Manchester Buses

Videoshow part 6: "Pick you up tomorrow as usual"

Many thanks to regular reader and commenter Jimmymac, who has found this classic advert.  It dates from 1986's 'D-Day', when deregulation saw Greater Manchester Transport become GM Buses.  Jimmymac, from Warrington originally, comments that: "I was six years old when I first saw it on Granada TV, and the jist of the theme tune has stuck in my head ever since!

"We had a leaflet through the post as well, explaining all the changes and the great things that GM Buses were going to do. Twenty years later and the only remnant of them in Warrington is the hourly (slow) daytime service to Manchester provided by First".

Here at Manchester Buses we were living across the Pennines at the time and we're pretty sure Metro never ran a 'We're changing our name to Yorkshire Rider' ad.  Anyway, if you were in Granada country back in '86, enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Videoshow part 5: Bus Blocking

Manchester Buses reader Marek has been recording his experiences on Manchester's buses again.  This time, he's filmed an incident at Piccadilly Gardens in which a youth, annoyed at not being allowed on a Finglands 41 service, decided to block the bus from leaving.  A you can see, he succeeded in causing a bit of a scene.  It's never dull on the buses!  Thanks, Marek.

If you see anything interesting on the buses while you're out and about in Greater Manchester take a photo, video or audio recording and send it to us.

Videoshow part 4: Last day on the buses

In this week's Videoshow, here's a driver's eye view of the start and end of a shift from Stagecoach's Princess Road depot.  These were filmed on the driver's last day at Stagecoach in 2006.

Videoshow Part 3: Bus Jammin'

Time for the latest in our series looking at Manchester bus footage on the internet.  Now, we've heard of 'bus jams' at Piccadilly Gardens, but this brings a whole new meaning to the concept!

Videoshow Part 2: A driver's downtime

What do bus drivers do when they park up, set the display to 'Sorry Not In Service' and wait for their next departure?  They shoot videos, apparently.

Yes it's time for part two of our weekly look at Manchester bus-related videos online.  This week we have a video shot by a driver on his downtime at (as far as we can make out) Stockport bus station.  Okay, this won't win any awards but it's good to know some drivers like to use their spare time creatively.

Videoshow Part 1: The day of the bomb

Welcome to a new series where we pick the best Manchester bus-related video clips on the internet.

For our first clip, let's go back in time just 12 years to the summer day in 1996 when the IRA bomb transformed the city in a single afternoon.  Dave Spencer was there filming buses around the city centre as he regularly did.  When he got up that day he probably didn't think he'd capture such a fascinating document of such an important day in Manchester's history.

It's amazing how much has changed in 12 short years.  Obviously, the city centre buildings, the buses and their liveries have changed but look at the queue for the payphone!  You wouldn't get that in pretty much any situation these days (short of all the mobile networks failing).

The full version of this video can be purchased here.