Leicester Buses

A fascinating collection of photographs giving a picture of life in Leicester between the 1920s and 1984 through the city's bus fleet.

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In July 1901, the Leicester Tramways Company was taken over by Leicester Corporation. Although most of the companyʼs vehicles were tramcars, there were also thirty horse-drawn buses. The first Corporation motor buses, however, did not arrive in the city until 1924; Midland Red and various independent operators ran services from earlier in the 1920s.

Following the end of the Second World War, Leicester placed an order for 160 new vehicles from Daimler, AEC and Leyland, which started arriving in November 1948. A year later, the tram network was officially closed, the routes being covered by bus services. In the 1960s and 1970s, Leicester City Transport was involved in several important new developments, running one of the first Park & Ride schemes in December 1966, and pioneering the use of VHF radio and CCTV to improve the efficiency of bus services. On 7 October 1984, Leicester City Transport became Leicester CityBus.

David Harvey brings this history of Leicesterʼs buses to life with a comprehensive collection of period images and a wealth of information about each bus. The text evokes and pays tribute to bygone times, with thoughtful details about the historic buildings and cultural landmarks that recur in the photographs.