Couple of days ago I was stranding outside the bus, there was 10 minutes before I was due off so I was having a stretch. I was approached by a member of the Stagecoach Travel Shop staff who wanted some of our timetables which we keep in a nearby shop. After I had given him the timetables we chatted for a minute or two and then he went back to the travel shop. I then got back on the bus ready to go. One of my passengers, a regular traveller with us asked what the Stagecoach man wanted. I explained that Stagecoach had put in a bid to take us over and we had been engaged in a little last minute negotiations. Horror greeted this up to date and unexpected news item. I then quickly explained that all he actually wanted were a few timetables and we weren't about to be swallowed up by Stagecoach. Gasps of relief all round.
So you can imaging how I felt when I got back to our depot to find this Volvo B6 parked there. Had we really been taken over, had many a true word been spoken in jest?
I'm glad to say NO. Turns out the B6 has been bought by a bus enthusiast and he is just parking it at our depot for the time being.
Just a mention, when I started at Stagecoach Torquay we used B6s (of which this was one of them) on the 12 route and we, the drivers, were all very sad when they were taken away from us an sent to Exeter because they were very nice to drive. The engineering staff however all went out for a celebratory drink, you'll have to work out why for yourselves.
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