ago sold hornby train sets as well

[Gareth]

Lol I had the matchbox leyland titan london bus and a model of a strathclyde metrobus.  There use to be a amazin models shop in the pallasades years ago sold hornby train sets as well

That would have been Beaties. I had many a model from there. Also there was Baileys (I think) in the old Bull Ring indoor market. I remember seeing either a poster or maybe an actual model of Lynx 1199 with WM Buses Yardley Wood fleet names. It wasn't released for ages after, and by then it had changed to TWM.

[Ben]

Hello I suppose :)
I guess this would make a nice introduction post as well :)

Well, generic I would say, just obsessed with transport as a young child (all the usual stuff: Buses, trains, planes., Blackpool trams.) I obtained some knowledge as I went along.

For all the bullying I experienced as a little boy ('You're weird' etc), I don't regret it at all, being interested in buses helped me in all sorts of ways at school and still does, I study A-level geography and transport can be relevant.

I have never taken numbers or really photographed buses either, and there was a period of time when I didn't use the bus at all I so my memory of times before that are hazy...

I do vaguely recall the final days of Leyland Lynx's (especially on Coventry 7) (The horrible Bell Green- Brownshill Green days.)- The old 7W for the Browns Lane Jaguar plant. And what may be a false memory of 7's turning round at the top of Allesley Village.
The horrid (at least I thought so) smells of the coach seated- DP's  (I still have no idea what that acronym actually means) on the 900.*

Metrobus MK1's in Coventry- Or at least one of them, purely for the reason as a child I noticed the doors opened differently to what I now know to be the MK2's.  (If anybody knows the fleet number of the last TWM MK1 in Coventry or has a photo I'd be most thankful).

I still remember the whole Pool Meadow bus station boycott/partial closure (call it what you will). The fact Pool Meadow is thriving now shows common sense prevailed (despite current stand allocation, which still makes me miffed. But you can't please everybody.)

Thanks very much everybody :)
*This does lead to a sickening (literally sickening) but vaguely amusing tangent which I shall omit.