When I was there in 1984 there were parts of Portugal where one seemed to see little else apart from the orange RN buses but in Porto it was different and the smaller operators that gathered beside the Station Terminus provided a wide variety of types, livery, age and condition. I don't know much about these companies but one of the most professional looking and smartest was the firm that ran this small forward control Guy, indeed the livery reminded me of some little railway company as seen in Denmark or Switzerland. Obviously from the fleet numbers of these buses one can see that it was only a small operation and as I understand it had they owned more than fifty buses they would have been absorbed into the state owned RN which was at one time the Portuguese equivalent of our British 'National Bus Company'.
What a charming picture of several Utic products running in the Porto area! You are right, only companies owning 60 buses ore more got 'assimilated' by national company RN. Because of the remoteness of the southern areas of Portugal the bus companies were very large and they all vanished into RN. The companies in the north were numerous and small, sometimes born from a single service connecting a town with Porto. The two reddish buses in this picture are from Seluve (Sequeira, Lucas and Venturas) connecting the Serzedo area with Porto. Nice thing is most of these companies still exist, using the same livery. And that beautiful winged wheel logo is still used also!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad I was correct about having to go into RN. I took quite a few views here in the rush hour so there will be more to come including Swqueira, Lucas and Venturas!
ReplyDeleteSequeira, Lucas e Venturas & Cª, Lda, was founded in september 1933 at Valadares (Gaia).The two AEC buses are ALberto Alves de Sousa, from Rebordosa. The Volvo bus I suppose it is Sandinense.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards
José Luis COVITA
All this wonderful information to share, but with all those wonderfully colourful names I don't think I'll go on BBC 'Mastermind' to answer questions on Portuguese buses. No doubt Jose Luis will know already No.12 is also an AEC.
ReplyDeleteThe photo are three AEC buses from Alberto Alves de Sousa & Filhos Lda. The third is in the extreme, behind back GUY. Alberto Alves de Sousa is from Seixo-Alvo, Olival - Vila Nova de Gaia, and failur.
ReplyDeleteAlso in http://www.transportes-xxi.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8595&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
The other Bus isn't Volvo from Sandinense, but a Magirus Salvador Caetano(Alpha)from Turexpresso.
No.12 from Sequeira Lucas e Venturas & Cª Lda, is an AEC by UTIC.
ReplyDeletejose luis said...""The Volvo bus I suppose it is Sandinense"".
ReplyDeleteIsn't a Volvo.
I ask my father and he tel me.
Is a Pegaso, building by Salvador Caetano, Model Alpha, and is from the company Inácio, Auto Viação de Souto Lda.
www.avsouto.com