Slippery starting '79
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BRITAIN'S cold start to the New Year has created numerous problems for bus operators up and down the country. Accidents, frozen buses and impassable roads all combined to disrupt public transport in almost all areas in Britain.
When London returned to work, LT was unable to operate full bus services be cause of numerous frozen vehicles. Few buses were operated from Southall Garage, where the majority of vehicles were found to be frozen in the garage.
Freezing brake systems caused some routes not to be operated and despite improvements in road conditions, some routes were not operated at all for several days. National Bus Companies reported difficulty on rural routes and some mechanical problems caused by tardy snow clearing and road gritting by local authorities. Many vehicles suffered from frozen transmissions and brake systems, often aggravated by slush and ice thrown up by the wheels.
National Express coaches valiantly managed to operate 75 per cent of services and the NBC received its first passenger telex of congratulations for operating warm coaches in particularly difficult conditions.
In Scotland the worst problems were in Edinburgh where roads were not gritted and snow was not cleared. Lothian Regional Transport and Eastern Scotland buses both had to be taken off the road. The Scottish Bus Group London express coaches, however, ran a complete service and even during the worst weather were arriving on time in Edinburgh.
Bus fleets in the North and West of Scotland coped with the conditions remarkably well. Although a few were cancelled due to impassable roads, many arrived at their destinations.