It was all aboard for historic anniversary

BUSES from bygone days took passengers on trips across the city of Liverpool as part of a special day of celebration – for the 40th anniversary of Merseyside’s Passenger Transport Executive (PTE), Merseytravel.

The Merseyside Transport Trust joined Merseytravel on Sunday, 29 November 2009 to celebrate the landmark anniversary of the PTE, which has been instrumental in the development of transport across the region.

A collection of vintage buses were on display in Liverpool, on the plateau outside St Georges Hall.

Members of the public were able to travel on some of the Trusts’ other heritage vehicles.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, will have spent 50 years in the transport industry next year. And he has seen it all.

Cllr Dowd said:- “If anyone would have said to me when I first joined Merseytravel that one day I’d be celebrating 40 years of PTEs I’m not sure I would have believed it! There again, when I first started working in transport as a lad from Bootle aged just 17 – if anyone would have said I’d have 50 years in public transport – I don’t think I’d have believed that either! Merseyside PTE has achieved so much in the last 40 years and we want to continue to do that. I think some of these buses were as old as me!  If we go back to the 1968 Transport Act, our Chief Executive, Neil Scales, always mentions that Barbara Castle wanted ‘men of integrity and vision’ for transport – but Merseytravel got stuck with me and him! Barbara Castle also said that ‘There are great temptations to play safe… And it can be a very tricky thing indeed. You need timing and you need judgement and you need courage.’ We have that here on Merseyside. People of integrity and vision are needed in public transport – for the people. It’s as simple as getting people from A to B and providing a good service. That’s what continues to motivate me 50 years on.”

Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel added:- “We have one of the best rail services in the country in Merseyrail, an underground loop line as busy as any in the country, fantastic new rail stations and bus stations, two of Europe’s safest tunnels, and a ferry service that is going from strength to strength. That is something to be very proud of. We’ve had the courage to go for what we wanted, and we’ll continue to do that. All those years ago, Barbara was right. We need to keep up the momentum to deliver more.”

DID YOU KNOW?

About Merseytravel

The Passenger Transport Authority and Passenger Transport Executive were both established by the 1968 Transport Act. The main remit under the Act is for the Authority to "formulate general policies with respect to public passenger transport" and the Executive "carrying out such policies". To find out more about the history of the organisation, visit Merseytravel’s website merseytravel.gov.uk/who-we-are_history.asp

About the Merseyside Transport Trust

The Merseyside Transport Trust was formed in 1999 to continue and promote the restoration and safe storage of the road transport history of Merseyside. Their collection of former Liverpool Corporation Buses is one of the country's most representative preserved collection from a municipal bus fleet. To find out more about The Merseyside Transport Trust visit their website mttrust.co.uk.

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