Post by bowenwould on Feb 16, 2009 18:37:40 GMT -1
The following is going to be an article for Link magazine. I am posting it here first in case other readers have memories they want to add (which will of course be acknowledged) or corrections.
Not many Forestdale residents may know that this is where the Metrobus company started back in the early 80s. When we moved to Bowens Wood in November 1980, bus services to Croydon were still being provided by the grandly named “Orpington & District Bus Company”, henceforth referred to as O&D . The buses were ancient and so were at least some of the drivers, one with glasses held together by sticking plaster sticks in my memories. Rumours abounded about fully laden buses getting stuck on the final and steepest part of Gravel Hill. Passengers had to get off and walk to the top before re-joining the bus into Croydon. Within about six months, O&D had hit the buffers and for a brief period there was no bus service.
Then two coaches arrived, property of the Tillingbourne bus company which was operating around Guilford and Dorking in Surrey. These had been bought by two entrepreneurial drivers of that company who had set up ‘Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) Ltd.’ to take over O&D’s garage in Green Street Green (still part of the Metrobus empire) and used these two coaches to provide a peak-hours only service starting from the far end of Courtwood Lane, over Bardolph Avenue, left into Pixton Way, right into Addington Road then via Gravel Hill, Coombe Road and Park Hill to East Croydon where the service terminated in Altyre Road. Other second hand vehicles were soon added to the fleet and the service extended to all-day. Soon these were re-sprayed gold and yellow and bore the Metrobus logo. Two in particular were noteable for having five-across seating which was somewhat optimistic for anyone above school age! The two Directors were still driving regularly and the story went that when they employed a secretary, she also had to have a PSV licence! A fair number of passengers knew the drivers by name and it was not unusual for the buses to wait if one of the regular travellers was missing.
The directors would have loved to bring in double-deck buses but at that time the railway bridge across Coombe Road was still in place and prevented them from doing so. However, in about 1985 a brand-new double decker appeared which was a special low height model that could fit under the bridge. Pity then, that the bridge was finally removed only a few months later! In the late 80s a major breakdown of relations between the two directors and much of Forestdale occurred over their decision to divert the route to follow the one still being taken by the T33 through Selsdon Vale. This extended our journey time substantially but did of course result in improved loadings for the service which was then still operating outside the London Transport ticketing system. In the 90s, things moved quite rapidly after TfL tickets were accepted on Metrobus services and the company grew to run more and more services in the wider area until it was eventually sold to Go Ahead and is now pretty much indistinguishable from the other private companies that provide bus services in our area.
Not many Forestdale residents may know that this is where the Metrobus company started back in the early 80s. When we moved to Bowens Wood in November 1980, bus services to Croydon were still being provided by the grandly named “Orpington & District Bus Company”, henceforth referred to as O&D . The buses were ancient and so were at least some of the drivers, one with glasses held together by sticking plaster sticks in my memories. Rumours abounded about fully laden buses getting stuck on the final and steepest part of Gravel Hill. Passengers had to get off and walk to the top before re-joining the bus into Croydon. Within about six months, O&D had hit the buffers and for a brief period there was no bus service.
Then two coaches arrived, property of the Tillingbourne bus company which was operating around Guilford and Dorking in Surrey. These had been bought by two entrepreneurial drivers of that company who had set up ‘Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) Ltd.’ to take over O&D’s garage in Green Street Green (still part of the Metrobus empire) and used these two coaches to provide a peak-hours only service starting from the far end of Courtwood Lane, over Bardolph Avenue, left into Pixton Way, right into Addington Road then via Gravel Hill, Coombe Road and Park Hill to East Croydon where the service terminated in Altyre Road. Other second hand vehicles were soon added to the fleet and the service extended to all-day. Soon these were re-sprayed gold and yellow and bore the Metrobus logo. Two in particular were noteable for having five-across seating which was somewhat optimistic for anyone above school age! The two Directors were still driving regularly and the story went that when they employed a secretary, she also had to have a PSV licence! A fair number of passengers knew the drivers by name and it was not unusual for the buses to wait if one of the regular travellers was missing.
The directors would have loved to bring in double-deck buses but at that time the railway bridge across Coombe Road was still in place and prevented them from doing so. However, in about 1985 a brand-new double decker appeared which was a special low height model that could fit under the bridge. Pity then, that the bridge was finally removed only a few months later! In the late 80s a major breakdown of relations between the two directors and much of Forestdale occurred over their decision to divert the route to follow the one still being taken by the T33 through Selsdon Vale. This extended our journey time substantially but did of course result in improved loadings for the service which was then still operating outside the London Transport ticketing system. In the 90s, things moved quite rapidly after TfL tickets were accepted on Metrobus services and the company grew to run more and more services in the wider area until it was eventually sold to Go Ahead and is now pretty much indistinguishable from the other private companies that provide bus services in our area.