Parcel delivery buses

[Liam]

Reminded to post this by a comment on another thread..

On a recent trip to the Western Isles, I noticed the Hebridean Transport service from Stornoway to Tarbert and Leverburgh was also delivering packages to businesses and individuals on the road South. E.g. A couple of boxes of loo roll for the cafe in Northton and a box from Stornoway tourist info office to the Tarbert office.

Other than the Royal Mail PostBus service, is there anything else like this elsewhere?

The only similar thing I can remember is about 10-15 years or so ago Fife Scottish and Strathtay service buses would deliver the Dundee Evening Telegraph to village shops in the North of Fife.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Long distance bus services around Lulea in Northern Sweden convey parcels, but I think just to bus stations

 

[Volvodart]

Stagecoach Bluebird stopped carrying parcels in 2007. They carried newspapers after that, but I think that has now stopped as well.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

When Crieff Travel were around they ran service 155 from Crieff to Perth via Madderty. In the mornings the driver used to pick up the papers and deliver to houses along the route.

Since Docherty's now have the route, they still continue to deliver the morning papers to the houses.

 

[quarella]

The bus tickets of my childhood, Bristol all had on the reverse

Send your parcels by country bus

 

[Blindtraveler]

When I was visiting the Now Wife in Orkney, the stagecoach X1 (Stromness - Kirkwall - St Margarets hope) which basicly goes from one end of the Orkney mainland to another and is stagecoach's only fully comercial route on the Island used to carry packages etc on request. I only observed it once or twice but it was apparently well used.↲
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With the future of so many country bus runs in doubt, this to me makes sense and theres a load of routes I can think of that could make use of it, even if its just newspapers, fresh milk and eggs or packages and letters requiring fast delivery to a local shop for collection. On another note are there many post busses left by Royal Mail?

 

[quarella]

 

[NorthernSpirit]

On another note are there many post buses left by Royal Mail?

I think the Royal Mail Postbus services are probably a thing of the past as the last ones I knew of were in North Yorkshire.

 

[quarella]

http://www.royalmail.com/you-home/your-community/postbus

 

[Liam]

I think the Royal Mail Postbus services are probably a thing of the past as the last ones I knew of were in North Yorkshire.

I've been on two of them in recent months, one on Islay, one on North Uist. There is another route on North Uist that I didn't use. Both services I used were fairly well used (for that part of the world).

 

[CatfordCat]

It was quite common in the UK until the late 60s / early 70s, certainly among the 'company' operators (the BTC / BET groups that formed the national bus company) - some of the corporation operators did, some didn't.

Most bus operators would have parcels agents in towns and villages around their area (and of course accept parcels at their own enquiry offices)

This Eastern Counties bus - http://www.sct61.org.uk/ecrl735 - carried a special livery to advertise the service as late as 1972.

From what I gather, the main thing that led to the demise of the service was the 'one manning' of buses - it's less practical for a driver to hop off and deliver a parcel to the agent than it is for a conductor...

 

[Liam]

I've just remembered, Ulsterbus still offer a parcels service across Ireland.

 

[Deerfold]

http://www.royalmail.com/you-home/your-community/postbus

That seems to include at least some services which have been withdrawn (The 367 postbus in North Yorkshire has been replaced by conventional tendered service 190).

The service 900 3-times a day service which started in the 90s serving assorted rural settlements between Huddersfield and Hebden Bridge would deliver small parcels for 50p - the recipient had to be at a bus stop. It would also divert small distances off route.

As the route has become busier its lost these distinctive features - but now runs hourly during the daytime.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

I've been on two of them in recent months, one on Islay, one on North Uist. There is another route on North Uist that I didn't use. Both services I used were fairly well used (for that part of the world).

I'm suprised that Postbus is still going, I thought most of them were axed and replaced by some Dial-A-Ride job. I'd understand that their more popular in Scotland what with the highland areas being sparse.