Flashback: Bus conductors and ‘Fares please!’

The drivers took over the work and the vehicles were designed to allow them to carry out this function. The practice had already been carried out by other bus companies across the country, and now the public have almost forgotten that conductors use to walk up and down the buses calling out “Fares please!”.

Bus conductors existed as far back as 1829, when the first regular bus service in this country was introduced in London by George Shillibeer. He operated two single-decker 22-seater rear entrance buses, which were drawn by three horses abreast on a route through the capital. The conductors not only took money and supplied a receipt but also gave out newspapers and magazines to read on the journey.

Double-decker buses were built in 1849, and these were used constantly two years later by visitors to London who arrived by train from all over the country to see the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. As these buses were open-top, passengers were allowed to sit on the edge of the roof with their legs dangling over the side when there were no more seats.

Bus tickets were first introduced by the London and District Omnibus company in August 1880, and this practice was carried out by other bus firms later on. The first double-decker bus, with a roof enclosing the upper deck, was introduced in April 1909, at Widnes, Lancashire, but it took 16 years before London buses had this cover on their vehicles.

Up to 1909, the conductors were always male, but in that year, at Beeston, Nottingham, a lady acquired the position of conductress.

Miss Kate Barton was the daughter of the proprietor of the bus service in that area, and she was followed in that position by her two sisters two years later.

When the First World War began in 1914, the British Government requested that women help out on the essential services in the towns and cities, and in 1916, the first women conductresses were recruited on London buses to allow more men to join the military services in Europe.

When the General Strike took place in 1926, women came forward to help out on the buses, some of them even as drivers.

It was in the 1920s when Basingstoke saw its first regular bus service, which was run by Thomas and John Wood from a garage in Roman Road.

Under the name of “Empress Motors” the business flourished from one six-seater vehicle (a converted van) to nine 28-seater buses in 1954, when they closed the bus service down. The fare in the early days was one penny into town, the journey being along Worting Road, into the town centre, up Kingsclere Road to Park Prewett hospital, and back to Roman Road.

Other bus services, mainly small ones, served the villages, such as Kent’s of Baughurst, Huntley’s of Oakley, and Porter’s of Dummer.

In 1926, Venture Ltd became the main bus services in Basingstoke until 1950. During their years in the town they provided an excellent service to the public, with offices and a large garage in Victoria Street. The staff were given a smart uniform and they, in turn, gave passengers the service that was expected of them. The original buses were made by Thornycroft’s in Basingstoke.

The Wilts and Dorset company took over the service, and its buses were parked on land that used to be the old Basingstoke Canal Wharf.

In 1962, a brand-new bus station was built there, and was there until Festival Place reduced it in size in recent years.

The Wilts and Dorset company was later amalgamated into the Hants and Dorset, then was split into smaller units, the local one being the Hampshire Bus company. This was purchased by Stagecoach of Perth, Scotland, which later acquired other bus companies in England.

For all those who still use buses in the town, when you step onto your usual bus, just think about the conductors and conductresses who used to provide a useful service for all those years, and which ended just 41 years ago.

This column has been updated and was originally published in The Gazette in September 2005. It was written by the late Robert Brown, a former photographer, columnist and historian at The Gazette. He wrote eight books on the town’s history and sadly passed away on March 25, 2019.