BUSWORLD PHOTOGRAPHY

I AM CHRISTOPHER LEACH THE ARTIST. I started this blog so that I can share with everyone my vast collection of transport photographs showing a personal and nostalgic view of the industry with images that span some 45 years taking in the U.K and some of Europe. I have no darkroom and so rather than being the perfectionist after tidying them up I upload the images warts and all, and even those that won't scan squarely or are scratched. In a way it adds age and character. You are all free to download these for your personal use but please remember I still own them and you are not just free to use them without prior permission for any knd of publishing. Click on images to enlarge them and if you want to see more leave your comments or visit my website for the mother-site with galleries including those Buses & Girls: PICTUREWORLD

Friday 28 July 2017

Arriva to Rocket Pool on the 530

I like place names and usually it is best not to go there a usually they are not really special in any way. This Arriva Dest Dart Plaxton Pointer don;t look like it's going anywhere in a hurry as it waits at Bilston Bus Station. Of course now Wednesfield Garage is gone so has Arriva were most of it's services are covered by diamond. At this time it was wasting valuable resources trying to squeeze the incumbent Banga Bus on it's main service off the road. As it turned out the Arriva buses tended to run empty whilst 'friendly and helpful' Banga seats were as full as ever.

3 comments:

Ross said...

In a way it's strange to think of Banga being the incumbent on a route, given that they started out as the attacker against then-incumbent WMT after deregulation, and given the state of their minibuses back then "Banga" was an appropriate name.

I'm pretty sure that, once the company had become rather more presentable, the owner was thinking of renaming Banga because he felt the name gave the wrong impression; I assume that in the end he decided not to bother.

christopher said...

Ross, well it is an Indian Gentleman Mr. Banga who runs the business so I doubt if he looks down on his name. They survived many a scirmish with the authorities citing racial harassment should anyone get under their skin. I remember his early buses, bread van was a bit too polite perhaps gas board van might be better.

Ross said...

I had a bit of a hunt and found this from the Express & Star back in 2009:-
(I'll add the link but I don't know if Blogger will delete it)
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2009/02/26/bus-firm-banga-looks-at-new-name/

"Bus firm Banga looks at new name"
(26 Feb. 2009)
"A bus company in Wolverhampton that won the right to stay on the roads despite reports of maintenance lapses could change its name in a bid to shed its troubled reputation.
...
"The rusty, spluttering beige Banga Travel buses were a familiar site when the company was run by Rajinder Banga's father Parkash Ram Banga, before he lost his licence last March.
...
"Rajinder Banga, 39, said: "It is very important that people realise this company is not the same as the one my father ran."

I didn't realise that there were two Banga Travel operations, and to be honest I'm surprised that the son didn't go for a different name straight away if he felt it had a tarnished reputation. He clearly changed his mind in the end, though, and decided to stick with the family name.