This film “Fares Please!” was produced by Potteries Motor Traction, a former Stoke-on-Trent bus company, as part of a series of “Coaching Journal” public relations films. It probably dates to the 1950s. The film looks at all the steps that are needed for its double decker Leyland buses to operate. It was produced by John W. Jones, directed John F. Speed, and photographed by Ian Hudson and Jack Sheppard. PMT or Potteries Motor Traction is now First Potteries bus company, which is still based in Stoke-on-Trent and operating services in North Staffordshire, England. It is a part of First Midlands and a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
It starts with the construction of the double decker and single decker bus as well as all the safety driving tests that it has to go through, which is followed by the training of the crew. There is also an animation of how the bus schedule functions and the complications associated with this. Finally, there is footage from the daily operations of the bus including the crew involved, as well as regular maintenance and cleaning. The film features wonderful color shots of red double decker English busses.
0:07 Title “PMT Presents: Fares Please!”, 0:28 0:53 men bent over tables looking at a diagram of a bus, 1:21 man operating a machine, 1:41 man assembling an engine which is then tested, 2:18 a man testing fuel delivered to each cylinder, 2:27 bus bodies being created, 3:00 men testing a new bus design by driving a course, driving on a racetrack, doing water testing, testing suspension, doing brake testing, 4:54 a newly constructed double decker bus doing a tilt test, 5:27 men preparing routes on a table, 5:43 two men measuring if a tunnel is high enough for a bus to pass, 6:31 measuring distances using a wheel attached to a car, so that bus schedules can be calculated 6:38 animation of a simple bus timetable including crew rests, 8:59 an amination of the busses needed based on peak hours, 10:11 conductors being trained in a classroom, 11:16 drivers being trained about the mechanics of the bus, using a Ribble liveried motor coach 11:32 a student bus driver being taught how to drive, 11:56 meeting of the National Council for the Omnibus Industry, 13:12 an “inspector” speaking to a little girl, 13.51 a ticket inspector asking a woman for her ticket, 14:47 a conductor preparing a “way bill” noting the total earnings and ticket sales, 15:38 women operating hole punching machines that record the way bills, 16:46 mechanic cleaning a bus, 17:04 an engine being taken out of a bus, 17:18 a bus being repainted, 17:46 a bus being automatically washed, 18:22 mechanic greasing the different parts of a bus, 18:53 a man refueling a bus, 19:23 passengers at a bus stop and then getting on a double decker bus, 19:52 a double decker bus letting out passengers in a scenic countryside setting, 20:47 Title “The End”
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