Fortunately the minibus heyday is long passed but they were quite interesting times are new liveries appeared as often the big companies set up special small-bus units to counter the moves by rivals and newcomers alike. Bee Line was set up by North Western to operate to the south of Manchester. The Mercedes might not have been much loved but the rather basic big Dodge like No.42 was much despised by everyone
Friday, 22 May 2009
Bee Line Buzz
Fortunately the minibus heyday is long passed but they were quite interesting times are new liveries appeared as often the big companies set up special small-bus units to counter the moves by rivals and newcomers alike. Bee Line was set up by North Western to operate to the south of Manchester. The Mercedes might not have been much loved but the rather basic big Dodge like No.42 was much despised by everyone
I agree.
ReplyDeleteNeither the Dodge nor the Mercedes were especially striking examples of taste or design when new, and they didn't age well either. The enthusiast side in me dislikes mininuses but I do see there are niches for them and my weary feet have often been grateful when one turned up (plus I know you drive one so I won't tread on your feet), but I do wonder why so little effort is put into making them more attractive? Mercedes cars are obviously well designed so Mercedes understands the value of design. If there weren't so many of them, I might consider the Citaro to be a pleasing design too, as indeed the O405 was before it. So why couldn't Mercedes let the same designers have a go at the minibus?
I suppose it's because this vehicle is derived from a truck and trucks have to be ugly?
At least the girls brighten up the picture, as indeed does the fine architecture in the background.
Andrew
Of course Optare has created proper minibus buses but not everyone likes them.
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