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Post by buspete on Dec 5, 2022 17:59:55 GMT
Does anyone remember a mini bus network in Sevonoaks in the late 1980’s? If so what were the routes please and where did they run?
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Post by buspete on Dec 13, 2022 23:32:16 GMT
Anyone?
I seem to remember a bread wagon service running from Westerham to Shoreham every hour. Wondering what the other routes were though?
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Post by greenboy on Dec 13, 2022 23:40:40 GMT
Anyone? I seem to remember a bread wagon service running from Westerham to Shoreham every hour. Wondering what the other routes were though? I vaguely recall Kentish Bus running Talbot Pullman minibuses in the area, late 80s early 90s. |
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Post by Catford94 on Dec 14, 2022 19:43:08 GMT
Anyone? I seem to remember a bread wagon service running from Westerham to Shoreham every hour. Wondering what the other routes were though? I vaguely recall Kentish Bus running Talbot Pullman minibuses in the area, late 80s early 90s.
Yes - akin to this (not my photo) - I think Kentish Bus route 23 was a straight re-numbering of London Country 483, but it's possible that they linked a Westerham - Sevenoaks route with a Sevenoaks - Shoreham route at one point at least (things changed fairly rapidly then!) - I don't think there was a specific 'mini bus network' in Sevenoaks marketed as such, but a search for images using the words Kentishbus and Talbot brought up this type on a number of routes in Sevenoaks and elsewhere on the KB network (including odd journeys on route 706 to London Victoria!)
Metrobus had a fleet of 'Mini Metro' buses (photo, also not mine, here) which mostly operated in Gravesend, but it's possible that they got to Sevenoaks for a while either commercially or on Kent County Council tendered routes. This only lasted from mid 1988 to early 1990 and the operation was sold to Kentish Bus.
Transcity (Link) of Sidcup had a rapidly changing network, at one point running mostly with green buses on the old 4xx route numbers against the 'new' Kentishbus identity and route numbers. I found this photo (again, not mine) of two of theirs in Sevenoaks, one showing 483 for Westerham. I don't remember them running to Sevenoaks, and again couldn't say if these were commercial or tendered routes or how long it lasted, Transcity sold out to Kentishbus in 1993.
Do any of these match?
Also, Kentishbus, when they became part of the same group as Northumbria (or were they simply taken over by Northumbria?) did run some Northumbria liveried Metroriders for a while. (photo - once again, not mine - here.)
There may have been another operator I missed - I wasn't in London for some of the late 80s / early 90s, and Sevenoaks wasn't quite my patch. |
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Post by buspete on Dec 16, 2022 19:59:06 GMT
Thanks for the comprehensive post.
The Kentish Bus minibus in one of your photos looks kind of familiar.
I done some more thinking and seem to think there was another route that went Otford/Kemsing and that Otford had a 20 minute bus service then! Compared with 3bpd now. Think also one of the bus routes went to Weald, but unsure if anything went to Ide Hill or Shipbourne?
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