​Sharing stories and discoveries along the way
The Podcast
As The Bus Inspectors continue their mission to grade the UK's 10,000 historic buses and coaches, you can follow their voyage of discovery with our regular podcast.
Whether you love vintage buses, history, people, places, stories well told, or all these things, you're sure to enjoy the journey. Stream or download our latest episode below, and subscribe to future episodes through RSS, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts... or simply check back here at regular intervals to tune in.
A Quick Taste of Episode Three
To tempt you to delve in to the full episode below, here's a taster of what's up for discussion in episode 3 of The Bus Inspectors Podcast.
​
Andrew Wickham, Anthony Delaine-Smith and Claire Fairbrother are among the guests discussing heritage and its importance today.
​
Enjoy the episode in full, below.
​
3 Minute Catch-up
If you've enjoyed Episode 3, catch-up with the series so far...
​
Guests include Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Leon Daniels OBE and representatives from Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust, the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust, the London Bus Museum, Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust, Oxford Bus Museum, West of England Transport collection and more.
​
Enjoy the episodes in full above.
​
Names & Traditions in Episode Three...
​
Anthony Delaine-Smith runs Delaine Buses, one of the oldest independent operators in the UK. Andrew Wickham runs Go South Coast, one of the largest bus operations in the GoAhead Group. Both celebrate the heritage of their operations and The Bus Inspectors find out what value that brings to their staff and passengers.
​
We're also joined by preservationist Claire Fairbrother who owns, among other types, three Leyland Nationals - three of the same, or very different individuals? Plus, we take a trip to the Routemaster's 70th anniversary celebrations to consider which examples might be the most important survivors in the future.
​
Enjoy our bonus videos below.
​
Meet Your Host...
The Bus Inspectors podcast is presented and produced by broadcaster David Sheppard, himself a bus preservationist for nearly 35 years. As well as restoring and maintaining his own small fleet of vintage buses (all 1960s Bristols), he is a Trustee of the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust and part-time heritage consultant, based in the South West.
​
He first 'drove' a bus at London Transport's Chiswick Skidpan on his fifth birthday and, much later, helped to launch a vintage bus operation in London with fellow broadcaster Ken Bruce and friends.
​
After 20 years with the BBC, David now runs his own broadcast studio and communications business, and is never far from a bus related project. He is the on-board voice of several bus companies in the South of England and regularly hosts transport industry events across the UK.
Pioneers & Legends in Episode Two...
​
Leon Daniels, Chairman of the London Bus Museum, joins The Bus Inspectors to describe the journey from early preservation days at the former aircraft hangar in Cobham to today's purpose-built museum at Brooklands. Leon also looks to the future and explains why he feels our grading project is essential.
​
We're also joined by pioneer preservationist Michael Dryhurst and Dan Shears of the West of England Transport Collection, who recalls the pioneering role of his late father, Colin, who bought his first bus in the back streets of Exeter almost as soon as he left school...
​
Plus, we go behind the scenes of our grading visit to Leicester.
​
Behind the scenes of Episode One...
Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, is among our special guests for the inaugural episode of the podcast. Lord Peter is President of the National Association of Road Transport Museums and also owner of two Routemaster buses (and co-owner of an RTW!), so has plenty to share on the joy of bus preservation as well as thoughts about its future.
​
We also hear from Steven Booth, Chairman of Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust, Helen Bolt from the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust, Bus Inspectors Ray and Paul, proud new bus owner Luke, plus Kerri and Rebecca remember legendary bus journeys from days gone by...
​