Beeston Buggibus network goes public – without comment – see my last post

Click in the map to enlarge. This is an exercise of the imagination. Much of the map is deliberately blank. The idea is that you imagine where the little buses go and if you don't live in Beeston, then you can create your own network of little buses to take you where you want to go!

Theses little French buses are part of the future when it comes to public transport

I am sharing this post with my BeestonWeek blog. My interest in buses is as a means of travel and making it easier for everyone to move about seven days a week. Mobility and access matter if we are to make the most of where we live and these little French buses offer a way forward.

Reading the August 2019 issue of Urban Transit I came across a passing reference to this little bus.

Tram enthusiasts, for the most part, see the role of the bus being reduced to a support role, never mind that double-deck buses have more seats and can, in the case of Beeston, get you to a good few places quicker than The Tram. In my book both have an equal roll to play in the Derby–Nottingham conurbation, including little electric buses like the one below, which is French. I love it!

It does all I expect of a buggy bus.

Click here to visit a website showing one of these buses at work in Singapore.

I have blogged in the past about my belief that Beeston needs a community transport network, which I have called the Beeston Buggy Bus network.

I have actually done two posts:

https://beestonweek.blogspot.com/2017/01/hail-beeston-bramcote-buggy-bus.html

https://beestonweek.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-really-interesting-interview-in-verge.html

I really believe that little buses like this French 'Bien Petit' Bus' are the future when it comes to increasing mobility around towns and rural communities every day, not just Monday–Saturday daytime. This little bus is electric with a range of 125km (77 miles) and can carry up to 22 passengers.

Enjoy the ride!

Trentbartonland Days Out Map gets a 3rd edition

Trent-Barton are masters at designing maps which look like works of art and although the style of the Trentbartonland days out 3rd edition map hasn't changed much it it is still worth drawing attention to. You can find a downloadable PDF file version at:

https://trentbarton.co.uk/userfiles/explore2019.pdf

As with all such maps and guides, not all places of interest are included (compare my choices with theirs by comparing locations on this map with my Beeston Days Out 2019 map published a couple of weeks ago)

Ideally you should try and pick up a hard copy either the next time you ride on a Trent-Barton bus or from one of their travel offices. A useful trick is to use your computer's screen capture facility (like I have) to save sections from the map you might like to use.

In the meantime here are three extracts from the map (just click on the images to enlarge):

Beeston Festival sees a Barton's Lego Bus on show

At yesterday's Beeston Festival a young bus lover named Ewan Cooper, aged 11, on The Beestonian stand, was one of the star attractions with his Lego model of an old Barton's Bridgemaster bus.

Ewan's Lego model came apart so that the viewer can see inside the bus, complete with seats and passengers!

What's more, Ewan has a whole page to himself in the July 2019 edition of The Beestonian, Beeston's free streetmag

By chance I have a photograph of the very bus in a copy of a book, Barton in colour — Return Journey, edited by Philip Lamb and published by Prebus Publishing in 2012 (the book appears to be currently out of print but there may secondhand copies about if you search the web). The book says the photograph was taken in 1967 by Derek Bailey

The AEC Bridgemaster was bought by Barton in 1958 and is part of the private Barton collection you can see at The Garage in Beeston.

If you can get along to this year's Heritage Open Day at Barton's Garage on Saturday 14 September you can see all the preserved buses on show as well as displays and stands relating to Beeston heritage in all in manifestations.

There are 64 years between Ewan and me but it's nice to know that there are still some up and coming bus enthusiasts out there despite The Tram's arrival in Beeston.

Finally a P.S.

The banner behind Ewan is one of mine, created for a pop-up shop in Beeston in Autumn 2018 (Click on the banner and all the pics to enlarge):

Beeston Days Out 2019 map and a new Big City Map of Nottingham City Centre

Maps of whatever kind are never finished. At best they are snapshots of time in a world, even here in Beeston and Nottingham.

You can pick the Bays Out map and the Beeston Festival today and the Lakeside History Fair in Highfields Park next Saturday.

Click on the maps to enlarge

In addition here is a copy of what I describe of my Big City Map which first appeared in 2017 and I still regard as an achievement of sorts. I think I can fairly claim it is another unique map which I would like to to something. In the meantime explore and enjoy.