Year of the Bus

According to Transport For London, 2014 is the Year of the Bus, building on 2013’s Day of the Bus (now a major horror film).  A small scale ‘Bus Olympics’ will be held to commemorate this, featuring sports such as Throwing The Bus (difficult), Catching The Bus (more difficult) and the more familiar Running For The Bus (exhausting). 

The very first bus was constructed in stone age times, as reported in the prehistoric newspaper, The Stone Age Times.  Sadly this was before the wheel was invented, so the prototype bus was unable to move. 

Early buses carried few passengers until bus stops were introduced, by which time the queues were virtually unmanageable.  Thanks must go to the conductors of the time, who wrote many popular symphonies about the problem. 

In later years buses were mainly coloured red, and up until now nobody knows the reason why.  But after months of research I can now exclusively reveal that I don’t know the reason why either. 

Many unusual buses were introduced as time went on such as the Custard-Driven Bus, which was built to save on petrol, although it was soon taken out of commission when it was discovered that it didn’t work.   

Buses have been the inspiration for many great films and television shows over the years, as well as ITV’s On The Buses.

We may take them for granted, but if they were ever to disappear, buses would certainly be missed.  I missed one on the way to work this morning.