More about Sundays

In spite of *some* of the 30 comments under the post “Easter Day”, bus operators have generally risen to the challenge set by changes to the way society now views what was once the Day of Rest.

25 years ago, there was no Sunday trading in England worth speaking of. You might find the odd garden centre, perhaps, and corner shops, newsagents & petrol stations. Towns were otherwise shut for business.

It was at the time of deregulation in the bus industry that the then government was defeated in its proposals for a liberalisation of Sunday trading. This was but a setback as thereafter some larger stores ignored the rules in any case and many began petitioning the government to try to force change.

That change came in 1994 when shops of a certain size were permitted to open for a maximum of six hours. At first, this was largely confined to the now burgeoning out-of-town retail developments and larger city centres but slowly and surely this has broadened to include shops in many of our town centres, easily accessible by bus.

The pattern of Sunday bus services before 1994 was one of long-term decline. In particular, the 1970s had been cruel to Sunday buses and deregulation invariably hadn’t helped. There were nevertheless key Sunday urban and inter-urban buses still operating, traditionally at half the weekday frequency or at such times deemed by local transport authorities as acceptable.

Buses in urban areas tended to start up around 0900 to 1000 with perhaps a very sketchy service before that, if at all. Inter-urban routes and where still operating in more country districts, Sunday buses tended to be first out between 1100 and 1300, sometimes a little later. Outside larger urban areas, demand never wound up till after 1200.

It’s funny what you recall. I vividly remember going north early one Sunday evening and following a northbound Bristol Omnibus service 254, picking it up from somewhere near Beckington and staying behind it nearly all the way to Bath. I can’t be precise about the year but various giveaways placed it somewhere between 1972 & 1977. Being an ECW bodied Bristol RESL with four glazed panels, it was possible to get a good view from the outside rear of those on board. The maximum was a disappointing three, over the 40-minute ride.

That particular journey no longer exists. The pattern of successor First 267 still offers five journeys between Beckington & Bath, though the last journey from Bath runs about an hour earlier than it once did. The telling part is that the Sunday times on this inter-urban/rural service have shifted forward so the first arrival in Bath is at 1055, some 2½ hours earlier than in the 1970s and 1980s. And although I have no evidence, I suspect that today’s 1055 arrival will be very healthy.

For an impressive increase in Sunday services, look no further than Poole & Bournemouth. Going back again to the late 1970s to 1990s, 20-minute frequency was busy enough with passengers, both in the winter and especially summer. Single decks now hold sway. From today, Wilts & Dorset will up its 10-minute service to one running during shopping hours at every 7½ minutes. From about 1800, this now steps down to the previous every 15. Plus, of course, Yellow Buses operates every half hour, too. The first Sunday bus off Poole runs two hours earlier, at 0515, following the night bus service.

And pre-Charlie’s Cars, could anyone have predicted the bus frenzy that is now at Castlepoint? During 1970s Sundays, for example, frequencies on the 32-35 were thin. Look at bus times now.

Could anyone have predicted this in the 1970s, 1986 or 1994?