Description

If you are interested in London, don’t be put off by the cover photo because this book contains important developments in London and the capital is a significant part of it and on an area pf bus operation not covered previously.

John Wylde is not a name that many people are familiar with but he, almost alone, developed the minibus market in London and around the UK. He helped set up Orpington Rural Transport which campaigned for a bus service to serve an area around Downe, between Orpington and Biggin Hill.

The book tells the story of his battles with London Transport to get a service up and running, through to later North Downs Buses which operated between Orpington and Croydon. It was John who turned the Ford Transit van into a minibus and had to fight against Ford, which had no desire to build minibuses. North Downs were therefore operating minibuses in the capital years before London Transport.

Colour maps show bus services in the Orpington area in 1933, 1963 and 1973.

After London, John moved to Northumberland and developed the first taxibus services in the UK.